January 29th, 6:10pm: Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports has the details on some incentives in Cain’s contract (Twitter links). The outfielder will reportedly earn $300K every time he makes the All-Star team. He’ll also earn $500K if he’s ever named league MVP, $250K if he finishes second through fifth in the MVP voting, and $125K if he finishes 6th through 10th. Cain can also make an extra $50K by winning the World Series MVP award, and he’ll pocket $25K any time he wins a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, or LCS MVP. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports confirms the incentives, and notes that the Brewers will also reserve a suite for Cain at Miller Park during 20 games each season, while pointing out that the estimated value of Cain’s contract with deferments in mind is actually $78,917,630.
January 26th, 2:48pm: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Cain will earn $13MM in 2018, $14MM in 2019, $15MM in 2020, $16MM in 2021 and $17MM in 2022 (Twitter links). He’ll also receive an additional, deferred payment of $1MM in each of the five years following the contract’s conclusion. The no-trade provision offers complete protection in year one of the deal and limited protection each season thereafter, dropping down to five teams in the final year of the contract. More specifically, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy adds that Cain can block deals to 15 teams in 2019, seven teams in 2020 and five in 2021-22.
12:00pm: In a stunning turn, the Brewers even further bolstered their outfield, announcing on Friday that they’ve signed Lorenzo Cain to a five-year pact that will reportedly guarantee him $80MM. The All Bases Covered client will reportedly pick up no-trade rights as well, with full protection early in the contract and more limited no-trade provisions in its later years.
Cain will join Christian Yelich in a stunningly re-made Milwaukee outfield — opening up new avenues for trades of existing players that could shake the market. The signing also breaks open a moribund free agent signing period, with a premium player scoring a big contract for the first time in weeks.
Entering the day, the Brewers featured Ryan Braun and Domingo Santana in the corners, with a trio of young options — Keon Broxton, Lewis Brinson, and Brett Phillips — up the middle. Now, Brinson is out, Cain and Yelich are in, and the remaining players (excepting, perhaps, Braun) appear to be possible trade chips.
[RELATED: Updated Brewers Depth Chart]
Milwaukee had a clear need to improve its rotation when the winter started, particularly given uncertainty surrounding righty Jimmy Nelson. The organization has decided first to improve the outfield, though that could all be part of a plan to move other assets for starting pitching. Santana and Phillips could both be hotly pursued assets, with a variety of teams — the Athletics, Braves, and Rays all make some degree of sense on paper — potentially representing suitors with some pitching on offer.
As much as the signing could mean for the trade market, it’s a welcome sign for players anxiously watching a slow-motion free agent period. In MLBTR’s top 50 free agent ranking, we predicted that Cain would secure $70MM over four years, so this represents a strong contract for the excellent but soon-to-be 32-year-old outfielder. The contract is the first this winter that guarantees more than three seasons and more than $60MM. Cain becomes only the second of MLBTR’s ten top-rated free agents who has signed to this point.
It’s equally intriguing to consider the teams that missed out on Cain. Crasnick again has the details, tweeting that the Dodgers, Cubs, Giants, and Indians were involved in the market. While San Francisco was long known to have interest, tempered by its luxury tax considerations, the other clubs are all rather eye-opening pursuers in various regards. Los Angeles has been tough to decipher all winter long as it watches its own payroll. The Cubs have a fairly well-stocked outfield mix but seem to have irons in a variety of fires. And the Indians have signaled they don’t have much more to spend, but were evidently still willing to consider a major win-now move (presumably with other salary-shedding efforts to accompany it).
It seems hard to recall after his years in Kansas City, but Cain was once a Brewer. Indeed, he joined the Milwaukee organization as a 17th-round pick way back in 2004. As Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel notes on Twitter, both Cain and Jeremy Jeffress have returned to the Brewers after being dealt to the Royals in the 2010 Zack Greinke swap.
In the interim, Cain has emerged as a star. He reached his career pinnacle in 2015, turning in elite efforts at the plate, on the bases, and in the field to rack up 6.5 fWAR. After a step back in the ensuing season, which was marred in part by injury, Cain emerged again in 2017.
While initial reports connecting Cain to Milwaukee this offseason came as somewhat of a surprise, it appears he’s been on their radar since the onset of free agency. “They said from the minute free agency opened that I was on the top of their list,” Cain said in a chat with MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan.. “We just had to work through all the details, and eventually we both got to the numbers we liked.”
Even if Cain’s superstar-level ’15 output isn’t likely to be repeated, the Brewers will hope he can keep up his most recent efforts. Last year, Cain dropped his strikeout rate to a career-low 15.5%, walked at a career-best 8.4%, compiled 15 home runs and 26 steals, and ended with an even .300 batting average. While metrics now grade him more as a good than a great fielder in center, Cain remains a high-quality all-around performer.
Since Cain rejected a qualifying offer from the Royals, draft compensation will result from the signing. As an organization that received revenue sharing and did not go past the competitive balance tax line in 2017, Milwaukee will have to sacrifice its third-highest draft pick. Notably, MLBTR has confirmed that Competitive Balance draft picks are exempt from this type of forfeiture, however, meaning the Brewers will only have to surrender their third-round selection. For the Royals, bidding adieu to Cain — since he signed for more than $50MM — will mean recouping a pick after the end of the first round of the 2018 draft.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the agreement (via Twitter). ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reported the terms of the deal (Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wow!
Brewers stilllllll won’t win the NL Central.
Bigcubsfan your hilarious….. I feel your getting scared and you should be. Go Brew Crew !
* you’re. And you can have your own opinion. Mine is the Cubs should win the NL Central this year.
the exclamation doesn’t need a space after crew
Why are you correcting spelling after writing “stilllllll” in your initial post?
There’s nothing scary about half a team on roids no real #1 they have 3 #2 at best and 2 #5s
Grammar not spelling. The grammar mistake may confuse someone here.
Is this Omar minaya???
I guarantee no one was confused but him putting “your”.
ABC……Anyone But Cubs. Finally a WS win and now they’re unbearable.
No one scared about Cain or Yelich. Brewers need SP then will talk.
Remember Gordon, Yelich, Ozuna and Stranton all played on the same team and was still below 500 and a losing team. Now that is scary. Cub fans scared not even close.
I’m scared, that offense is gonna be #LIT
Cubs have yet to address there leadoff hitter which is a major issue along with that bullpen is trash with no quality closer. Starting pitching looks mediocre for the cubs to.
Yeah get tired of hearing how good the cubs are. Hey cub fans you won one championship in the last 109 years. Your not good and never have been. Your window just slammed shut.
(pullhitter)*you’re
(themed)*their
I hate the Cubs but come on man. You can’t expect the Brewers to be in the conversation with the juggernauts of the NL after these two acquisitions
Maybe it’s because we are desperately in a need of a baseball fix but most commenters here seem to think if you win the offseason you win the postseason.
And yet the Cubs are going to lose Arrieta and Lester wasn’t even #1 in Boston. The Cubs have two #2 starters, a #3 and a bunch of #5’s. I’m not a fan of either team, but I’d rather have three #2’s and offense/defense. You don’t need an ace in the NL Central, it’s a three-team race until the deadline and then whichever team makes the best move wins the division every year.
See: Cubs acquiring Chapman in 2016, Cubs acquiring Jose Quintana in 2017. Also see: 2014 & 2015 Cardinals. Before that, it was a two-team race between the Cards and Pirates. You don’t need an ace to win the NL Central anymore.
Let’s make sure we are all still talking about the Yelich who hit .282/.369/.439 last year and the Lorenzo Cain who hit
.300/.363/.440 last year. Don’t get me wrong, these are quality slash lines and quality players. But let’s not get carried away here… they combined for 33 homers, and much of Yelich’s value is derived from his contract. I like the two players, but these guys aren’t offensive superstars. The offense will be good, but they still lack pitching, even if Hader is really good (and I think he will be). This team probably still wins 86 games.
Red Sox fans were the same way. After they won back in 2004 they acted like they’d won 20 of the last 30.
Stfu
Your got tah be kidding me
2 guys moving from extreme pitchers parks to a good hitters park. If you are a Brewers fan, it’s the time to get really excited. That is one hell of a good OF now.
Yelich, Cain, Braun, Santana
Scwarber, Almora, Heyward, Zobrist
No contest there. Brewers are better, hands down.
4.5 WAR Yelich and 4.1 WAR Cain. That is a 6.5 WAR improvement over what the Brewers saw from LF and CF last season.
6 wins is a huge improvement.
Now they have the flexibility to trade some really good OF for a top notch starter like Archer or Duffy and still have the money to sign Arrieta or Darvish.
I really like what the Brewers are doing.
Agreed. But they lost Jimmy Nelson. No pitcher really ever returns successfully from a throwing shoulder labrum tear. Michael Pineda closest thing to it last year and a half. They’ve lost some war there. Plus much of their hot start was based upon Eric Thames unrepeatable April. The league adjusted to him. He’ll never be that again. Brewers likely over achieved a little last year.
How do you not see what the Brewers are doing right now? They’ve set themselves up to improve starting pitching big time. Do you really think they’re going to keep Santana on the squad with Braun, yelich, and Cain? Hell no! He’s getting packaged and moved for a top of the rotation type arm.
The Brewers are going to make a play for moustakas who can handle 1st or third freeing them up to package either thanks or Shaw in a deal with Santana.
When Nelson gets back (and all indications are he’s very ahead of schedule) this rotation will be dangerous. Nelson, Davies, Anderson and whatever pitcher they trade for, or hell even sign in FA… I like how this is looking!
Half a team on roids? My math is very good but I don’t think 1 equals half a team..could be wrong.
Than maybe you should say it’s your opinion, instead of presenting it as fact. Someone correcting others spelling should have a better grasp of english.
I can promise the brewers don’t go into the season with 6 MLB level OFers. Stearns made the deals for Yelich and Cain to trade for pitching. He isn’t done.
I’d like to see the cubs add another proven starter, but their starters aren’t exactly mediocre at the moment. They have 3 quality 2 starters, with Q and Hendricks still showing some room for growth. I’d like to see Q in the NL for another year as well. The guy has put up some great numbers in the AL, is entering his prime, and he should be fully adjusted to the cubs. I wouldn’t be surprised of he took the next step. Before you try to right off Hendricks as a 2, the man has a 2.94 ERA over nearly 600 IP in the show. I get it, he doesn’t throw 98. But the guy is much closer to a TOR than an innings eater…
As for the pen, the narrative that its terrible just isn’t true. I’m not saying their pen is the yanks or anything, but they have a lot of quality options. Morrow has that prospect pedigree, and he’s finally harnessed command to go with his lights out stuff. Its not unheard for guys with his talent to figure it out after bouncing around the league. I mean the dude struck out 17 batters in a game; the talent is there. Chisek has over 100 saves and a 2.73 ERA in his career, and i highly doubt Justin Wilson just completely forgot how to through a baseball. They still have Pedro Strop, who is criminally underrated and has had an ERA under 3 every yr in Chicago, while CJ Edward is very talented and running a k per 9 rates of nearly 13, while being extremely hard to barrel up seeing as he allows opp batting averages in the 170s. Brian Duensing may not be flashy, but he gets the job done, is under market value, and he was very consistent last year, eventually becoming Maddon’s most trusted arm after Davis thanks to compiling a 2.74 ERA. His signing allows Monty to ne used in the rotation or as a high quality swingman. Plus Dillon Maples awaits in the wings with his heavy fastball ranging between 95-100 with tons of movement, a potential plus plus slider that’s devastating, and an already above average power curve that rates plus when he gets on top of it.
Your comment just isn’t accurate, and its not backed up by any evidence. Its pretty foolish to act like you know a team when you have virtually no idea what you’re talking about
I’m pretty sure most of the comments on the brewers side is regarding the division.
And if they would’ve had Corey Knebel as the closer all the season they probably would’ve won the Central. You can keep playing all these scenarios but all of those scenarios is what makes baseball great
@ themed damn someone sounds a bit a butthurt. i’d suggest getting used to seeing the cubs highly competitive. i’m not saying you have to like it, but your life might become a bit easier accepting it. any reasonable person knows we aren’t going anywhere, especially after the new TV deal is signed since the cubs are the only north american major market sports team without a long term deal. the cash influx from that will come right before our young players hit free agency
After years of sitting on their hands brewers trying to mix it up, still need pitching but plenty out there with access pieces to possibly move. Great fun in milw this summer
Good for Milwaukee. But Santana is not bringing back a top of the rotation arm lolol
You’ve obviously slept on CHC this offseason.
Morrow – Cishek – Strop – Edwards – Duensing – Wilson – Grimm – Montgomery (if they sign a starter, which will most likely be Cobb or Darvish).
Now look at the Brewers’ pen and tell me what’s wrong with the Cubs’.
Our CF spot used to hit at the bottom of the lineup, now it will go to the top. Yelich was in a pitcher friendly park and if you know anything g about Miller Park would see his 20ish hrs going to 30ish hrs. I wouldn’t mind one of the top tier pitchers to take us over the top but our core is very young. The door is just starting to open in Beerland
Cubs fans are scared
This guy has to have broken a dislike record on this site.
You sure would hope the cubs would win the central with a $200mil payroll. But the Crew could take the division with half the cubs payroll.
Hahaha. Perfect.
Bullpen for Cubs is deep. Starting rotation is solid. Leadoff man is not an issue. They scored more runs last year then everyone I believe. Or at least in top 2.
@themed
The Cubs are no good? Never have been? Window just slammed shut?
Sounds like wishful thinking from a Cubs hater. Cubs will be good yet again
Bite me your a idiot
Clearly you didn’t watch baseball last year. The Brewers finished a game out of a wild card spot. The Brewers pitching is also much better than the Marlins with Nelson, Anderson and Davies and they have been in talks with Darvish and Arrieta. Their bullpen is also much better.
Did you not watch baseball last year? The Brewers finished a game back of the second Wild Card spot. Also, the Brewers have a much better rotation with Nelson, Anderson and Davies and they have been in talks with Arrieta and Darvish. The Brewers also have a much better bullpen than the Marlins.
Then*, other’s
Because BigClownfan is a D-bag
Let’s get real man … Broxton and or Santana will disappear for starting pitching so let’s not be naive
What’s to be scared about? Braun or Santana will be benched or traded.. they had a 3rd baseman that had a big year, let’s see him do it again. Thames won’t start off like he did last year. Brewers have one decent guy in the pen and a couple decent starters. Whoopty Doo.. brewers lose power also. Cubs will average 5+ runs a game. Especially if one of schwarber/Russell/heyward bounce back, if more than one then it’s game over
Bencole while you have a valid point their hitting metrics should see an uptick playing in Milwaukee compared to Miami and KC.
Yes they are and I love it!!!
Heyward won’t bounce back, these past 2 seasons are exactly the player he is- what God awful contract it is nice to see Cubs fans scared and trying to convince everyone otherwise
Ha ha. Respect not scared. Brewers made two good moves. Nats dodgers diamondbacks are solid as well . Cards always play cubs tough as well. It’s up to theo to do his magic. Need darvish or Cobb. Congrats to Brewers. Let’s play two .
Geejohnny – I agree with you
Yelich is fantastic. Don’t downplay his slash line, which is really good. Remember that he had better road splits and that he played in a pitchers park. The numbers should be better in Miller Park.
Don’t get me wrong. I still think the Cubs are better. I base most of that on the second half. I think the Cubs were closer to their second half selves. And the Brewers were closer to their second half selves as well. But these moves make the Brewers much better than they were. If Shaw and Thames continue to hit it the middle, then they should give the Cubs a run.
As a Cubs fan, I also like what Milwaukee is doing. But let’s not get silly. Braun is mostly untraceable so Santana has to be the one that goes if they want anything back. But that’s tricky because his clock is ticking, and his cost control doesn’t line up with a lot of rebuilds. Also keep in mind that the Cubs struggled to move outfield prospects for young, cost controlled starters. So it’s not like Santana on his own is going to bring back a game changer. My first call, if I were the Brewers, would be to call the White Sox. They have a surplus of young pitching, a window that has moved up, and a need for a corner outfielder in their system (unless you believe in Avi Garcia.) Perhaps the Sox would be willing to listen on Lopez or Cease for Santana. Neither are sure things but both are about what id expect for Santana straight up.
Agreed he isn’t done. But what’s the reasonable expected return for Santana? He’s good and has potential to get better, but cost controlled starting pitching is significantly more valuable than Santana alone.
Not scared in the slightest. As a Cubs fan, I was most worried about LA and Washington. That’s still the case. Brewers improved for sure, but if the Cubs can’t beat the Brewers then they weren’t going to beat LA or Washington anyway …
That’s simply untrue. Cubs rotation of Hendricks, Lester and Q is considerably better than the Brewers rotation. Love Davies, though. He’s got some serious upside. But Anderson is an average pitcher who had some great stretches last year. And Nelson is a 4 on the Cubs at best. Keep in mind when talking snout last year – Hendricks missed 1/3 of the year. Q was only around half the season. And by the time both were in healthy and in the rotation, Arrieta was injured. The Cubs didn’t go through any stetfch of the season with anything more than 3 qualify healthy starters.
Bitter giants fan.
Yellich needs to hot more flyballs to hit more homeruns. He’s an extreme groundball hitter.
So what? It’s a fn blog about baseball ! It’s not a college English class
They should have better numbers in that ballpark in Milwaukee ! But I still think they need some pitching. They will be very competitive though. Good luck Brewers!
I was replying to the major douche nozzle BigsCubsFan!
My man hit ’em with the rare and elusive DOUBLE *your…impressive!
I agree with Cain not being an offensive superstar but not with Yelich. Keep in mind he played in arguably one of the most spacious parks in baseball last year. Over the last two seasons he has averaged 19HR and 90RBI with a .290 average and .370 OBP. A move to Milwaukee will only help his HR totals and even so .290-19-90 with a .370 OBP and 15 SB is better than quality. Especially when you factor in his defense in LF now.
How that depth doing in Chicago? lol, they’re an injury to Bryant or Rizzo away from being a .500 team. Pen is a joke. They HAVE to make moves now or else they’re going to get left in the dust.
Brinson and Diaz don’t even move the needle for the Brewers farm, I can’t believe they didn’t give up Ortiz in that trade. Their farm is deep and they have so many young solid players.
Cubs fans are bummed? Haha. About not getting two guys they weren’t connected to?
talk about hyperbole…
A team that has won over 90 games each of the past 3 season is an injury away from a .500 team? If you know about WAR, even MVP candidates like Bryant only add 7-8 wins a season. Good for Brewers fans that they have a good farm, they are copying the Cubs’ success, but as you can see from the 2011-2014 Cubs, prospects won’t help you win games during the season. I’m not panicking. Yes, Yelich and Cain are good players, but how many wins will they add to the team combined? 5-8 maybe. And as long as you are talking about Bryant and Rizzo getting injured there is no guarantee Brewers players won’t get injured.
8 wins would’ve won the Central last year for the Brewers
Brinson didn’t move the needle for the brewers farm…wow
Cubs also took 100 games off last year. Probably to make the brewers think they are closer than they really are, then the brewers go out and blow their farm system on a overrated outfielder and blow their money on a 1 tool whose tool is aging rapidly.
They were those many wins from taking first place last year. So for you to not think it makes a difference shows how delusional you are. You guys got your ring. Time to go back to being irrelevant
You’re funny.
Maybe taking 100 games off will be their M.O.
Blow their farm system? Pretty sure they still have 4 top 100 prospects to the cubs 0. The fact that you are saying the cubs took 2/3 of the season “off” is also a joke. Don’t get me started on a controllable bat like Yelich being overrated either. You saline salty to me.
Their team doesn’t revolve around Bryant and Rizzo if let’s say Rizzo gets hurt. It’s simple Bryant plays 1st. Baez goes to 3rd Russell goes to short and Happ or Zobrist plays 2nd. Still with that infield its a top 5 infield. They’re top 3 with Bryant, Russell, Baez and Rizzo 3rd to 1st.
And even with someone like La Stella or Happ they’re still a top 7 or 8 infield .
Everything you said is incorrect.
Oh injured you mean like their ace pitcher? Yelich and cain don’t pitch just remember that
Like
Top 100 prospects have never won a World Series in the minors, the Indians were struggling and turned it on in the second half because of the hangover…yelich is a controllable bat, and that’s what he is, maybe an all star every other year but no superstar, Milwaukee adds a front of the rotation starter and they look good on paper…on paper a lot of teams look good including the cubs
Rizzo,Bryant Baez, Russell, Schwarber are all mvp candidates. Their infield alone could easily have 100 homeruns between them. Hell between KB , Rizz, scwarbs, that could be 150 right there. Add 30 each from Happ, Baez, Contreras and Russell. They’ll have no problems winning the NL Central
Wait a minute. The Cubs won 92 games in 2017. Losing Kris Bryant is losing 6 WAR. Thus Cubs would be at 86 wins. Let’s argue the Brewers added more WAR with the additions of Yelich and Cain. This now vaults the Brewers over the Cubs in this scenario.
Another thing to think of. Have the Cubs gotten better than 2017? Many fans say they underachieved in 2017. Maybe they overachieved in 2016?
Bryant and Rizzo are mvp candidates****
I fixed that sentence for you thatballwasbryzoed
Which one is the catcher?
Schwarber is utter trash, lol why can we all see it but you?
Big whoop 30 homers in 2017. Dude is a butcher in the field and there’s dozens of hitters better than him.
The Cubs got a one tool also, his name is Schwarber.
skip bayless? is that you?
Lester isn’t declining and looks more like a weak #2. Quintanas is a 3 always has been. No clue what Hendricks is do to madden being a whack job of a manager. Madden practically manages his way out of wins in the post season, most overrated manager in the game. Anyone on this message board could get the cubs to 85 wins with all that depth and talent. Cubs 90 wins seems like the ceiling In 2018
Schwarber is not a mvp candidate
This has to be the dumbest comment I’ve read all day. Congrats…now go punch yourself in the throat about 5 times
@ pullhitter you’re contradicting yourself. if anyone on this board could get the cubs to 85 wins with all of their “depth and talent” then how is 90 wins their ceiling? plus Q has averaged 4.5 WAR since becoming a full time starter. he’s closer to an ace than a 3. i bet you’re one of those people who thinks Chris Archer is better
Schwarber as MVP candidate? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
It was a bit of an overpay for Yelich but he had a down year and still was more productive then what the Brewers got last year. Add in the fact that Cain is hitting .300, has been a defensive stud (albeit not as stellar but still strong), top notch baserunning, and solid pop for a guy that was hitting at Kauffman combines to make your comment sound beautifully asinine and only makes you look stupid. I’m not even a brewers fan but credit is due, even if you are a butt hurt Cubs fan.
With a killer infield defense like that, Chatwood’s career 58% gb rate and .195 opponent average outside of Coors should theoretically lead to him posting an even lower ERA than the 2.57 mark he put up with the Rockies across the last 3 seasons.
I’m not saying he will, but the numbers do (he also has a career ERA under 2.00 against the whole NL central when pitching away from coors).
@Northsidecrossrifles in my opinion cubs have not addressed there issues that prevented them from repeating as World Series champs. The bullpen is still garbage and expect real regressions from morrow. No closer is a problem also, Davis should have been resigned. If you look at the numbers in depth you can notice Lester is headed towards a decline in performance but I could be completely wrong about him. A starting pitching staff with question marks on who is the real ace and if chatwood is capable of getting north of 175IP because madden loves his starters to log innings. I question the cubs pitching as a whole and if new pitching coach can get this staff to excel in 2018. Will see who they sign to round out the rotation but as it stand today I don’t see this team exceeding 90 wins or winning a World Series. I’m a fan of Quintana but he’s a low end 2 solid 3 in a good rotation. Archer is a quality starter and would have to see the numbers to fairly evaluate who is better statistically. You probably wish the cubs didn’t trade archer for Matt Garza. Another reason 90 win ceiling is where I have them is because no leadoff hitter and they thrived when they had Fowler setting the table. Adam Eaton would have been great for the cubs. I think they should allow Almora the opportunity in spring training to leadoff and he should get far more playing time than madden prevents him from having. Lastly zobrist, heyward, and schwarber all drag the cubs down. Zobrist takes time away from happ, heyward blows and is one of theirs worst moves ever next to Edwin Jackson, schwarber defensively is a liability will see how Jenny Craig worked out for him.
You are panicking. You been on red alert with all the brewers signings. You also posted in a article that had nothing to do with the brewers saying the brewers are still not post season contenders.
see my above comment on the bullpen. you saying its garbage shows me you haven’t done your research
@ pull chatwood also has the 2nd best road ERA in the NL over the last 2 years. get him and his nearly 60 percent groundball rate out of coors and behind the league’s best defense and watch out
Schwarber got 1.7 War out of his arm I believe. Basically gave him a zero war in the field. He also hit .279 after the 10 days in the minors… I understand why people are down on him but I think they’ll be back up on him fast.
the matt garza trade as nothing to do with 2018. why even bring it up unless you’re trying to misdirect attention bc you know you can’t win the argument on merit alone. the fact that you don’t even know chris archer’s numbers is showing everyone your out of your element, and your basing viewpoints off of hot takes…. as for lester being on the decline, you very well may be right. however, if you remove his two starts prior before going on the DL, his numbers were much more in line with his career numbers, and he doesn’t need a lot of velocity to succeed. plus he performed well against superior competition in the playoffs. is he a borderline ace anymore? no, probably not. but can you expect solid production and 25 plus starts with a plethora of post season experience? you bet your behind you can
schwarber is rated around average by UZR and DRS. he has made a few bad plays im huge games, but he isn’t as horrific out there on a daily basis. the numbers back that up. he also has a cannon that helps offset some of his limitted defensive skills. also, he’s only had a couple years of reps in the outfield (he caught and DH’d mostly in the minors, and was rushed up bc of his bat). as a former outfielder myself, to start to track balls with your instincts, it takes years of practice and he just hasn’t had enough reps, plus he missed nearly all of 2016 with that horrific knee injury. he still wasn’t fully healthy last year, and he’s finally recovered from the effects. he also had a 894 OPS after being recalled from Iowa, so he will pleasantly (or not so pleasantly) surprise you this year
What?
hahahahaha. top 5 infield…ok. Russell isn’t very good. weak arm for shortstop and offense isn’t too great. arcia is way better at short that Russell. if they were smart they’d trade him and put Baez at short. yeah both guys are show offs but they bring excitement.
@appbrew you realize russell isn’t the only guy in their infield? even if he was seen around the league as “not very good” which he most certainly is not, they still have a couple guys named Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras, and Javy Baez. plus Ben zobrist and Ian Happ backing them up. You insinuating that’s not top 5 is showing everyone you can’t objectively assess baseball. Also, outside of Willson, and possibly Rizzo, all those aformentioned names still have room for growth. to act like Russell is a finished product at 23 is a pretty big stretch. lets see what he can do without the off the field distractions of his now ex wife behind him, plus a healthy year. he missed two months due to injury, and had a 274/340/504 slash line upon returning. not saying he’s ever going to get there, but he still has a sky high ceiling, and progression isn’t always linear
Lol really? Take the best player off any team and of course there is going to be a difference in the W-L column. Good observation on that one.
The Cubs had a lot go wrong a year ago and didn’t come close to hitting their stride til about the 90 game mark. That’s not an opinion. It’s a fact. Stats and record prove it. Maybe it happens again, but I wouldn’t bank on that…
Ffs guys. This isn’t how WAR works … you don’t replace a 2 WAR player with a 6 WAR player and add 4 wins to your record …
Schwarber was trash in first half for sure. But he was also coming off a mostly 18 month layoff. It’s like people ignore that fact. The guy hasn’t even had a full season of at bats in his big league career. He played in 4 games in 2016 before tearing up his knee and then made four starts in the World Series. But hey- trash him because he didn’t come back from that layoff and crush it … and hey, just ignore the .894 ops and .306 ISO he put up in the second half …
BP is volatile and can’t be judged in the offseason. Who’d have thought Duensing would have the year he had? Who’d have thought that Morrow would be a stud for the Dodgers? Anyone think Melancon was going to be hot garbage for SF? For real guys, you can’t predict the quality of a pen…
Even a pen that goes through 162 games looking dominant can blow up in October kinda like how LAs got destroyed in the WS…
Russell is among leaders in uzr and dwar… so forgive me for not taking your opinion seriously since it goes against unbiased data.
justinept: Absolutely. In addition, manager Joe Maddon did Kyle Schwarber no favors in naming him the Cubs leadoff hitter to open the 2017 season. Just because Schwarber had shown a propensity for getting on base was not reason enough to ask him to perform a role he had never done as a professional before.
Schwarber’s power and hit tool suggest he would be an ideal middle of the order hitter. Although limited, his best MLB numbers have come when he has hit in the #5 or #6 slots of the batting order, something that definitely would work with the Cubs lineup in 2018.
*Zobrist, not Willson
I’m not among those who think Schwarber’s struggles in any way were related to him being the leadoff hitter. There’s nothing that proves he approached hitting leadoff any differently than he approaches an at-bat in the 4th inning…
justinept: Schwarber’s .200/.315/.387 triple slash and his less than preferred skills as a base runner are proof enough for me that he ought not be a leadoff hitter. His numbers in the #2 role aren’t much better.
On the other hand, Schwarber’s .273/.368/.667 line in the #5 slot and the .292/.346/.479 metric he has produced at #6 spot are more than enough to suggest that is exactly were he should be hitting for the Cubs in 2018. His prolific numbers in the minors also came as a middle of the order hitter.
Why wouldn’t the Cubs want to utilize Schwarber’s power in a spot affording more RBI opportunities? The same could be argued in the case of Kris Bryant who is better served batting cleanup than in the #2 slot. And which front office geek suggested to Maddon that Ben Zobrist was a good idea as the Cubs #4 hitter last season when he has always profiled as the ideal MLB #2 hitter as a switch-hitter with great patience and contact skills to match?
What’s more even disconcerting is that “Genius” Joe Maddon has already suggested that he may give Schwarber yet another opportunity to prove himself in the #1 spot this spring. Talk about being stubborn to a fault….
Btw: Kyle Schwarber also boasts an even worse .182/.289/.242 triple slash leading off in the first inning and a not much better line of .203/.299/.386 batting first in any inning. So why in the world would Maddon even suggest Schwarber as his leadoff hitter in 2018?
Maybe this is all coincidence but it sure appears as if Schwarber has changed his approach or is trying too hard to justify Maddon’s faith in him as a leadoff hitter. Time to leave well enough alone and put the man in a role he is accustomed to as a middle of the order power hitter.
looool look at the insecure Cubs fans popping up. THEY SCARED!!
lol look at all the fair weather Brewers fans
To use your analogy, they are one Bryant or rizzo away from being hurt and if they are worth 8 war like you said(90 win team) doesn’t that make them a 500 hundred team. 90-8 equals 82-80
hahaha says the cubs fan
You’re an idiot. Brewers fan base has always been strong. Cubs fans are insufferable
Truly they cant handle other teams getting attention. Least humble fans, which is wierd considering.
Fair weather Brewers fans?! Oh the irony of hearing that from a cubs fan
Seriously. You think one ring In 100 years would humble them a bit.
Cause all cubs fans are 100 years old? Such a played out idiotic argument…American sports are all about what have you done for me lately, and the brewers have won the day…but they haven’t taken anything from the cubs or the cardinals for that matter, it’ll be a great 3 team division this year and for anyone to count anyone out is short sighted at best
All about what have you done for me lately? NFL, maybe a little. NBA, yeah, maybe. But baseball?? Baseball is all about tradition! No other sport comes close to baseball in terms of reverence for it’s past.
Defensive much? The team that needs to be scared is your Cardinals, pal.
Cub fans are softer than the pretzels at the concession stands….this fan base is fragile
Tradition would exclude the cubs from winning the World Series when they did, and would exclude your team from using new age analytics…..the Yankees aren’t spending money, the marlins are selling dollars for pennies…there is nothing traditional about baseball anymore, if your an amped up brewers fan its because of what they have done lately
Tradition would exclude the cubs from winning the World Series when they did, and would exclude your team from using new age analytics…..the Yankees aren’t spending money, the marlins are selling dollars for pennies…there is nothing traditional about baseball anymore, brewers fans weren’t this amped yesterday, so what have the brewers done for their fans lately? They won the day
You’re just jealous that you need to come North for a good drunken tailgate and a good beer. Keep drinking the Old Style.
Native Wisconsinite here and I can attest to the fact that if the Brewers fall even a little out of the wild card race their fans will drop the season like a hot potato and start changing every baseball conversation to mock fantasy football drafts (this will even happen in late June or July)
It’s annoying as h*ll because baseball is the only sport I like and the average Wisconsinite treats baseball as something to pass the time in between football seasons.
Sad to say but you’re absolutely right. Miller Park is like a tomb when the Brewers are out of it in September and especially on a Sunday and the Packers have a noon game.
Fair weather Cubs fan? How so? We sell out Miller Park whether the Brewers are good or not …
Brewers were Top 10 in MLB in attendance last year.
Brewers could trade for Kershaw altuve and Posey and this guy would still say the brewers aren’t going to win the division
….They wouldnt. Do you even realize how good the Cubs are. Their depth is insane.
Please
maybe 3 years ago. Your farm is empty. You’re seriously saying that the brewers adding 3 MVPs wouldn’t make a difference? Are you that dense?
@bryzzo44017
You do realize that the Cubs outfield is not very good. Definitely in the lower 15 in the sport. They could use two true outfielders themselves and their rotation is a little weaker than last season already. Coming from a non-NL Central fan.
Name their depth. That’s their weakest element, other than that trashpile of a bullpen. If Bryant gets hurt they might as well go into sell mode, lol
(I’m trying to be as annoying as Cubs fans are on here, is it working?)
You don’t need any help from Cub fans to be annoying. Doin’ fine on your own.
Really???? How deep is that farm now???? Ranked 27th by Baseball America. If the Cubs are going to make any significant moves, the players will have to come from the major league roster my friend. No players in the top 100 minor leaguers and all their “pitching depth” is in Rookie or Low A. I know you are a Cub fan and entitled to a bias opinion, but those are the facts.
bryzzo, don’t be that much of a homer. we all know that those trades would never happen, but that would add 15 WAR give or take, and address 3 weaknesses on their roster in catcher, an Ace, and 2b. They would be the division favorites
The bullpens of STL, CHC and MIL were all pretty even last year, and Davis has been replaced by Morrow and Cishek.
Do you think Davis had such an ungodly season that he’s better than a very solid ground-ball pitcher with closing experience who will be playing behind a great infield defense and a guy who didn’t give up a single home run in 43 innings last year?
They got those guys for the same price as Davis, and with 1 year less commitment.
As a life long diehard cubs fan…they might pal…lots of outfielders in the minors to make a move for a starter and we have the most expensive auto out in the majors in right field holding us back from adding high caliber starting pitching
The Cubs have 35 million available. Nobody is holding them back from signing anybody.
Yet, none of the big names have signed with them, or anyone else til Cain.
Which means they’re still available.
Agree totally. It was a terrible day for the Brewers. They totally destroyed the momentum they had going and totally lost their minds on two bad transactions. Top prospect is gone, now they have an instant bad contract for the next five years. Incredible.
When I first read your message my first thought was crack is a bad drug my friend, but neither usnor the team will know how things pan out untill the season is done. I believe the trade was worth it. The past trades sterns has pulled off have been so far successful. We pretty much robbed the redsox for Shaw, and made some other good pickups. In Sterns we trust!
Their best prospect is gone..for a guy name Yelich. Who is better. Good work champ.
I like the players that the Brewers got but they overpaid for both. I get it, though, that they were going to pay more for Yellich due to his contact. He’ll be a financial steal for what he brings to the team but once I saw Harrison’s name added to the list, I wasn’t happy. And Cain is 32 and we sign him for 5? Yeeeesh. We’ve not had a very good history with long contracts nor older players.
But, both Yellich and Cain will be solid offensive producers and defensive upgrades but unless they have some other solid moves yet to come, such as a good starting pitcher, I think the cons will outweigh the pros. I’ll wait on that because they certainly can’t be done with all these outfielders. Can we dream about someone taking on Braun’s contract? Lol
Certainly, time will be the judge on these moves. After all, I didn’t like what we gave up for CC Sabbathia but we only gave up one good player, which was more of a throw in guy, Bradley.
Then again, we traded for Greinke and they all turned out good.
Perhaps the Brewers will trade for Odorizzi and Escobar? Lol
Mike Cameron had two very productive years in center field for the Brewers at ages 35 and 36, which would be the last two years of Cain’s contact.
Haha teams just don’t seem to learn. They stay in contention for a little bit than they think they’re so close to winning it all so what do they do the following offseason? Spend big money dump some good farm guys only to be let down. Not gonna lie that outfield on paper looks stacked but c’mon now hahaha it’s the brewers they ain’t going nowhere
It’s too early to tell for sure, but many great teams have built a young core like the Brewers have and then sign FA’s and trade prospects for veteran leadership and skill..
I’m no expert but I’m pretty excited as a baseball fan to see the moves they make next and they they compete next season (remember how close they were to the WC last year).
If the Cubs don’t hit and pitch better than last year, the Brewers will pass them. If they add a quality TOR pitcher, they may be my pick to make a WS appearance this year.
@ Chisox hitting wasn’t the issue in the regular season. the cubs scored 822 runs, second in the NL to only the rockies who scored 824. lets be real, if last years cubs team teed off at coors 81 games a year, their numbers would look insane. the hitting next year doesn’t need to improve
Cubs fans were heading for the parking lot in the last game of the series with the Dodgers because they fell behind by seven runs. When that happens after the third inning hitting is a big problem.
@ caseys partner do you even know what you’re saying? if anything, your comment suggests pitching is much more of an issue. regardless of how good or bad your offense is, if you’re down 7 runs early you aren’t coming back. but if you want to ignore the 162 game sample size in favor of one game in a post season series (which tend to be randomized), be my guest. anyone who pays attention to baseball knows that the larger the sample size, the more legitimate
They were facing Kershaw too
In 2016 no Cubs fan left any of the postseason games early when the Cubs fell behind. The Cubs won with their bats and defense, not pitching.
K.C. won with their lineup, Houston won with their lineup. That’s how you get the trophy.
Kershaw has sucked in the postseason, doesn’t scare any lineup who can swing the bats.
no casey, the cubs also won with their picthing. you can’t have your pitchers not perform and expect to win the world series. FYI, the cubs bats were shut out 4 times in the playoffs that year. The cubs pitching also held their opponents to 3 runs or less in 8 of those post season games, but it was ONLY their bats and defense right?
Neck ass
lol! you better hope heyward plays to his contract, schwarbar hits above 190, lester continues to not age, and your closer equals wade davis type production without any injuries and players taking a step back.
This comment isn’t biased at all.
NL Cebtral may end up being the most competitive 3-team race. With their deep farm system, they seem to be in a great position to acquire a pitcher like Archer for Santana, Ray, Hader/Suter, + pitching prospect based on if Hader or Suter.
Brewers stilllllll won’t win the NL Central.
Get Darvish, complete the trifecta
Not a Brewers fan but Respect.
^Supper surprised they overpaid Cain instead of locking down Darvish.
Super *
God help the Pirates and the Reds.
What the hell is going on on Milwaukee? Jesus Christ.
Now if HE joined the Brewers, they just might win the NL Central… probably the World Series, too.
Jesus plays first base but it’s a different Jesus. If we had the one you are mentioning he would most definitely be our #1 and 2 pitcher as he could pitch with both arms as well as lead off hitting.
Woah!
Lmaooooo this is great !!!!!! They are taking aim at the cubbies big time now. Will another trade follow this ?
Waiting for those Cubs fans to claim their outfield is so superior!
Nope, the Cubs outfield is not superior, but the rest of their team is. I’m not going to pretend the race hasn’t tightened, but anyone who thinks the Brewers became the NL Central favorites is delusional.
Scared.
Wrong
Favorites? No I agree. But that spread just moved from 6 games last year to 2-3.
According to fangraphs, they are still 3rd in the division. Cubs, Cards and Brewers.
And when has Fangraphs ever been right about how games are played on the field? The Brewers now have the ability to acquire a frontline starter as they can now trade one of Santana or Broxton (or even both) and/or prospects to get pretty much any starter they want.
And, whether any Cubs fans want to admit it, they’re losing Arrieta and that puts the Brewers an ace away from being the favorites to win the division. The Brewers could even conceivable sign Arrieta himself and that both gives them wins AND takes them away from the Cubs, so I’m not sure where all this “the Brewers have no chance” talk is coming from. The Cubs are losing wins by losing Arrieta.
Is that the same Fangraphs who said the Mets and Giants would be the NL wild card teams in 2017?
So according to Fangraphs let’s just not even play out the season and go directly to October? Dumbest rationale for an opinion. “According to fangraphs…”
Preach! That’s why you play the game.
@ allrise so we should completely disregard fangraphs because they’re always wrong about results? that’s what you’re saying, and its asinine
@ casey their lead writer is now in charge of the padres analytics department, and a lot of their staff has went onto work within mlb front offices. i don’t always agree with all of their work, but to disregard them or refer to them as “autistic pus sies” shows you’re lost in the sauce. they provide the most in depth analysis a fan can get outside of grabbing beers with an actual GM. they don’t just vomit out hot takes like you tend to do
we’re not going to come to any middle ground where fangraphs is concerned, so i’ll drop it since its futile.
however, that sucks you got banned. they should encourage alternate viewpoints. I got banned from bleacher report 3 years ago for debating their “writers” and exposing their limitted points of view. banning someone bc you disagree with them, regardless of how bad their views appear, is cowardice and un-American.
@hollywoodproducer
None of your comments in that post involve baseball. You realize that right?
You only get banned when you’re rude and disrespectful, and judging by the tone of your comments here, it’s hardly surprising that you were shown the door.
I think this puts them closer to the cards. They still need to add Darvish, or another quality starter, plus address second base and potentially catcher as well before they’re on the cubs level. With that being said, two qualiry moves for the crew. Its nice to see them going for it. Looking forward to hosting you guys at wrigley again this year
Padres should swing a trade for Phillips or santana. More likely phillips but still eithee fits their time table to compete. Love cordero but i think santana and phillips would be major upgrades
Why? They have enough OF’s as it is.
They do, but santana and or phillips i feel have a higher ceiling than dickerson cordero jankowski or pirela do.
That’s a severe understatement. Frankly, neither of those 4 Padres come close to Santana’s ceiling. Phillips’ ceiling is much more attainable.
Did you not read the whole comment? He said they are “major upgrades.”
It’d be smarter to just roll with what they got and see if Pirela et al are keepers or not.
To be fair I did edit comment while he was posting.
I don’t think that Santana fits the timeline Phillips does though
They aren’t trading Phillips or Santana. They’re probably gonna trade Braun for a starting pitcher and a prospect.
Braun has literally no trade value at his age with his contract, coupled with the fact he’s still widely viewed as a villian for lying multiple times about PEDs, getting off on a technicallity, and getting a man fired. Milwaukee would have to eat nearly all of his remaining contract to get anything of value in return, let alone a decent starter and an interesting prospect. right now ryan braun gets you ian kennedy, or wei men chen or another overpaid, over the hill starter. a braun deal just isn’t feasible unless the crew eats a ton of salary, which doesn’t seem likely. some combination of domingo santana, phillips, and broxton will be the pieces on the move
He has a no trade clause, I thought.
Brewers have no need for the Padres garbage players.
WHAT!?! IT’S CHRISTMAS ALL OVER AGAIN!
That was quick
Incredible. Cubs fans are bummed – they gotta do something now.
But back to this signing and trade: hey, they’re both better than all Milw OFers! An upgrade is still an upgrade!
About what?
The Cubs have already made moves.
They will likely add another pitcher.
Good for the Brewers, but the Cubs are not reacting to them
The Cubs didn’t quite make up for offseason losses yet.
No. No we’re not.
what’s your obsession with cubs fans?
Oh my lord
crazy
Oh my goodness. Stove went from off to 400 just like that. Wow. What a day for the Brew Crew.
Is MLB adding a 4th OF that we don’t know about lol
Brewers are gonna be raww in the outfield
Yelich-Cain-Braun/Santana/Broxton as a 5th OF. lol, stackedddddd
Pham fowler Ozuna is still best in the NL central
that’s highly debatable
Were you the guy in my neighbor hood that was selling drugs?
Pham and Ozuna both finish top 10 in NL MVP please don’t question what I said above
thats a debate now. but its close
Man u got your foot on 1st and it’s a looooooong stretch to get to where your point is
We gave up too much for Yelich though.
You gave up basically nothing. Brinson probably won’t be as good as Yelich.
Yelich damn might win an MVP now he’ll be on a conteder. Milwaukee doing thangssss
It would be fine if Yelich didn’t make it public he didn’t want to be there, when a guy does that you can get them cheaper than what we gave up. Overall if that didn’t happen, I like the trade.
Brinson isn’t even that good and he’s only a year younger than yelich. To think you gave up too much is stupid and
He’s 2.5 years younger. Also, Milwaukee gave up three other players, and they’re picking up Yelich’s salary (which, although a bargain, still constrains MIL’s budget far more than Brinson’s 550k would).
Oh so its a bad trade? But its a good trade too? As long as some dumb comment was not made by Yelich? So because he said he wanted out then what? You think you get to keep Brinson then.
Probably didn’t need to give up Harrison
Hahaha calm down I doubt he’ll ever win an mvp
No they didn’t. Not for an OFer who won’t be a FA until 2023. They didn’t give up Burnes, Woodruff, or Ortiz either
Which you can recoup value trading phillips and santana. Signing cain means braun cain yelich in the OF with broxton as the 4th OF.
They can trade Santana for a good return- id offer anderson episonza, jose pirela to play 2B, Jacob Nix, and Luis Almanzar
no! no you didnt!
Brewers going crazy!
Will Santana be delt for a staring pitcher ?
According to rumors not much interest in him so unless you include prospects maybe get a #3/4 starter back for just him
Braun to 1B might be a thing, huh
Thames might be the odd guy out in all of this.
Either that or Santana goes for pitching. Broxton/Phillips also decent trade chips, plus Ray, Clark (or whatever his name is now), etc
Thames and Broxton to Royals for Danny Duffy?
Why would the Royals do that deal? Doesn’t help them to rebuild.
Guess I found my bandwagon team for the year! As long as they aren’t the reason my Rockies miss the playoffs, I’m excited for the Brewers this year!
They were solid last season and have improved today. Wouldn’t be surprised to seen them make a run at the wild card/division
Blew it after the break unfortunately…
Brewers doin’ work tonight!
Wonder what SP they’ll add… at some point…(maybe later on tonight)
The Brewers are totally choking the offseason. They were in position and just flubbed it all away.
^ Scared Cubs fan
fair weather Brewers fans
hahaha Cubs fans calling Brewers fans fair weather. Kettle? It’s Pot.
Not sure who you are bravo but you find nice opportunities to tango Charlie.
as a die hard cubs fan, we certainly have our share of fair weather fans. but i haven’t noticed near as many as i expected since we’ve become contenders again. we’ve got one of the largest and most widley spread fanbases in the nation. i’ve lived in several regions in the country, and i currently live 3 blocks from wrigley field. i haven’t noticed a huge influx of bandwagon fans. maybe you guys have, but there’s always been a ton of us, and we’re everywhere
^ Cub fan in denial that the Brew Crew is an actual threat to them, and that they’re not #1.
Assuming “they’re not #1” is referring to the Cubs in the division, you contradicted yourself. Saying the Brewers being a threat would have to mean the Cubs are in fact ahead of them.
I’m referring to The Cubs as #1 in the NL or MLB, and not just the NL Central.
Trolls never win a pennant.
Enlighten us with your infinite baseball knowledge and explain how.
CUBS FANS JUST CRAPPED THEIR PANTS HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
How? If I’m a Cubs fan I’m rolling on the floor laughing right now.
hate all you want on this move but it only improves the team this year
And why is that?
Sure you are…Brewers are a legitimate threat to the cubs now and aren’t done making moves yet
Brewers def upgraded today. But like I said earlier – the Cubs slept through half a season and still won 90 games last year. They were without their best pitcher and their starting short stop for half the season. And they still won 90 games …
Dude they are sooooo hurt right now, it’s hilarious.
If Bryant or Rizzo miss any time they’re basically a .500 team, what a weak pen they have right now, betta call Holland! lolll
You can say that about any team losing its two best players for any amount of time in a season.
How are they “sooo hurt”? There’s nobody in their core that is expected to miss the start of the season or dealing with injury issues.
If Yelich or Cain miss any time, they’re basically a .500 team.
They are s .500 team if they stay healthy. The Cardinals are better.
Until the Cards have to bring in their lame-@ss closer.
Thanks for the repeat of what you said earlier so I’ll comment again. If you take the best player off any team it will affect the W-L. That is a really good observation.
Two major transactions in this market – and only an hour apart?!!! I’m about to have heart failure
A quiet Thursday afternoon escalated quickly.
Oh my. Wow.
Rumors now that Brewers are close to a deal for JD Martinez
They gotta be moving someone for pitching.
My guess is Santana is dealt in the next week.
Thames might be gone too, if Braun is a full-time 1B now. Trade Thames and go grab Lind for a mill, boom
I would love to see Braun move to 1B and see Thames get dealt, even if it’s for prospects.
Thames trade eat 8 million of 12 million and we give you a mid-level career AA baller.
i don’t see anyone giving up anything of value for Thames. most contenders are pretty much set at 1st base, and they could sign someone instead of trade for him
If the Padres don’t get Hosmer I could see them checking in on Thames. Preller wanted him last year but he chose to sign with MIL instead.
Spangenberg for Thames.
Spangenberg starts at 2B for MIL, Thames starts at 1B and Myers moves to LF.
If the Brewers get Arrieta or Darvish, then they had a great offseason. If not it was a total nightmare.
That makes no sense
If you’re sincere with what you’re saying you’re a complete and utter moron
try a different sport; this one’s not for you
I’m not sure why you are getting downvoted. These moves really won’t have enough impact if the Brewers don’t also get a starter or even two. They need to make more moves or these ones were kind of a waste. Yelich is a long term piece for sure but you really don’t know what Cain is going to give in the last 3 years of that contract so it is more of a win now play.
They need to trade for a pitcher or sign one for sure.
Wow! This is the drunkest I’ve been I think I’m starting to imagine things.
Is it too late to become a brewers fan?
Come on in. The water’s fine.
^^^^ best comment of the day
lol this guy ^ may need a new username
The BEST team in the NL Central just got better. Ladies and Gentlemen your 2018 favorites to win the NL Central…. the Brewers.
This move with Yelich puts them so far beyond the Cubs at this point. This means there will likely be a tough battle between the Cardinals and Cubs for a wildcard because the Brewers are gonna run away with it. The Brewers are not even finished. I see them signing Darvish and possibly trading for Corbin. If for some reason Darvish chooses the Angels, Twins or Rangers I think the Brewers sign Cobb- a guy that has already said NO to the Cubs.
I think they took a step back with the Yelich trade by trading depth and then they just wasted their limited budget on a declining 32 year old outfielder.
Stop trolling. Your mom is calling you from upstairs. Might want to get up there to eat your Mac and cheese from a box.
Blake, you also like pre-shaken sodas and sitting in gum.
Blake, you’re standing on a box of denial, and about to fall onto the floor of reality that your Cubs aren’t the best team to ever grace the game of Baseball.
I’d say that’s a bit of a stretch. Just a bit.
I would hardly say that the Brewers are “far ahead of the Cubs”, they’ve improved their roster, sure, but I would not call them favorites to win the division
You sound confident. You should bet your house on it… just don’t come crying when you’re homeless come October.
You’re not even trying to hide your trolling at this point. Pretty sad hahahaha
what institution did you escape from ?
mlbtr warehouse
To say their the best team and they’re he division favorites is asinine. If the Cubs sign Darvish, their rotation is far superior to the Brewers and the Cubs infield is much better. I won’t pretend the Brewers didn’t improve themselves today, but it’s a bit premature to call them the better team.
*they’re*
Arcia will pass up Russell if he hasn’t already. Shaw’s a stud. Guessing Walker signing will happen any minute. Thames/Aguilar platoon combined hit 47 HR. Brewer infield will be fine.
Now call Darvish and Arietta up
Trade Braun to lad for a box of crackerjacks
Either Santana gets moved for a good starter or brawn to first base I would imagine
Braun to play First?
Brew Crew making moves
Teheran & Vizzy for Santana come on AA get on the phone
Nobody wants Teheran.
Santana for Teheran+ might be kinda interesting now.
Omg 5 years 80 million ? But whyyyyyy ?????? This is a bad contract smh. What were they thinking giving him this much ?
Cain at 16mm is not a bad deal. Milwaukee probably had to include the fifth year as a small market premium, but they got it done.
Draft board changes.
is there enough left for Archer??????
Santana for archer ?
Sure. Hiura+Burned is a good start. Dont think burning your rebuild to the ground after one 85 win season is very wise though
Sure the Brewers have enough to trade for Archer, but it will wipe out most of their remaining farm. I have a hard time seeing the Brewers moving just about all of their top prospects in one offseason, but it would make for some serious upgrades to a team that won 86 games last season.
Considering the control of their big league team, they could have the farm restocked in 3 years and still have the same team under control
5 Years, $80 Million for Cain
Isn’t it beat for the team to keep Santana and deal Braun? Or can they get more for Santana
Braun has a NTC, doubt he waives it if the Brewers are going all in
i’ll be missing my friend Brett Philips
Still won’t win in the Central trust
They will actually finish BELOW their 86 win total of last season.
Wow, $16 million per for the age 32-36 seasons of Lorenzo Cain. Unbelievable waste of $80 million dollars. You might get half a season of 2018 and that’s it. One of the worst days in Brewers history today.
By year 3 they will regret it. Cain is a solid player but not elite
It’s one of those instant bad contracts. These arent the Yankees. They can afford Ellsbury and other bad contracts. This is an organization that just wasted $80 million dollars resources that are absolutely crucial to their success.
It wouldn’t be as bad if brawn still wasn’t on the team but it is a bad contract no matter what
Wow.
A guy who is projected to be north of 3 fWAR in 2018 (approximate value of $27-30MM) is going to look BAD in the first 3 months of year 1? Whatever narcotic you are using I would recommend putting it down immediately.
Using standard age regression based off a starting point of 3.3 fWAR you could reasonably expect Cain to produce $103MM in value over the 5 years. That’s $20MM+ in surplus. And these aren’t some crazy projections. He’s only at 1.3 fWAR in his final year. Perfectly doable. And even starting him at 3.3 might be too low. He was at 4.1 last year and outside of a comparatively poor 2016, he has posted win values of 4.8 and 6.5 in his last 4 years. The guy has been amazing over the last 4 seasons.
To suggest that this is stupid or a waste is beyond silly. It may not work out (any contract can turn ugly) but this isn’t some stupid move. The Brewers have a decent chance of recouping ALL of their investment. That’s something that is all too uncommon in most long-term FA deals.
I really wish people would start thinking around here instead of trolling. Really hurts the community.
this isnt an elite contract…………………….?
It’s big money he shouldn’t get imo. That’s my point. He’s good but not that good
GM’s are smart, I don’t think Sterns expects 5 2017-level years pout of Cain. If Cain plays at that level for another 1-2 years and the Brewers make a solid playoff run then, while everyone will complain as he declines in his mid-30’s,they might consider it worth it
Cain is only getting $16mm, which is hardly what elite players get. Brewers paid for a solid player, and thats what they got.
You can’t say it’s the worst day in brewers history at this time considering you don’t know how he’ll perform and that they got Yelich
Haha 5 years 80 million!!! LMFAO
They outbid themselves
The Brewers are going to have a REALLY special offense. Their rotation could still use a little work, but I still like what they’re doing.
Hoping for the trifecta with an announcement of Darvish signing by the Brewers next. Cub fans will love this! Hahaha!
The Pirates picked a good time to retool.
Chump Change
Where were the jays
Love the name and hope it happens. But there’s no way any team was beating this offer
Wow good on the Brewers for being agressive. They’ll regret that contract 3 years down the road though.
So the Brewers add Boone Logan, Cain, Yelich, and the Jays add Diaz, Solarte and Grichuk and trade Leone. Much more work to do in Jay’s land.
Hey, Pirates, how’re you doing?
We’re doing great, we have shed the payroll to what should be about 85M. Making room to go after Machado and Harper next offseason.
Harper is only going to four possible teams next year: Nats, Cubs, Yankees, or Dodgers.
Phillies.
Machado too.
You can absolutely count the Giants in the mix. They still need a power hitting OF and were willing to spend the money necessary for Stanton. They have money to spend especially if they reset under the tax threshold this year. Count on them being heavy in the mix.
It will be interesting to see how their rotation holds up with Chacin and Gallardo. Chacin was terrible outside of Petco last season and Gallardo was just flat out terrible. I would hope that Milwaukee keeps Santana and figures out how to bolster their pitching staff with depth, if nothing else.
Gallardo, if he makes the team, will pitch out of the pen.
The brewers had so much leverage and they dump 80 million on Cain. I wasn’t expecting him to get this much. This completely changes how you feel about this signing
Yeah, in a matter of minutes, two transactions and they just destroyed all their leverage, gave away their position, for literally a decade.
I’m shocked, will help this year, but they’re going to regret these two moves. I love Yelich, but they gave up a lot.
But if The Cubs had given up Almora, Carintini, or Happ for Yelich, you would easily say that The Cubs won this deal.
I wouldn’t mind Braun hitting behind Freeman but I can’t see him waiving his NTC. But man I am wishing hard for Santana and I believe the Marlins will be moving Realmuto very soon wouldn’t mind takin Prafo’s contract back with him.
Wonder if the Braves got what it takes to pull Santana and still compete this year.
The Braves absolutely have arms that should interest Milwaukee. Allard maybe?
I feel like Santana is moving to first with Yelich Braun and Cain in the outfield. Santana is huge and has the body type for a prototypical first baseman. Thames ate ass second half may not be sold on him.
They say with the exception of Braun…. I wouldn’t doubt for a minute that he may be out.
I feel Milwaukee is going to pull off a trade for possibly Archer now. Good for Milwaukee on making some splashes. When teams in the division get better, it just forces the Cubs front office to not be as stagnant so in a way, thank you Milwaukee
A rational Cubs fan. Thank you. Looking forward to the summer already.
We are not all crazy. I still feel the Cubs will end up being the better team but it should be a three team race again this year. I can easily see all 3 making the playoffs
Cubs are still the team to beat in the Central, I agree. Brewers have improved greatly but still have a hole at 2B and there’s still what to do with Braun. Would love to see the Central being the best division in MLB again.
Yeah I kinda hate it when someone stereotypes an entire fan base. Doesn’t usually seem true and unnecessarily insults large amounts of people.
Not a Cubs fan btw.
This would seem to indicate a big NO on Darvish so I vote thumbs down.
Probably a trade for a pitcher that is going to hit their farm again.
Why the resistance to paying pitchers?
Cuz they are injured often and are less likely to live up to their contract
No, YOUNG pitchers are injured often and just disappear.
The Diamondbacks traded for Shelby Miller. Where is he?
The Diamondbacks signed Zack Geinke. Where is he?
They’re on the Diamondbacks…? Is this a trick question?
No, pitchers as a whole are injured more often and typically for longer duration than position players
Wow! The Brewers putting some serious heat on the Cubs in 2018 and beyond. Milwaukee has also been reported to be in on some of the remaining free agent starting pitchers including Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta. The Cubs would be wise to close a deal on one of those pitchers, particularly Darvish, before Milwaukee snatches one of them.
Lorenzo Cain would have also been a good fit with the Cubs as a potential top of the order hitter. More then ever, they need to secure one of the top remaining starting pitchers to not only counter the Brewers but also the Cardinals in the NL Central. More importantly, the Cubs need the upgrade to their rotation in order to match up better with the rotations in Washington and Los Angeles in the NL, to say nothing of the staffs that Cleveland and Houston boast in the AL.
Yelich to White Sox?
That ship has sailed, not that the White Sox were ever favorites to land Yelich in the first place.
I still maintain that the trade for the White Sox to make with Miami would be for Starlin Castro. He should come relatively cheaply in terms of prospects. The White Sox can easily add his remaining contract obligations. Castro could provide a solid bat and some athleticism at 3B while Jake Burger develops in the minors as well as give the White Sox another veteran trade chip over the next two seasons.
Castro has been a below average defensive middle infielder over his 8 year career but has the tools to become at least an average or plus glove at the hot corner. His bat would also play there, especially considering the current options on the White Sox roster that consists of Yolmer Sanchez, Tyler Saladino and Matt Davidson. Castro would also reunite with his former Cub Manager Rick Renteria as well as new White Sox starting catcher Wellington Castillo. Castro thrived under Renteria during his sole year as Cub manager back in 2014 after regressing the season before under Dale Sveum. Perhaps not coincidentally, so did slugging 1B Anthony Rizzo who also struggled in 2013 with Sveum at the helm.
Interesting… If both Castro and Milwaukee’s Santana are offered to White Sox, I’m not certain which is the best move. Castro seems like a risk, but maybe Ricky can straighten him out, plus the crosstown. I don’t know anything about Santana’s personality, just his numbers.
castro has a weak arm I don’t see him becoming a plus third baseman.
Weak arm? lol
Starlin Castro had high hopes as a proficient defensive MLB SS in the Cubs organization because of a solid arm, soft hands and above average range. His downfall had more to do with his baseball instinct/IQ and problems focusing at his position.
Castro wasn’t replaced by Addison Russell because of his arm. It’s every bit as good if not better than Russell’s. It’s Javier Baez who has the cannon among the three but Castro’s arm was not the problem at SS and would play plenty good at 3B.
As pedestrian as Castro’s overall defensive metrics have been at SS, his arm and range is superior to that of Yankee great Derek Jeter. That speaks volumes of how the Gold Glove Award was voted on in the past when the use of sabermetrics wasn’t as prevalent.
I hope the Brewers sign Arietta.
Me too
Brewers are on the hook now for Cain. They can still move Yelich. Why get aged FA pitching when you can go younger. Brewers are cat-bird. They can get a top mlb ready starter and relief now for the price of a non-mlb ready OF to Miami at the cost of Cain. Not bad really.
Love the Yelich deal but id bet this one blows up in their face.
Now need to trade for alex verdugo or trevor story or pitching help
Cain isn’t very smart is he? Going to a team guaranteed to finish 3rd the next 5 years. He’ll regret this immediately
The Pirates may emerge and bump them down to 4th in year 3.
@Bryzzoed
He’s $80mm smarter than either of us. And he has his ring. Who would have thought KC would take a title? They were never the favorite, either. Nice to see the Brewers making the market move.
“Guaranteed”. Nah never mind. Not going to waste anymore keystrokes. Carry on.
He just went to the highest bidder, I’d take the money too!!
Cain has $80 MM more than he had this morning. He’s smarter than you are.
Braun must have had another sample stored at the wrong temperature.
Brewers going for it
It was a terrible day for the Brewers. They totally destroyed the momentum they had going and totally lost their minds on two bad transactions. Top prospect is gone, now they have an instant bad contract for the next five years. Incredible.
I love the Yelich deal for the Brewers. Yes, they gave up Brinson, but I’d rather have a guy who has proven that he can post all-star level numbers who is controlled over the next five seasons at reasonable rates. It was the right move for the time. Cain was superfluous and something of an overpay.
Saying the same thing over and over again doesn’t make it any more correct. The Brewers might not be better next year, nobody knows. But these two acquisitions aren’t going to be the reason why. They make their team exponentially better and if you disagree you don’t know baseball or are trolling. You can’t possibly believe that a Braun, Santana, Broxton outfield with Thames at first is better than Yelich, Cain, Santana with Braun at first
@ BlakeC
There’s already 300 plus comments to read on this thread. Must you keep posting the same thing? It was wrong the first time. No need to repeat.
Lost in all this is the fact that Cain was originally drafted by and made his MLB debut with the Brewers.
Yep he was in the Greinke trade!
Maybe they use their remaining outfielders to trade for Archer?
For a team that was strong in the OF, today’s moves amaze me. Wonder what their plan is for pitching now. Santana is likely gone.
Time to take down the cubs
I’m just a cardinals fan scrolling through and you all troll cubs fans acting like it’s no biggy. LOL. FYI(brewers vs cards in nlds, mark my words)
Yawn. You Cards predictions have been boring for 3 years now. This year no different. If anyone should be scared it should be Card fans not Cub fans. That is reality
Ok cub fan LMFAO
so the brewers or the cards are going to win the NL?…
No. As much as i hate to say it the Cubs will probably still win it unless they implode. I don’t think cardinals have done enough and Milwaukee is taking steps to get even stronger. If the Cardinals change their toon and pick up a SP, or hell, even a proven closer other than Gregerson I might agree.
I dont know who is going to win the central (any of those teams could do it), but in order for the Cards and Brewers to play each other in the NLDS, one of those teams would have to be the best in the NL. I’m probably just feeding the troll here though
Wow. Didn’t see those coming. So obviously they gotta trade someone in their outfield right? I wonder if Braun is finally on the life after years of trade talks. I don’t think they should but it wouldn’t shock me.
This is a new look for the Brewers, if they land one of the top 4 pitchers they are contenders Now it’s all about pitcheing.
Wouldn’t be surprised if moves like this helped entice darvish or whoever to come to Milwaukee
MLB Trade Rumors had Cain at 4 years and $70 million. He got $10 million for his age 36 season. He’s not a good bet to be playing that year so he made out very well.
I don’t know why I bother reading comments. It’s always the same.
Knew it wouldn’t be Cleveland.
Waiting for the “brewers trade Ortiz and Santana for chris archer”
Probably would need another high prospect like woodruff, but thats what I am hoping
Wonder if Cain leads off
Cain
Yelich
Santana
Brawn
Shaw
Where is Braun or Santana playing? Gotta think Yelich is leadoff and Cain at 2 (or one could flip flop them)
yeah you have 4 outfielders in there.
I think Santana gets traded for SPing
Alcides is still out the…
Does this mean the stove is hot?
Good. Brewers were running out of outfielders for a second there.
I bet Martinez signs tomorrow with the Sox
I see 3 scenarios in my head that are possible (one of them will happen obviously)
1: Ryan Braun is shopped (which he probably already was anyway) and eventually traded, leaving an outfield of Yelich, Cain, Santana.
2: Domingo Santana is shipped to… some place, possibly to… Diamondbacks, maybe? Some team, anyway, that needs an outfielder. I see this as the likeliest option.
And the least unlikely, 3: Eric Thames is traded somewhere.
Wow, good for the Brewers, making all these big moves.
Ok now I’m partly frightened
Whooaaaa!!!!!
I don’t understand why this seems like a bad move. Yelich is a stud and Cain still shows strong numbers. 5.3 WAR last year plus the past 4 seasons he’s posted over or near a .300 average. I think the Brewers added two nice bats to the lineup, that shouldn’t be an issue for 80% of the Cubs pitching.
wouldn’t be surprised of Thames and Broxton with some lower prospects trade to Tampa for Ordozzi. Then move Braun to first sign Yu
then you have Santana in LF, Yellich in CF, Cain in RF, Braun or Jesus at 1bs
If the Rays trade Odorizzi they would want prospects not players like Thames or Broxton
The brewers are a organization that wants to win 2 good moves. On the other hand my Mets just want to get by the cheapest way.
Just last year, the Mets were 12th in payroll at $155 million while the Brewers were dead last at $63 million.
They will sign Darvish next
WOWZERS! Braun Cain Yelich
Gotta think this makes it a 3-team race in NL central. Brewers, Cubs, and Cardinals. I think cubs aren’t far and away best team, definitely closer than most fans will admit. Wish we were in NL east where there is the Nats, and no one else.
My crystal ball says this will be regrettable in 3 years…
It’s nice to see a team in a small market improve their team like this. And what a solid return the Marlins received. Wins all around here. Makes you wonder what the heck happened with those Pirates trades.
Unless you know the difference between 5 years of control vs 2 years and 1 year.
Years of control mean nothing if the player isn’t that good. It’s what made Jon Niese and Drew Hutchison look valuable. That’s been the problem with most of the Pirates’ trades, they don’t go after upside guys but high floor guys (who sometimes actually do have a low floor). I’m afraid the Cole trade could be Bay 2.0
I meant that 5 years of Yelich is worth far more than 2 years of Cole or 1 year of Cutch. 5 years of Yelich is worth more than 3 years of the two Pirates combined.
So, comparing the return of the Yelich deal to two trades with lesser assets doesn’t make a lot of sense.
The Brewers must have something else up their sleeve. They still have too many OF. Santana, Cain, Broxton, Phillips, Braun and Yelich. If they signed Cain I don’t think Yelich is going to start in CF.
Oh my, guess the 5th year put them over top.
Definitely have to think all the surplus OF will be used as part of a package for SP upgrade
Great to see a small market team making a splash. 5 yrs may be long for Cain but if they can get 3-4 good years from him it will be worth it. The Mets should be ashamed
These transactions and the reactions from cub fans have made this long subway ride home much more entertaining for me
Wouldn’t it be something if yelich was flipped for pitching ? Lol
Lol these Brewer fans… cubs are still so young and growing. Hendricks, Contreras, Baez, Russell, Bryant, Happ, Almora and Schwarber haven’t even played their best baseball. All the cards and crew moves this off-season are attempts to catch the cubs. Have they done enough? Too hard to tell with so many free agents out there but you clearly haven’t been watching cubs baseball the last 3 years if you think the team as it is today can’t compete and win the division again.
Knebel, Shaw, Santana, Arcia, Thames, Anderson, Davies, and Nelson haven’t played their best ball yet…and you clearly haven’t followed what the Brewers have done in the last 2 years if you think they can’t compete and win the Central.
What about my post says I don’t think the brewers will compete? I’m just sitting here reading these brewers fans act like they just won the pennant and it’s a joke. I do think brewers will compete for what it’s worth, but I would take my player list over yours all day.
any rational person would take the cub’s list over the brewers. its not a knock against the crew; its more of a testament to all the young major league talent Epstein has assembled. Alot of teams in the league would love the crew’s core, just not cubs. btw, what unit did you serve in?
1/23 2ID. Lewis. You?
And Btw, half of my comments are directed to your irrational fan base who are unable to see things objectively. It’s going to be an interesting summer that’s for sure.
I would have loved to make it up to Lewis! I was 2/327 “No Slack” 101ABN down at Campbell. Wanted to reenlist for Germany, bu it wasn’t open so did my 4 yrs (a nice paid vacation in the Kunar River Valley included)
Yeah, there are some trollish cubs fans on here. But they’re more of the “loud minority” in my opinion. Every fan base has their trolls, and the most popular teams like the yanks, bosox and cubs tend to have more. i know its hard but i try not to feed them, though i think we all inevitably do at some point. its kind of funny, bc this particular forum has brought out a bunch of trolls from numerous fanbases. i guess everyone is that bored lol
anyways, i’m looking forward to an exciting 3 team race in the central. i feel the cubs are still the favorites, but the crew and cards have made it closer, and we all know seasons aren’t won in january so anything can happen. it will be nice to finally play some baseball again, and i could see the central playing out like it did in 2015 with our two clubs and the cards all winning 90 plus games
Germany would’ve been an awesome duty station. Yeah Lewis is great. Leave the PX and Rainier looks like it’s a mile away. Good weather for the most part, no extreme heat and I didn’t mind the rain. Plus Seattle was a short trip up I-4.
I agree Cubs are still the team to beat, even if they add a Darvish, which I’m hoping they won’t. They’ll always add an extra year which will come back and haunt them. Rather see them make a play for an Odorizzi type, stretch Hader out, and wait for Nelson. Brewers and Cubs haven’t been relevant at the same time together since 2008 if I remember correctly. Definitely be fun.
You didn’t even mention Hader, the Brewers’ secret weapon.
Damn. How could I forget HaderAde? Old age. Still think he should be stretched out for the rotation but having him in the ‘pen like an Andrew Miller is pretty nice too. Good problem to have.
Maybe they have played their best baseball and what you see is what you get. Addison Russell is a .240 hitter. Baez, although one of the most electric defenders in the game, has a ton of swing and miss. Schwarber is a DH. I really like Contreras, Happ, and Almora, but they could’ve hit their ceiling. Now something tells me the injury bug will hit Hendricks again. Expecting these Cubs to get better just because they are young is asenine. They are still the team to beat in the Central, but if they don’t sign another starter, and the Brewers get Arrieta, Darvish, or Cobb, the division gets tighter. Moreover, even with what they gave up for Yelich, the Brewers system still has tradeable talent in the top 100 minor leaguers in baseball and the Cubs don’t. Eventually if the Cubs want to make a splash to trade for to pitching talent, they are going to have to trade from the major league roster.
You’ve got a feeling? That’s hilarious. You want that to be true more than you actually believe it. Why is it “asinine” to think they could get better as they enter what many consider prime baseball age? That’s a dumb statement bud.
Brewers big 2 in bullpen of Knebel and Hader is far and away better than Morrow/Edwards.
Broxton to the Giants within the next week. Book it!
Cubbies fans heads will definitely explode when another trade, this time for a starting pitcher, is announced. Had heard about a three-pronged series of trades being discussed previously. How about a deal with TB or KC, maybe Cleveland, for a SP?