Trade Rumors Thread - Brewers Open for Business (30)

[ReasonablySober]

I'd throw in either, too, but I'd want a secondary piece if Hart is included.

[BUCKnation]

Yeah, Id want more than just Profar.

[El Duderino]

Again I come back to the Rangers' need to upgrade at DH. Young is not getting it done, and they would be overly optimistic to assume he's going to turn it around at his age. They can't take that chance.

To get Profar I wouldn't hesitate to throw in Ramirez or even Hart, either of whom is a huge upgrade over Young IMO. It would be a huge loss in the lineup for the Brewers, but Hart and Ramirez are owed money that's in line with their expected production. Trading guys like that for guys who will produce at lower salaries is what small market teams should do.

How do you figure that with Hart?

He's only 30 years old, has been very productive in three straight seasons, and only has one year left on his contract at 10 million dollars. Given the escalation in salaries, Hart is underpaid and his current contract status should make him more valuable as a trade piece, not reduce his value.

If i was Melvin and decided to sell at the deadline, i'd want a sizable return for Hart or else i'd just keep him. Any team trading for Hart would not only be getting a very productive player who can play RF or first, he wouldn't be just a rental. That team would also be getting Hart next year at a very reasonable 10 million dollar price tag. Then after next year that team could either try to resign Corey if he stays productive or get drafts picks for him if he signed elsewhere.

Ramirez is a completely different story. He's 34 and just signed a 3yr/36 million dollar deal that escalates in salary on the back end of the deal. He's only making 6 million this year, but in 2014 he's owed 16 million.

[Ryan5UW]

According to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports the Brewers have a scout watching the Frisco Roughriders. Notable prospects playing at Frisco. Jurickson Profar, Mike Olt, Neil Ramirez, Barret Loux and Cody Buckel.

Wonder if Profar/Olt is too much for them to give up for Grienke

No way in hell they would trade both for Greinke, doubt they'd even part with Profar for him.

[humanrefutation]

I'm not sure what our mentality is. If we sell, when are we planning to make another run? Are we out on 2013 and 2014?

[humanrefutation]

Oh, and I don't consider Hart and Ramirez "throw-in" pieces. They should deliver solid prospects in their own right.

[coolhandluke121]

Again I come back to the Rangers' need to upgrade at DH. Young is not getting it done, and they would be overly optimistic to assume he's going to turn it around at his age. They can't take that chance.

To get Profar I wouldn't hesitate to throw in Ramirez or even Hart, either of whom is a huge upgrade over Young IMO. It would be a huge loss in the lineup for the Brewers, but Hart and Ramirez are owed money that's in line with their expected production. Trading guys like that for guys who will produce at lower salaries is what small market teams should do.

How do you figure that with Hart?

He's 30 years old ... has one year left on his contract at 10 million dollars.

Consider his OBP and his impending free agency, and you basically just answered your own question. I don't think he's worth much more than what he's making, but even if he is it's pretty clear from the context of my post that I'm comparing his production:salary ratio to that of Profar, which is likely to be a much better ratio.

I don't think it's selling Corey short at all to call him a "throw-in" in a deal to get Profar, either. That's just semantics. I don't know why anyone would nitpick the language. Clearly Greinke is not nearly enough to get Profar in a trade. You need a lot to tip the scales in a Greinke-for-Profar trade. Saying Hart is a "throw-in" to tip the scales that far is not the same as treating him as an afterthought - it's just a tribute to the value Profar has in a trade. This is a top-5 prospect in baseball, and a SS no less. What is Hart, a borderline top-10 outfielder in the NL on a veteran contract? Yes, he's worth a good prospect or two by himself, but a guy like Profar is a whole different animal.

[El Duderino]

Again I come back to the Rangers' need to upgrade at DH. Young is not getting it done, and they would be overly optimistic to assume he's going to turn it around at his age. They can't take that chance.

To get Profar I wouldn't hesitate to throw in Ramirez or even Hart, either of whom is a huge upgrade over Young IMO. It would be a huge loss in the lineup for the Brewers, but Hart and Ramirez are owed money that's in line with their expected production. Trading guys like that for guys who will produce at lower salaries is what small market teams should do.

How do you figure that with Hart?

He's 30 years old ... has one year left on his contract at 10 million dollars.

Consider his OBP and his impending free agency, and you basically just answered your own question. I don't think he's worth much more than what he's making

If you think that, then you just aren't up to speed with the escalation in salaries because he's outproduced his contract in the previous two seasons and he very likely will again this year. He's also not an impending free agent, he's signed next year for only 10 million dollars which any GM acquiring Hart would view as an added value vs him being just a rental instead or having a bad long term deal.

As for Profar, i just don't see Texas trading him anyways. Smartly run teams rarely trade a prospect like that and Texas is a greatly run organization. Plus, with as deep as their farm system is, they should be able to add a piece or two at the deadline without trading a SS prospect like Profar that doesn't come around often. So my guess is if any opposing GM tries being adamant that Profar needs to be included in a trade for X player/players, that GM will next hear a dial tone, even knowing that Texas already has Andrus.

[coolhandluke121]

How do you figure that with Hart?

He's 30 years old ... has one year left on his contract at 10 million dollars.

Consider his OBP and his impending free agency, and you basically just answered your own question. I don't think he's worth much more than what he's making

If you think that, then you just aren't up to speed with the escalation in salaries because he's outproduced his contract in the previous two seasons and he very likely will again this year. He's also not an impending free agent, he's signed next year for only 10 million dollars which any GM acquiring Hart would view as an added value vs him being just a rental instead or having a bad long term deal.

As for Profar, i just don't see Texas trading him anyways. Smartly run teams rarely trade a prospect like that and Texas is a greatly run organization. Plus, with as deep as their farm system is, they should be able to add a piece or two at the deadline without trading a SS prospect like Profar that doesn't come around often. So my guess is if any opposing GM tries being adamant that Profar needs to be included in a trade for X player/players, that GM will next hear a dial tone, even knowing that Texas already has Andrus.

Again, semantics. It's obvious from the context that I'm comparing Hart's production relative to salary to Profar's. I said Hart's not worth MUCH more than what he's making. Maybe he's worth $12m, maybe even $15m (though I think that's pushing it for such an inconsistent hitter with a pedestrian OBP). Whereas young players under team control are worth MUCH more than what they make. I just think giving up guys like Greinke and Hart for guys like Profar is worth it, because that's the type of player small-market teams should build around. That's how the Brewers got back to respectability in the first place. Keeping all their players until they're 30 is not the answer for them.

I agree that the Rangers won't trade Profar, though. So most likely the Brewers would have to trade Greinke and Hart in separate deals for a bunch of prospects who may or may not be worth as much as Profar when you put them all together. Most of those prospects probably wouldn't be much better than the type of veteran you can sign for $3m or so in any given year. I value elite prospects so I would trade Hart/Greinke for Profar. I guess we'll have to disagree there.

[Ryan5UW]

I'm not sure what our mentality is. If we sell, when are we planning to make another run? Are we out on 2013 and 2014?

I'd say it really depends on how much we sell and what types of prospects we get back. I have a hard time imagining even if Mark A. does decide to sell that he'd want to put this team in a position to be out of it for a couple of years. I can't see him authorizing Melvin to make the moves that would close the window for a few years with as much as he loves to try and win.

[humanrefutation]

I'm not sure what our mentality is. If we sell, when are we planning to make another run? Are we out on 2013 and 2014?

I'd say it really depends on how much we sell and what types of prospects we get back. I have a hard time imagining even if Mark A. does decide to sell that he'd want to put this team in a position to be out of it for a couple of years. I can't see him authorizing Melvin to make the moves that would close the window for a few years with as much as he loves to try and win.

I agree with you on Mark. Hell, I really think he doesn't want to sell this season, either. But that's where I think our concept of selling has to be in context. Once we lose Greinke/KRod/Marcum, either through trade or FA, we're going to need to find top pitchers to compete. We might be in the same position that we were in 2009 - a nice team without the pitching to go for it.

ETA: Plus, I think that the chance that we'll be able to trade Greinke and re-sign him when he becomes a FA is remote at best. I think our best chance to bring him back is to keep him on the roster, and risk losing him for comp picks. That's a gamble we're dealing with, IMO.

[Jollay]

I heard yesterday Nats and Brewers have touched base on Greinke. Nats are interested so they can go as planned and shut Strasburg down and also cock block the Braves, who also apparently would be a candidate to acquire Greinke.

The starting point on extremely early discussions if a deal went down would be Danny Espinosa, who the Brewers would convert back to SS (was a short in the minors) and two good prospects--CF.Brian Goodwin and starter Robbie Ray. Don't know if this is a Nats starting point or a Brewers starting point.

Espinosa would give good defense/speed but he can't hit for average yet from the left side. Kills from the right though. Love Goodwin as a prospect but skeptical the Nats would give him up to rent Greinke. Might be contingent on Greinke signing with the Nats, which he was unwilling to do previously.

Just prelim talks, but my source on this is good. He's the same guy that had a good inkling Danny O'Brien might go Wisconsin.

[trwi7]

Not a fan of that package at all. Love Goodwin, rest of the package sucks.

[BigDee]

There have been lots of recent rumors linking Zack Greinke to the Cardinals, but Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch would be “stunned” if they acquired the right-hander (Twitter link).

[Ryan5UW]

There have been lots of recent rumors linking Zack Greinke to the Cardinals, but Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch would be “stunned” if they acquired the right-hander (Twitter link).

I see less than a zero chance we send him to StL

[ReasonablySober]

If Olt is who we're scouting, here's a blurb about him in the Future's game:

Best glove: Mike Olt, 3B (Double-A Frisco)

Olt was a brutal defensive shortstop at the University of Connecticut, so his transformation into a plus defender at third has been a substantial surprise (and a credit to him and the Texas' coaching staff). His fellow Rangers system-mate Jurickson Profar also belongs in the "best glove" discussion, as does Chicago Cubs outfielder Jae-Hoon Ha (a plus defender in center who has played all three positions this year) and Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor.

Same kid who's hit 20 jacks this season.

[ReasonablySober]

Sounds like the Orioles are going hard after Greinke, but outside of their top two guys they don't have anything I'd want.

As is the case with Olt and Profar, I'd sweeten the deal to get Bundy or Machado.

[BigDee]

I just the saw report. My preference would be to AL team. However I would like to build around Greinke and trade the likes of the bullpen.

[NeedsMoreCheese]

We could probably get a bucket of ass to be named later in a trade for the bullpen. Though we may have to throw something in on that deal.

[Ryan5UW]

I just the saw report. My preference would be to AL team. However I would like to build around Greinke and trade the likes of the bullpen.

Yeah, I'm sure we can trade our **** bullpen pitchers for some top flight prospects.