Reiterating a familiar stance for the Brewers this offseason, GM David Stearns says that the club has confidence in its current group of starters, but they’re exploring upgrades (via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). “We’ve explored a variety of starting pitching options out there, and have a pretty good sense of what the market is,” Stearns said Sunday. “Our stance is if we can make an acquisition that we think can meaningfully upgrade the team at a responsible investment level, that’s something we’re open to.” Stearns went on to say that he believes the Milwaukee front office has done a nice job of adding to their depth. This isn’t the first time the Brewers GM has expressed confidence in the club’s current group of starters, though that notion might be met with some skepticism considering the club’s lengthy pursuit of Yu Darvish that ultimately came up short.
Some other notes out of the NL Central…
- Stearns expressed confidence in the club’s catching group as well when asked about the possibility of a reunion between the Brewers and Jonathan Lucroy (Twitter links from Haudricourt). The GM thinks that the team got “pretty meaningful production” last year from a position split between Manny Pina, Stephen Vogt and Jett Bandy (though there’s room for skepticism on that front too, considering the team’s catchers combined to finish 20th out of 30 MLB teams by positional fWAR). Haudricourt notes that Bandy is out of minor league options while Vogt’s deal is non-guaranteed, meaning the Brewers may have a tough decision to make during spring training camp.
- Though Reds franchise icon Joey Votto has shown faith in the club’s rebuild in past seasons, the first baseman seems to be growing impatient, writes Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I think we’re starting to get to the point where people are starting to get tired of this stretch of ball,” he told the press on Sunday. “I think something needs to start changing and start going in a different direction. I’m going to do my part to help make that change.” Votto certainly did all he could for the Reds during their recent losing stretch. Though the team lost at least 90 games in each of the past three seasons, he managed a stunning .320/.449/.557 slash line with 94 home runs and more walks (385) than strikeouts (338) during that time.
- In part due to player feedback, the Pirates have made changes to their training staff this offseason that they believe will lead to fewer DL stints on the whole. Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the details: Bryan Housand, the team’s new head athletic trainer, and Todd Tomscyk, recently named director of sports medicine for the club, are two of the major cogs in this overhaul. GM Neal Huntington says that Tomczyk in particular will now be able to have a “bigger impact” on the club’s performance team. Notably, the club saw three of its 2017 contributors hit the DL with hamstring strains (Gregory Polanco, Adam Frazier and David Freese); perhaps this change in the club’s training approach could help to curb that issue in 2018.
Piña had 2.6 WAR while Bandy and Vogt both had negative WAR, so that probably is why they ranked so low.
Wasn’t most of Vogt’s WAR from having a terrible season in OAK?
And Puna will never reach that number again.
Pina may not be a kid, but he’s excellent defensively and has a good approach at bat. He’ll do fine.
Yeah. As someone who watches him everyday, Pina is legit. I think he could hit even better this season.
You’re dreaming. Pina had a career year last year by any metric.
I’d like to see Votto male the playoffs again. They need pitching. Late splash for Arrieta? Probably not though
Gonna need to be traded.
No trade clause and no intention of waiving it
no intention of waiving it? the article above talks about how he’s growing impatient of the losing stretches. he will have to waive his NTC if he wants to win soon.
No trade clause and not intention of waiving it what?
No trade clause and no intention of waiving it what?*
Sorry the joke wasn’t in knock knock form to help you understand it.
Sorry you can dish it but can’t take it. What a shallow shallow life you must live. I hope the few people you have left in your life who can tolerate you change their minds and take a step back from the ledge. Later!
Says the guy whose life revolves around being a d!¢k to people he doesn’t know on MLBTR. How are your fake friends and fake family enjoying their monthly visit to you at the insane asylum?
My life doesn’t revolve around it. And you’re the only person who thinks he’s better than everyone else. I assure you, my friends and family are far from fake. How was it growing up in a house where your mommy had a revolving door of “daddy’s” so she could pay for your Pokémon addiction? Oh btw bud, I have a good job and don’t sit on my computer all day playing dungeons and dragons and creeping people out in a studio apartment. I know I know, I said later before. And up until today, I’ve left it at that. But this was too good to pass up. Later!
Yeah it does, at least my parents aren’t cousins like yours are and I never said I was better than anyone else. Thanks tho. Have fun at your fake job!
They need a lot more than just one pitcher
Well I said pitching but arrieta may be a start.
I love Votto as a hitter and he would be the perfect kind of hitter for the Yankees because of his excellent ability to make contact AND draw a walk. I would NORMALLY have no problem with a Bird, Adams, Sheffield and Florial offer but his contract goes until age 40 w/ 6/$157 mil left. How many of those years are going to be non-elite and how precipitous of a decline could he be destined for?
Time will tell how his contract looks at the end. However, hitters lose bat speed and foot speed as they age. Neither are a big part of Votto’s game. His command of the strike zone will likely stay constant as he ages. His ability to make contact will remain. He might not drive the ball. My point is that this big contract risk might be less for Votto than other hitters, given his approach to hitting. We will have to see if I’m right, of course.
I definitely agree with everything you said, and you said it well. Votto is the best hitter in baseball. He will age very well imo, GAB probably helps his hr totals but he certainly won’t have a problem hitting his fair share of homeruns throughout the contract.
I think the Reds are one pitcher away but I don’t think it will be Arrieta. The bullpen arms they signed this off-season will help and if they don’t overuse Peralta, Lorenzen and Iglesias early they should be ok with the offense they have. That all depends on getting over 5 innings a night out of the starter.
I’d say they are more than one pitcher away. Castillo needs to continue developing. Garrett, Stephenson, Mahle, Romano, and the rest of the fun bunch need to demonstrate that they can actually pitch in the majors. Bailey needs to toss 180+ innings. That’s a lot of question marks for a team with little proven track record for developing young pitchers.
And, for the record, the Reds don’t need Arrieta. His best days are in the past.
I’m not sure the Reds are one pitcher away even if it were Cy Young.
All bats slow with age, no matter who they are
and Votto will be no different!
I agree and said as much. For a contact hitter, doesn’t that mean that doubles become singles?
Brewers lineup (no particular order): Cain, Yelich, Shaw, Braun, Vogt?, Thames, Arcia, Sogard.
Cubs lineup (no particular order): Rizzo, Bryant, Baez, Contreras, Russel/Zobrist/Happ, Almora, Schwaber/Heyward
I believe the cubs and brewers are very close with their lineups. Cubs have the advantage in terms of infield. The Brewers have the better outfield. To say that they have no infield depth is false as Baez plays short, second, and third, Zobrist is a super utility guy, Russel can play second and short and Happ can play second plus they have guys like LaStella on the bench. The cubs have a deeper rotation with Lester, Darvish, And Quintana as their top three. It’ll be an interesting race this year.
Pina is the Brewers starting catcher – not Vogt. He’s significantly better than Vogt. Sogard also most likely won’t be starting. Villar will be given every opportunity to rebound or they make an acquisition (ie Neil Walker, Kipnis, etc)
Most likely, the Brewers lineup will be more like: Cain, Yelich, Shaw, Braun/Santana, Pina, Thames/Braun, Arcia and Villar. I would agree that the totality of the lineups are pretty comparable. As it stands right now, the Cubs have the far superior rotation and I would give the Brewers the slight edge in the Bullpen. I still think the Brewers will add a TOR arm before opening day, but even with a TOR arm I still think the Cubs will have the better rotation. Either way it will be fun to watch the season play out. -Brewers fan
You’re missing a huge component. The Cubs have the best defense in MLB. Milwaukee doesn’t come close in that regard.
Will most likely be a bit closer this year overall with the better fielding outfield this year
That was one year 2016. The Cubs outfield outside of Heyward is HORRENDOUS. Their infield wasn’t that great last year either.
It will be very close this year. Cain and Yelich are gold glove caliber OF’s, Arcia is one of the best defensive SS in baseball, and Pina is a great fielding catcher. The cubs have a leg up at 2B but the Brewers have the much better defensive OF.
I think the Astros would have something to say about the BEST defense argument !
Only interesting for the first month
I think they give Domingo Santana regular playing time and see what he can do with it. He’s not going to develop or build trade value warming the bench.
Braun plays 1st and Thames gets a start per week until someone gets hurt. I think having Thames available to pinch hit seals his fate since the Brewers dont have any left handed power on the bench. Pina will catch 3, Vogt will catch 2.
Position players: Cain, Yelich, Santana, Braun, Thames, Sogard, Villar, Arcia, Shaw, Aguilar, Perez, Pina, Vogt, +1?
The bench was a big part of milwaukee’s success last year. How’s Chicago’s bench?
La Stella (.288/.389/.472), Happ (.253/.328/.514), Zobrist (.232/.318/.375), Caratini (.254/.333/.356), with Happ getting the lion’s share of at-bats among that crew. It may actually be Gimenez instead of Caratini to start the year.
Hopefully La Stella has put his attitude behind him and will garner more playing time this year when Happ, Bryant and Russell get a day off (or when Bryant is covering 1st because it’s Rizzo’s day off).
NL central lineup ranks go
Cubs, Cards, Brewers.
Pretty easily too.
Cards had a better lineup than the Brewers last year, and shed two of their worst hitters for Ozuna and his 142 wRC+, while the Brewers added two 115 wRC+ hitters.
sadly
I think the Reds are in an okay position at the moment. The main thing that they need is some of their young pitchers to progress. Their offense was pretty good in 2017, but might take a hit with the loss of Cozart. I’m not saying the Reds compete in 2018, but 2019 is a real possibility, especially if they make a minor addition or two. 2020 has to be the main focus though. All the young prospects they have now should be making a contribution by then. Hopefully the pitching is a bit clearer by then. Homer Bailey will be off the books ($20+ million) and they should have some money to spend to make an addition.
It’s going to depend on how well Cincinnati locates and develops prospects.
As with any other team.
As a small market side, that’s more important than for other sides.
It seemed like young arms didn’t get any better other than Castillo. Mahle and Garrett had flashes but nothing consistent. Stephenson picked it up very late but it seems like none of them really focused on an “out” pitch throughout the season which meant they had 20-25 pitch innings just getting through a normal inning.
I was very happy with our catching last year especially after Vogt arrived.
Can we just get Votto traded to the Red Sox or Astros already? I mean seriously they’ve been stringing him along his whole career. It’s time for the break-up.
This is the first time ever he’s mentioned being impatient. If they start hot in a way that is sustainable he will continue to be the positive leader he’s always been.