The Dodgers “have shown interest” in Brewers shortstop Willy Adames, MLB.com’s Juan Toribio reports. The depth of the interest isn’t known, though it does reflect how Los Angeles is keeping tabs on the shortstop market beyond incumbent free agent Trea Turner.
Of course, there also isn’t any guarantee that the Brewers are even open to trading Adames, given how the club has had at least some interest in retaining the slugger on a long-term extension. However, such an extension would be quite costly for the Brew Crew, and for a lower-payroll team, trading Adames for a bounty of younger players might be a more efficient way for Milwaukee to reload its roster. The Dodgers have one of the sport’s better farm system, and could offer the Brewers some prospects who could contribute at the MLB level as early as 2023.
Adames has two years of arbitration control remaining, and he is projected to earn $9.2MM in 2023. Another good season would push his 2024 price tag up into the $13MM range, unless an extension was worked out to overwrite what Adames might earn in his final arb-eligible year. Since Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff are also going to be free agents after the 2024 campaign, it seems likely that the Brewers will be moving at least one of Burnes, Woodruff or Adames before they hit the open market, barring a huge change to their spending approach.
In fact, the Brewers have already increased spending in recent years, as their Opening Day payroll of just under $132MM was the largest in club history. However, with Christian Yelich’s salary taking up a big chunk of that payroll, the Brewers have largely stuck to their usual tactic of moving on from certain players once their arbitration numbers get too high. For recent examples, Milwaukee just traded Hunter Renfroe to the Angels earlier this week, and Josh Hader was dealt to the Padres just prior to the August trade deadline.
As former president of baseball operations David Stearns noted in a statement announcing the Hader deal, “this mix of present Major League talent and high-level prospects furthers our aim to get as many bites of the apple as possible and, ultimately, to bring a World Series to Milwaukee….We also recognize that to give our organization the best chance for sustained competitiveness, to avoid the extended down periods that so many organizations experience, we must make decisions that are not easy.”
Moving Adames could be a similarly tough decision for the Brewers and GM Matt Arnold, who is now the top decision-maker in Milwaukee’s front office. On the one hand, the Brew Crew are surely hopeful of returning to contention in 2023, and having Adames in the lineup (as well as Burnes and Woodruff in the rotation) would give the team a clearer “bite of the apple,” so to speak. On the flip side, it could be argued that Adames might be just about at the peak of his trade value this offseason, and given how the Hader deal left several Brewers players openly disappointed at the club’s direction, the front office might want to avoid another midseason trade of a key player if the Brewers are anywhere close to contention.
Though the Dodgers will keep talking to Turner’s camp, Toribio feels that “the more realistic option…is that the Dodgers don’t sign any of the top four free-agent shortstops,” referring to Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, and Dansby Swanson. This would either put Gavin Lux in line for the everyday shortstop job in 2023, or L.A. could address the shortstop position via trade, whether for Adames or another player.
Since Adames is only controlled through 2024, he might not necessarily be a longer-term answer either in Los Angeles, though he should still have some prime years remaining since he only turned 27 in September. The Dodgers could conceivably look into extending Adames themselves, or perhaps instead use him as something of a high-level placeholder. That would give L.A. time to decide on Lux’s ideal role, or more time to evaluate whether or not shortstop prospects Jacob Amaya or Eddys Leonard can be MLB-caliber players.
Smart move. Maybe trying to reset the tax. Either way good good value ss.
Every day you wake up the Dodgers are conjuring another way to grab the best. Wake up BB, the LAD are smarter & faster than you. C’mon Braves, move fast on Swanson or get Adames…
Curly knows people!!!!
TJ, I know moe than most…
Nyuk nyuk nyuk
Oh my, hard to say, but if Swanson plays hard to get, shut up & get Adames, he’s a good one…
I’m actually good with Grissom. He’s athletic and he’s going to spend the off-season with Ron Washington. Remember nobody saw Jeremy Pena coming and Vaughn could be the same kind of player. And he’s only 21
Respect, Grissom is a future player, but he’s not ready Adames is… play on…
Adames has been a beast for Milwaukee? With Burnes and Woodruff only under control till 24 this is a win now situation for the Brewers, yet they keep hemorrhaging payroll and talent? I almost wouldn’t be surprised to see them trade him for a similar return to Josh Hader and Hunter Renfroe at this point?
If the Dodgers don’t shop at the deep end and the Yankees stick to their youth plan or IKF at SS, where’s the market?
Philly, Minnesota, SF and the Cubs are supposedly in on the big name FA SS.
Boston will likely be in on any serviceable SS that doesn’t have draft pick compensation attached to them as well. In terms of big name guys that means Bogaerts and Correa
Is Fletch fighting Urshela for SS this coming season or is he engraining himself at 2B as the next Pedroia?
I wouldn’t count out the Red Sox…I know they have Story on the roster but between his 2022 and the fact that there were already questions about his defense at short coming into the year I don’t know how much confidence there truly is in their ability to move him back to shortstop.
The Braves also notably will have a hole to fill if Swanson ends up elsewhere. They’ve committed a lot of dollars to players recently but I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility to see them doing what the Twins did with Correa last year if someone’s market doesn’t materialize as expected.
The Mariners have been mentioned as a possible landing spot, the Padres are apparently in on these guys to some extent, and I would be surprised if the Angels weren’t hanging around seeing what happens. I’m a huge fan of Gio Urshela but he’s not an everyday answer at short.
There are definitely plenty of landing spots for these guys and all play passable or better defense which is a huge asset given the offensive upside amongst the group. Having these athletic guys up the middle who can also hit makes the game much more exciting.
Don’t forget about TX! They seem to be in the market for a top-tier SS no matter what…. Probably will sign two of them this year
Why do you say that? TEX middle IF is perhaps the most set duo in MLB.
Add the Cardinals,Mariners, Angels, and Orioles. There is a market.
I agree about the Cards being a prime candidate for one. But I just don’t see them doing that type of deal. Much like the Braves, the Cards don’t seem to shop at the very top end of the most expensive players in MLB, and probably for good reason.
The Cards remind me of a team that would make some relatively middle-grade trade or acquisition, but it would help there team perfectly. Kind of like Adames did with MIL.
To me, the Cards always seem to look at the bigger picture and how a given player fits into the puzzle of their team, versus other teams, like the Yankees, that tend to isolate each deal or acquisition as a standalone transaction.
But they will make a top of the market offer for the players that they identify as the right fit. They are pickier than most teams, but far from “they won’t make that deal”. Price and Heyward are two guys they offered a lot of money for. I could be wrong, but I could Turner as being an ideal candidate for that fit they look for
I could see*
Yes, exactly! Sorry, I meant shopping at the top of the market in a more general sense (like the Yankees will do if Judge leaves, imo). But, if the Cards thought Turner was the guy to get, I could see them certainly making him a competitive offer.
I could envision them being in on Murphy too, despite his cost in prospect capital, because of what he can do from that position; but only if he’s the *right guy,* not because he’s the top guy.
Thanks for clarifying that, Stan.
This is either total fluff or large market arrogance.
Given that this isn’t the first ‘Brewers to consider moving Adames’ news, I think it’s likely:
A) the Brewers are trying to drive up the return on a guy they’re going to flip to free up payroll,
B) the Dodgers and other teams are trying to drive down the asks of the free agent shortstops, or
C) some combination of the two.
Given how little credence I think player agents will pay to the Dodgers and other teams considering Adames over Swanson, Bogaerts, Correa, and Turner, not to mention I would argue Lux is a better option than Adames and is already on the Dodgers’ roster, I’m guessing this is the Brewers trying to drive up the asking price on Adames.
When did the Brewers say they were interested in moving Adames? Sports writers have speculated, and teams who consider the Brewers to be part of the fly over farm may have interest, but I haven’t heard it from the Brewers.
they have said anything
they haven’t said anything
not said anything is what I meant
It’s The Naught of the Living Saids!
With regret,
Not Said Fred
Brewers have approached his camp about an extension….. where are these other articles you refer to??
Check out the big brain on Crab! Well put, that and the SS prestige to that u mentioned in last comment as well. Another reason LAD can afford Judge, he’ll actually break LAD’s previous attendance record the next 2 years. 3-5 if he rakes or they get to a couple WS, or win 1. But that won’t happen. Lol. It will, just seems like it won’t. Correa and Judge should do the trick. Thell set NL HR team records too. And non steroid NL HR records. Trea’s not aggressive or hungry enough to rake in the playoffs. Need Puig back. Get a Molina for bench coach ffs! Fire toughness n can handle staffs better than Doc. Don’t need dumb degromm or trea. Judge will be fun for winning 120 reguksr season games next year n recordsn attendance, with slight uptick in playoffs numbers for LAD.
Or it could be because he has a creepy family! Mysterious and spooky, strange, deranged. (Snap, snap)
Are those the only two choices? How about a third one — a big yawn.
Adames doesn’t actually excel at anything. If the Dodgers are really interested in trading for him, the most important reason is payroll.
The “depth” of the interest is not known?? Come on fellas..We gotta know the DEPTH!!
I sometimes wonder if this isn’t the LAD counter to the Heyman-hype-train of “Dodgers have interest in [Boras client]” articles that seem to overflow from his computer like chocolate at the Willy Wonka River, and naturally boost up the prices of the FAs (or try to).
You are onto something Clip!
Crab r alluded to that.
I get you on the depth, but what about the breadth?
Even “breath” for that matter BlueSkies.
Width is also seldom considered.
Damm!!t BlueSkies I can’t think of anymore words hahaha
Maybe one of the most underrated players in baseball
Trout is the most underrated player in baseball.
The Detroit Tigers should send Baez to the Dodgers for a bag of baseballs and then overpay to get Trea Turner. They could keep Baez & still overpay for Turner & move Baez after next season.
Package one of their big 3 young starters for Corbin Burns [this balances out their rotation better]. There are not any elite free agents in next years class which is why the Tigers should say to Turner: name your price!
libertyfighter;
Your scenario with the Tigers makes as much sense as the rumored trade of Adames to the Dodgers.
SIILLY SEASON is in full swing!
How much salary is Detroit going to eat?
They could eat all of it and the Dodgers still say no.
I don’t buy that. He can still play defense, run bases, and has power.
brewers won’t trade him
they would if LA offers Miller, vargas or Busch.
Nobody wants those bum prospects. Most overrated farm system in the league.
Somebody is jelly? Washington wanted them pretty bad for Soto! Google it bruh
Not sure the demand for Busch, but Miller and Vargas are sought after.
much better internal options. i’d even play lux at ss and platoon 2b. hell, even barnes can play 2nd with any combination of ct / muncy. some kids coming up that will plug the holes. trade for starting pitching not gap fillers in the infield.
Gavin Lux is Blake DeWitt 2.0. Trade him as part of the package for Adames and Burnes
Would beed ALOT more than Lux to trade both.
Great comp. Forgot all about him
I have a very strange feeling that if they trade for Adames, it’ll be Busch straight up for him. I know Tommy Edman probably isn’t available, but I’m wondering what it would take for the Cardinals to part with him.
You Dodgers guys are hilarious. We’ll give Edman for Betts if you pay 75% of Betts’ remaining contract.
Lol talk about hilarious
Cardinals would want Gonsolin for Edman and Dodgers would hang up. The two teams are a poor match for trading partners right now.
That’s exactly what I was thinking and I’d do that deal 10/10 times! They’d be selling high on Gonsolin and to an extent, so would the Cardinals. But I actually think they’re the ideal trading partner because the Dodgers need a shortstop (and probably another bat that can hit from the left side as well) and the Cardinals need pitching depth. The Dodgers have that in the organization, particularly if you extend it to the upper minors. The Cardinals have infield depth in both the majors and upper minors, and if they by some miracle sign a guy like Turner or Bogaerts, that would really make one of their infielders expendable. Let me break it down.
Both Gonsolin and Edman, according to this website, are projected to make the similar salary (I think Edman was at around $4M and Gonsolin at $3M). Gonsolin is one year older than Edman. But Gonsolin has 4 more seasons of control as opposed to Edman’s 3 seasons. I don’t know if Edman can repeat another 6 WAR season, especially with a bat that was slightly above league average, but the tools are there. As for Gonsolin, he wore down a bit in July, but followed that up with a superb August until the injury. Now I’m not gonna bullspit you and say he’s a 2.14 ERA pitcher going forward, but I believe with experience he can build up his innings and effectiveness over the course of a full season. And that Dusty Blake promotion is very interesting from afar.
For the Dodgers, aside from getting their shortstop, this move could also potentially open up a spot at the back end of the rotation to let one of their rookie arms run with it (this trade all hinges on them signing a deGrom or Verlander or trading for a similar ace).
For the Cardinals, they have a lot of pitching questions. I don’t think they’re bringing back Quintana. Montgomery seems at the very least a solid innings eater. Mikolas is a nice pitcher, but he is a free agent after next season, if you’re thinking about the future as well. Actually, Montogomery would also be a free agent after next season. Flaherty still has the injury question mark and you wonder if, at this point, he’s still a starter or if he would be better suited for the pen, at least to begin the season. You got Waino, and 40 year olds are always a question mark when it comes to health and this probably will be his last season, but the man can pitch so I wouldn’t bet against him. Hudson is an interesting depth piece, even though he walks way too many batters. I like Liberatore for them going forward. I think he’s a really nice arm, though he does give up his fair share of homers. And I guess since they signed Matz, they might as well use him in the rotation, but he’s probably the least effective out of everyone I mentioned, except maybe Hudson. I think between Pallante, Thompson, and Naughton, one of those guys ends up in the rotation next season. Maybe to a lesser extent Connor Thomas. And I guess Graceffo could soon join that group. I think Hence is a little further away. So they have quantity arms right now, but definitely within a season from now, you wonder how many still remain in St. Louis and even more, how many of them will be true impact arms? So I think Gonsolin is in that kinda here, kinda there stage where he’s more than just pitching depth, and maybe just a tad below impact arm. Maybe he could get there at one point, but there’s no doubt the Cardinals right now would be getting at the very least an above average pitcher that fits their pitch-to-contact approach. So yes. I do believe this trade could be a win-win for both sides, but again, it all is contigent on other moves both ballclubs make.
So we could trade Edman and replace him with Trea Turner for $300 million or we could keep Edman and sign Manaea for $75 million. Again, you guys are hilarious. The NL Central is not your farm system. We are not obligated to surrender our players to the coastal markets. Adames and Edman will be staying put. You guys can pick up the tab for Turner.
However, you guys can have Paul DeJong.
You’d take Sean Manaea over Tony Gonsolin for $70 million more hahahahahaa! You’re not real good at this are you? It kinda is a farm system. It’s a joke of a division (along with the AL Central) and the real reason why MLB needs to get rid of divisions in favor of playoff seeding
You make a persuasive argument but I think the Dodgers would prefer to keep Gonsolin and the Cardinals are happy with Edman.
I think the Dodgers could trade a team top 12-15 prospect to Cleveland to rent Ahmed Rosario for a year and let him play shortstop. Gonsolin will regress some but he is still very solid.
Manaea over Gonsolin is like taking Hanser Alberto over Jeff McNeil.
The prospect price for Rosario wouldn’t be that much for sure. However, I’m not sure if he’s the proper fit for this Dodgers club since he is very aggressive and the metrics can’t really agree with whether he’s a good defender or not. It would be an interesting speed element though, so it really all depeends on what the Dodgers really value from that position
No chance the Dodgers get Adames without Lux being in the package going back to the Brewers.
I’ll take that deal all day long, you can have Lux!
I don’t even see Lux in the show in another few years. 2 or 3 tops.
Why? Lux is a solid player, at worst a utility for a great team or a starter for a good team. His bat skill is still improving.
I don’t know anymore Manny. Next year or 2 is going to be big for him. I hope his bat AND defense is still improving. Lux has just always struck me as a AAA guy who has had some streaky luck. I wish him all the best but he is still very shaky on D.
Watch, Lux will improve with the bat, he can easily hit 0.290+. His glove is average and does not impress, that may cost him a starting role for an elite team, but he is definitely either a starter with an average team or a utility with a really good team.
Brewers would trade Adames for any package of cheap controllable talent. But Adames profile helps the Brewers and he is not the type of player the Dodgers would seek unless it is just for a temporary luxury tax reset.
Who cares if they’ve shown interest. You guys are turning into Bleacher Report which is the worst sports website on the internet.
weo;
I usually stay away from MLBTR during the off-season except to read when transactions have been consumed. For some reason I’ve been reading so far this year.
Every year from the day after the WS to the day ST starts there is talk between teams and agents. There are also rumor people – I used to read the NY Post and a few others, but now that seems to have exploded as people get paid by clicks and this is the best time of the year for doing sensationalism for MLB – as unlike the NBA and NFL there isn’t daily controversy of this guy doesn’t like this teammate, or this coach, or the direction of the team, or his contract, etc. MLB doesn’t have many of those issues – which is the main reason why it’s the only pro team sport I follow.
But unlike past years MLBTR has taken innocuous statements from the clickbait – “Team A ‘is interested’ in Player B” – and blown that up to 6-8 paragraphs giving that statement legitimacy and then going on discuss multiple other scenarios that can occur.
This is kind of like the Pitch Framing stat – one starts with questionable input and then extrapolates more and more conclusions.
MLBTR is fine and remains the best source for daily MLB news on the Internet or in a hard copy publication. The chartroom here – in which I knock many posters (primarily trolls) – is easily the best for MLB discussions anywhere; and if anything it would be great to see more baseball fans of all ages made aware of it and come on to participate. BUT, I think the rumor thing is a bit out of hand so far this offseason. Moves will start in a bit over a week (Dec 4) as the Winter Meetings takes place…and no, I don’t think MLBTR will become Bleacher Report or dozens of other sites like it.
Great analysis Samuel!
This ^^^^ is a HR.
Bleacher Report/Fansided/24/7 are all crapola. People with no insider knowledge in a basement circle jerking clickbait trade ideas with no basis in reality. MLBTR has not gone that way. And shouldn’t.
I got nothing against Juan Toribio. He’s MLB writer for Dodgers. Seems like a nice guy. In a difficult position because he can’t say anything that MLB and Dodgers won’t like. But it is crystal clear he is not in the loop. If he has inside info and sources/relationships, that is not apparent. Not even sure he lives in LA. None of this is good for a beat reporter – MLB or otherwise.
Oh. And of course the Dodgers have shown interest in Adames. And Burnes. And Woodruff. And maybe even Renfroe before he was traded. That’s the whole issue of a generic shown interest report.
My vote still goes to 24/7 sports.
Man. Are they Brewers going into liquidation! Reds’ fan here so I can critique.
Brewers haven’t overpaid for multiple aging, left handed batting guys to play out of position like the Reds.
Nor is this story anything besides smoke..probably from a writer with nothing useful to report on right now.
Except that yelich guy….lol.
@af Yelich wasn’t aging, nor did they play him out of position, necessarily. He just forgot how to play, or stopped caring, once he got the new deal.
But right now I think the only position he can handle is LF bleachers beer vendor.
I know Randy Meyers. His toughness is what wins WS. he n Bum are twins, I swear. Lol
I am interested only shallowly in this item. In my day, this was known as click bait.
My mom shows interest in him too
I can see it if LA send back Lux and Miller. Lux would show more pop In Milwaukee. But the Dodgers are going to need Miller this season.
does every article: “Dodgers(or any other team) have shown interest in…” have to turn into a 5 page essay? Talking about who he replaces, IF they dont sign him, the other options, where he’d bat, and every analitical tid-bit…. + what he eats before a game. If they dont sign him, other teams that are a back-up, or every possibility what position he’d play or could play.
Then go into who else they might look to …..
Not just this article, but every “…might be intersted in… loooooooong .
But then we’d have missed your lengthy complaint about the lengthy article.
You just critiqued all the fluff I get for reading beyond the headline. The rumor is the headline. Read the first paragraph then stop. If he gets paid by the word then let him get paid. I’d rather read this for my time
Somethings to do tho. Waste of time, yeah, but for those of us who enjoy wasting it….lol
I have shown interest in Kate Hudson. That’s usually followed by a Gibbs smack in the back of my head from my wife.
I wonder how hard Friedman got smacked by Mark Walter
He’s gotta be expensive or he would have come over in the Renfroe deal.
As a Brewers fan Adamms is a fan favorite, only way I would be good with this trade to Dodgers is if they took Yelich and 3/4 of his salary with Willy.