Brewers GM David Stearns says that his just-established front office is working on a flexible offseason plan that will allow the organization to tackle the winter’s always-changing trade and free agent markets, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports. “Having a specified plan going into an offseason is always a little bit challenging because the dynamics of the offseason change consistently,” he said. “With every trade, every team’s needs change somewhat. With every signing, the market can change a little bit. But heading into the GM Meetings we should have a rough outline of what we’re looking to do as an organization. And then the period between the GM Meetings and the Winter Meetings, as the market begins to take shape, we should begin to really target specific areas.”
- While Stearns kept his cards close to the vest, he said that his new team — unlike the Astros, where he served as assistant GM — does not have the same need to “start[] from scratch” since Milwaukee has already begun a rebuilding phase. He (wisely) declined to commit to a contention timeline, but said he believes the “fan base recognizes that there’s patience needed.” As for how drastic the tear-down could be, Stearns said he’s open to continue dealing from the major league roster.
- The Reds face an interesting offseason, and MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon breaks things down. There are some scenarios where the club could stay in much the same form as it ended 2015, while welcoming back some injured players. Or, of course, a variety of veterans could end up being dealt.
- Outfielder Denard Span, who will soon become a free agent from the Nationals, tweeted today that recent X-rays showed positive news as he recovers from hip surgery. He obviously won’t have a chance to prove his health before hitting the market, but that’s obviously promising news. The 31-year-old has been highly productive over the last two years when he’s on the field, but missed time this year with the hip issue and offseason core muscle surgery. Though he’s one of only a few quality center field options on the free agent market, health concerns figure to hold down his earning power. It remains to be seen whether Washington will make Span a qualifying offer, which could also impact his market.
- Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr lost his job along with the entire rest of the team’s coaching staff this year, but he tells James Wagner of the Washington Post that he’s still interested in a chance at interviewing for the open managerial position — a possibility that GM Mike Rizzo expressly left open (while not exactly endorsing) in his recent comments to the press. “They would have to ask me to interview for it,” Knorr said. “I’d love to do it. I know all the players. I’ve been around them for four years now. I think I’d be really good for the job. I don’t know which direction they wanna go. I don’t know if they want the big name again or what. But I think I’m probably the most qualified for it.”
Reds offseason checklist:
1) Get rid of Jocketty and get a GM that isn’t afraid to use a *gasp* cell phone to conduct business instead of a land line!
2) Take Kevin Towers with him.
3) Hire an analytics department and start using it.
Telephone criticism? Seriously? The Latos, Simon, Leake, and Cueto trades all look like successes for the Reds and Jocketty, regardless of whether they were worked out over cell or land-line phones.
There was an article during the last winter meetings stating that he missed trade opportunities because he didn’t carry a cell phone and refused to conduct business unless it was at his desk.
To me that is unacceptable.
Didn’t realize Denard Span is a client of Scott Boras, as is Anthony Rendon. That’s good news, for a change. If both can spend extended time at the Boras Corp. training center this winter, the Nats might have a shot at getting the 1 and 2 slots back in shape for 2016. Does Span get a QO? Coin toss.
With his injury concerns, I don’t see Span getting $16m on the FA market, not with draft pick compensation attached. He’s worth it when healthy.
IMO the dollar amount on the QO is $4m or so too high.
Think about how many more players would receive a QO at $12M…
everyone who is currently a coin toss would a yes, then add in second tier FA. All of a sudden pitchers like Colon are a possibility
OTOH, regarding both Span and Rendon, and assuming Rizzo is gun-shy about injuries, Span won’t get a QO and Rendon, even healthy, may be traded for bullpen help. Rizzo said the FO was looking at all the “moving parts.” So, I hedge my bets. Going to be an interesting winter.
With Harper, Mikey Taylor, and Werth already in the outfield, I don’t think there’s room for Span. The obvious best case if Span’s healthy is for someone else to take Werth’s contract off the Nats’ hands, but that’s never going to happen.
Brewers need to be patient and do a full rebuild. A halfway retool is not going to get this team to the playoffs anytime soon.
The Brewers do not have a balanced offense. The team was built to hit a 3 run home run with no one on base.