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By Tim Dierkes | at
Email a copy of 'Examining The Brewers' Avoidance Of Free Agency' to a friend
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Byrontastic
Not exactly an inspiring forecast for brewers fans, but their hands are fairly tied financially as of just yet. As much as I think Morales make sense, they have no business giving up a draft pick for anyone at this point.
daveineg
They aren’t as financially tied as you think or their lack of actions suggest. They have nice core of players under team control for several more seasons. A lot of payroll this year is tied up in Weeks (who may get traded or cut) and Aramis Ramirez, who’s deal was backloaded. I think there’s a decent chance they do sign Young for a relatively modest amount and if Morales is still available after the draft, they have a good enough relationship with Boras and financial flexibility beyond 2014 to make a good run at him. They also are good bets to bring back K-Rod, who has a great relationship with Roenicke.
Jason G
Doesn’t it seem likely Kendrys Morales will get some kind of offer before spring training (or at worst opening day)? I find it hard to imagine that he’d rather sit around for two months of the season than sign with a team that doesn’t have the draft pick issue. I guess it’s possible he’d hold out for a better offer from a wider range of teams once the draft issue is moot. (And he’s probably less likely to expose his fragility if he’s not playing.)
DarthMurph
The Brewers are not likely to contend this year especially considering how many teams in their division made the playoffs last year. Spending money on a DH-projected type player only hinders their ability to make the upgrades needed when they have a realistic shot at contending.
oh Hal
With a weak OF of Braun, Gomez and Davis; a sketchy infield of Ramirez, Segura and Gennett; catching like Lucroy and Maldonado; a rotation 6 or 7 deep and plenty of bullpen arms they clearly can’t score runs or prevent them.
Dickie Thon 2
“Weak outfield”?
I’d take the Brewers outfield over the Braves OF.
Novak
It was a(n) (ill-advised) sarcastic post pointing out that the Brewers are actually better than people think.
And yes, even with Khris Davis being a bit of a question mark, Gomez and Braun easily make the Brewers outfield one of the best in the league.
DarthMurph
They finished 23 GB and haven’t made any substantial upgrades. You can blame that on injuries and Braun’s suspension and that definitely was part of it. With the West and East not expected to be runaways again, I wouldn’t hold out hope that the Brewers magically win the division or a Wild Card slot.
Beyond that, what does Morales really do for them? He might have a good April playing 1B until he gets hurt and eats up a ton of their money on the DL.
orbrewer
I always point out to people that the only thing the Brewers need to compete next season is health, especially from Braun and Ramirez. They were in the lineup together for only 28 games last season.
The team lost 42 of 88 games by one or two runs. A healthy and productive Braun and Ramirez makes up a lot of that difference.
oh Hal
I’d say the East belongs to the Nats.
burnboll
Tim, what do you mean that there’s no surprise that Craig Counsell joined the front office?
Who is that guy and why isn’t it surprising?
Is Counsell a Sabermetrics kind of guy or what? And what is his baseball philosophy?
NickinIthaca
Counsell is a former MLB shortstop – if you check out the year by year signings, the Brewers signed him on one year deals for each of his last three seasons before retirement (in fact he played for them in 6 of his last 8 seasons). I think it was a more tongue in cheek comment about how many times they signed him to play in the organization.
First Bleed
Agree. He is a WI native, really close to Milwaukee and his family lives here. Plus a fan favorite too.
Jason G
The family connection to the organization goes back to when Craig’s dad, John Counsell, was the Brewers’ community relations director in the 1980s. The (now sadly defunct) middle school I attended, Jackie Robinson M.S., had a special partnership with the Brewers, so the elder Mr. Counsell showed up there with players on special occasions. I still have somewhere a sheet of notebook paper with the autographs of Mike Felder, Billy Jo Robideaux, and Glenn Braggs when they came to my school in ’87. That same year, I remember being sad that I wasn’t picked to play in the intramural softball game that featured Juan Nieves at pitcher. I loved that school; no doubt it played a role in my being such an avid baseball fan to this day.
docmilo5
Morales can’t hold up for an entire season at 1st base. He wasn’t in condition for it in Seattle. He played some 1st early in the season, hurt his back and it affected his production for a couple of months. Morales needs to find a full time DH job. Good luck to that.
As far as the Mariners go, I would prefer if the M’s deal Morrison over Smoak. I have a feeling Smoak is going to have a break out year now that he’s not “needed” to hit in the middle of the lineup.
craigcounsellhitsbombs
Morales declining his qualifying offer probably had a bigger effect on Milwaukee’s offseason than us signing him even would. If Kendrys stays in Seattle, they probably don’t make a play for LoMo AND Hart, which would lead Milwaukee to pick up the odd man out.
Regarding the financial aspect, Mark A has some pretty deep pockets and has shown he isn’t afraid to dig into them when needed. That being said, if the Crew signs anyone this offseason, I’ll be pretty sad. I wouldn’t count them out of the hunt next year but they need a lot of things to go right to get anywhere close to the playoffs.
douglasb
“My first thought upon examining these Brewers free agent forays is that it’s no surprise Craig Counsell joined their front office.” — Care to elaborate on that? It’s a hanging thought with no direction.
orbrewer
It’s a comment upon noticing that for three consecutive years Counsell signed with the Brewers. So when he retired and became a front office “free agent,” of course he signed with the Brewers.
martinfv2
Yes, just a little joke.