The Brewers have non-tendered a host of prominent players, per a club announcement. Third baseman Travis Shaw, righties Junior Guerra and Jimmy Nelson, southpaw Alex Claudio, and infielder Tyler Saladino are all being dropped from the roster.
That’s quite a lot to take in for the Milwaukee faithful. The organization has already seen several major players depart via free agency and will now bid adieu to a host of notable veterans.
There’s some major cost savings to be tabulated here. Shaw ($4.7MM), Guerra ($3.5MM), Nelson ($3.7MM), Claudio ($2.2MM), and Saladino ($1.0MM) were projected by MLBTR to earn a combined $15.1MM.
It’s also a pretty substantial outflow of talent. The club has relied heavily upon several of these players in recent campaigns. And some appeared to be solid values even at the estimated arb price tags.
The Brewers tried to hang onto Shaw, but weren’t able to work out a deal in advance of the deadline. Miserable as his 2019 season was, he was a well-above-average hitter and thirty homer contributor in each of the prior two campaigns.
Guerra and Nelson each provided the Brewers with a lot of good innings over the years. The former had quite a bit of success at times as a starter and was a solid relief contributor last year, though the club obviously felt it could do better for its money. Nelson probably would be the staff ace were it not for major arm injuries.
The Brewers rode Claudio hard last year, putting the groundball-heavy hurler in over half of the team’s games. Pending rule changes requiring every reliever to face three batters may have reduced his appeal, as Claudio was hit hard by righties in 2019. As for Saladino, the team hung on to him for some time but never really found him a niche. He’s coming off of a strong offensive year at Triple-A.
Guerra had a somewhat decent season right?
He had a 3.55 ERA, but a 4.52 FIP shows he got kind of lucky. He was projected to make $3.5 million in 2019, and they could probably get him for less if they really wanted to.
For a team with perpetual starting pitching issues, that’s quite the risk, especially when also cutting Nelson. That’s a decently acceptable salary for his level of performance. It would likely cost them quite a bit more in free agency to replace his rotation spot with a decent pitcher.
He was mainly a bullpen guy these days. Getting up there in age too, he’s easier to replace then you’d think
Wow. Wasn’t expecting Jimmy, the others not so much.
How was Shaw at 2nd Base
He was ok. Much much better third baseman.
Wow…
Very surprised about Guerra and Claudio. They were two of the top arms in the brewers pen last year.
you clearly didn’t watch many games
wow. expected a few would go, but that’s a lot of holes to fill. Urias is certainly going to 3B now.
Oh, right, cause the season starts tomorrow. I forgot.
certianly is not the word i guess. i just figured that when they were acquiring him they were tentatively penning him in at third given their lack of other options. regadless though, you have to admit this is a lot of relief outings to make up, and they already had blatant needs on the infield.
Stearns is really good at piecing together a decent bullpen. That’s probably the least area of concern for me. I wouldn’t be surprised if SS is a competition in ST and loser gets demoted. I believe they both have options-could be wrong.
You gotta feel like a big signing is coming, most likely to the rotation.
Lol….
dude is a second baseman
And Hiura isn’t? Between Hiura and Urias, Urias is the one who’s bounced around between positions. Wow
Brewers rotation depth is taking a big hit this offseason so far.
Not to mention they’ve now lost all of their 1B depth (Aguilar, Thames, Shaw) and 3B (Moustakas and Shaw) and catcher (??)
Did you forget Aguilar was traded to the rays. Otherwise you are definitely correct.
Look for something with Mets for Dom Smith.
How so? We really didn’t lose much from the rotation at all. Davies we traded for Lauer who is essentially the same guy just a lefty instead of a Righty. Jimmy Nelson started a handful of games and got torched, he may never be the same pitcher again. Guerra was an aging bullpen guy who made a spot start here and there.
To go along with Lauer, still have Woodruff, Houser, Suter, Burnes and Peralta. As it stands right now, its no different than it was to me. With the money free’d up, there will be more arms to come
If the Brewers open the season with this rotation (including Burnes and Peralta) they will be repeating their 2019 mistake. Woodruff is the only pitcher in the group who is arguably a #1 or #2 guy, Lauer and Houser are back of the rotation candidates. And Suter is such a weapon setting up for Hader that it would be a mistake moving him back to the starting rotation.
No, it’s time for the Brewers to spend some real money on a couple of legit starting pitchers. They can’t play in the Cole-Strasburg sweepstakes but can afford a number of other free agent SP’s (maybe including Wheeler). And the limited roster additions in September 2020 mean that they can’t play the same “bullpenning” game that got them to the playoffs the last two years.
I hate when Stearns makes consistent mistakes and we make the playoffs… 2020 is sure to be doomed before winter meetings even start.
It makes you wonder who’s going to man the infield corners for the crew…
Dom Smith and Maikel Franco?
Damn Claudio threw 83 games too yikes
This cannot be good news for Nelson…
Regardless though, there are now a crap ton of intriguing bounceback starters available for cheap this season…Some GMs are going to get really fortunate!!
Nelson, Wood, Walker, Hultzen, among countless others I am forgetting..
Hultzen is done as a starter. His injury problems have pretty much made him a full-time reliever.
I would have kept Guerra and tried to work a deal with Shaw.
Doesn’t mean he won’t return. It will just have to be for less. I think he’ll go elsewhere
They tried to get a deal done with Shaw, but Shaw was wanted a fresh start.
I dont think I have ever seen so many talented players getting nontendered in one off-season…EVER!!
There isn’t any viable talent left in the players they let go. Zero! The best player in the group was the soon to be 35 year old reliever.
Damn
The Red Sox should reunite with Travis Shaw on a one year $5 mil deal, they can still cut payroll with EROD, JBR etc.
They signed Jackie Bradley Jr. for $11M earlier today, keep up
They tendered a contract to Jackie Bradley Jr. which MLBTR suggests will end in a $11 million contract. No contract was signed unless MLBTR suggestions are now binding contracts. Step up yo reading comprehension.
No they didn’t, as far as I can tell they’ve just tendered him, yes he’s likely to get $11mil but that doesn’t mean Bradley is going to play for the RedSox. Rendering him a contract can simply mean they have enough trade interest in him to justify it, they could also still cut him before opening day and only pay 45 day termination pay.
did they? didn’t know the $ amount was already disclosed
there is nothing surprising about any of this all these players are below replacement value including Nelson
Ok I guess we’re rebuilding again 🙁
Rendon-Urias-Hiura-Thames solves this
Thames is gone and zero chance on Rendon
Thames is not gone. They just released him because they didn’t want to pay him 10 million. He can come back for cheaper and probably will
oh yeah, just give Rendon a call and he’s yours. its that easy.
You’re right, for a team from about May to August looked like a team that was destined for about 75-81 wins, save for a spectacular September and the wheels coming off in Chicago, how dare Stearns not keep last years team together!!!
Hopefully Brewers have multiple plans in place. That’s a lot being showed out the door.
Nelson, Shaw and Saladino all had negative WAR’s. Surprised on Guerra but losing a combined 0 WAR on the other 4 isn’t exactly showing a lot of production the door
Guerra is the most surprising to me… I mean Nelson is surprising too given that it wasn’t long ago he was basically their ‘ace’ but Guerra is a RP who had a very solid year last year, has experience starting and was only set to make $3.5M — you’d have thought that even if they didnt want him on their roster next season there would’ve been a pretty solid trade market for a solid RP making just $3.5M who’s also capable of starting. Beyond that it will be interesting to watch what ends up happening on the FA market with Shaw. If teams believe his last seasons struggles are just an outlier and he’s capable of going back to the borderline ‘all-star’ caliber power hitter he was the previous few years it could get interesting. Depending on the cost — could a Boston reunion even be in the cards? If they feel he can really play 2B (which yeah – is debatable) but they could be a team looking for low-risk high reward guys to fill in their holes (2B being one of them) especially if they’re going to be dealing off some of their more expensive pieces – the power potential in the lineup, and from the left side, could be something they could really benefit from.
Surprised on Guerra….not surprised on any of the others.
Jeez, the entire 2017 Brewers team is on the move today.
Is Claudio the first official roster casualty of the new 3 batter rule? He’s truly a lefty specialist and now that he must be used for 3 guys or until the end of an inning, that makes him a tough call.
Tyler Olson of the Indians was another one, and I think I’m forgetting someone else too
That’s such a terrible rule, from a competitive/strategic perspective. Teams can pinch hit but a team can’t counter that with a correlating move? Even in the NFL, if an offense makes a roster change, the D is given time to change personnel. It’s like allowing substitutions in the NBA on offense and not allowing the defense to make a countermove. It’s just crazy to me.
It’s a great rule. It gets rid of pitchers that aren’t good enough to be in the league. If you can’t get all batters out, you shouldn’t be a professional.
Then on otherside, hitters who cannot hit same handed pitching should be out of the game.
Stop being ridiculous.. There is room for specialists. This obsession with game length isnt the problem.
3 batter minimum is dumb period. That rule will be gone within 2 season’s.
That could have something to do with it. He faced fewer than three batters in 29 of his 83 appearances. Yeah, he also had 83 appearances and I pity the guy’s arm next season.
I’m not sure if Shaw will get a major league deal or have to settle for a minor league deal, but on the service he makes sense for the Indians.
He went to Kent State, and they might buy into him rebounding since they have a need at second or third (depending on which position Jose plays).
It seems as if we went from a playoff team to a rebuilding team in a week…..
It’s December 2. Relax. Stearns has 9 rosters spots open on the 40 man. Let’s see what the team looks like on March 2 before we have a panic attack
Not panicking but after the moves of the last week or so and them “shopping” Hader (which I know, really means nothing) makes a fan wonder….
What’s there to wonder about? It’s December 2nd. Still plenty of off-season left.
Closers come and go more often then any other position. Big market teams Chase the Haders to win now. Let them pay for him. Every year there is a guy that comes out of no where and is the next Mariano….Kirby Yates is the most recent…he will fizzle out into oblivion too. Just watch
Every year Stearnes big moves came in January. Late January. Relax
The only two I’m overly shocked by are Claudio ($2.2MM isn’t much for a solid middle reliever) and Shaw (based on their lack of depth at third and the probability he regains his offensive production)
This doesn’t exclude the Brewers from agreeing to a lesser deal. This just lets the Crew and the players to allow the market dictate their value, as the Brewers didn’t feel their projected arb cost matches their value for the team. I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one of those dudes brought back on a lesser deal.
had to expect most of these sorts of deals. more often than not such deals are agreed to prior to the tender deadline.
Wondering if the padres sign him to play second and have profar as the utility guy
Shaw will get another chance somewhere, I hope he rewards his new team and returns to previous form !
Kind of expected. None are worth the salaries. Shaw and Nelson could be but both were horrendous in 2019.
Would love to see Shaw back with the Red Sox. Was sorry to see him go. He could play first.
Brewers complete teardown. Amazing no reporters (even local to Milwaukee) have not called it that yet.
Over reaction
My God it’s December 2nd. A couple of moves and non-tenders and people think it’s a complete overhaul. Still a lot of off-season left peoples.
Not really shocked by any of these. I think they land yoshitomo tsutsugo, nice utility guy that can play 1st, 3rd and outfield.
But they keep Fat Albers. How many games did that guy blow. He should’ve been shown the door.
Because releasing outright and paying someone not to play is different than non tendering. This costs them zero out of pocket.
Do the Brewers just hate starting pitchers?
M’s should bring Nelson in on a one year incentives laden deal
Guerra deserves to be re-signed or to land somewhere. Very effective in his role the past two years, especially 2019. And yes, I watched virtually every Brewers game last year.
Agreed. An innings eating long-reliever who’s good enough to hold the fort down in case the offense rallies is totally worth less than $4mil.
Claudio and Guerra would be bargains considering how much the Brewers used them last year.
Jimmy Nelson could have been a bargain. It seems absurd to me that they weren’t willing to pay that reasonable arb salary for a potential huge upside. The guy wasn’t lights out in his first few appearances returning from a TORN LABRUM and the GM treats him like a lost cause. Unbelievable. Some team will sign him for $4 mil as a lottery ticket hoping to flip him for prospects at the trade deadline.
It sounds like Shaw’s agent was playing hardball. Maybe the player felt like he needed a change of scenery in order to perform better, but the production just hasn’t been there and he wasn’t worth the arb salary.
Tyler Saladino was fringey. It wasn’t about the money, it was about the roster spot.
I’m surprised to see Stearns surrendering on so many of these players. I can only hope that he expects to spend more in the FA market to upgrade these positions, or to use the payroll flexibility to extend Yelich, but I’ll believe it when I see it. The FA market seems to be more lively this year than it was the past couple of seasons. I’d hate to see this season wasted just because the GM was hoping to get a bunch of value by shopping the January/February Bargain Bin like he did the past years.
Braves should offer Shaw an incentive heavy 1 year deal & platoon him with Austin Riley. Sign Madison Bumgardner & Tajuan Walker to round out the rotation.