Spring Training is upon us. It seems the Brewers have moves to be made regarding their crowded outfield and solid-but-underwhelming starting rotation but the rest of the roster is presumably set. Earlier this offseason, second base was a primary concern for Brewers fans. Most assumed that GM David Stearns would bring back midseason acquisition Neil […]
Tag: Eric Sogard
Jonathan Villar and High-Risk Gambles
It should come as no surprise for me to say that the Brewers are not favorites to win their own division. PECOTA’s projections have been released today, and the Brewers are projected to be an 83-win team, or six wins worse than the Cubs. Their 83-win projection puts them in the same range as the […]
What if the Brewers Don’t Sign Neil Walker?
This offseason has been infamously slow, and the Brewers have made only minor adjustments to their big league roster thus far. A flurry of moves are undoubtedly still to come, as Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, and J.D. Martinez still remain unsigned. But with spring training about five weeks away, the chance that the Brewers have […]
Offseason 1: Securing Roles
Yesterday, the Brewers signed two contracts that will keep key players from 2017 with the organization. GM David Stearns signed RHP Chase Anderson to a guaranteed two-year contract, which also includes escalators and club options that could extent to a four-year deal north of $30 million. This deal gambles on the distance between the gains […]
Roster Surplus and Depth Questions
The 2018 Milwaukee Brewers are in quite a strange position, representing the bundle of contradictions that defined their uncanny 2017 campaign. On the one hand, the organization dropped a “rebuilding” narrative in 2015, meaning that industry writers, analysts, and fans alike did not expect the club to compete, let alone contend, for several years; on […]
Considering the Keystone
Heading into the 2017 season, few Brewers fans were worried about second base. Jonathan Villar had spent the previous summer making good on his potential, authoring a 4.7 WARP season along the way. Scooter Gennett and Yadiel Rivera provided a decent insurance policy: one could be relied on for some decent at bats, while the […]
Trade Deadline Blues
With the trade deadline approaching, and one blockbuster already completed by the division rival Cubs, Brewers fans and analysts are vigorously debating prospective moves for the franchise. Milwaukee is in a great spot to make moves: the club sits atop the division with a 5.5 game lead, is in the midst of a ten game […]
Sogard Continues to Fight Regression
The story of Eric Sogard’s 2017 season can be a loosely tied metaphor to this current Brewers campaign. I emphasize the word loose, because Sogard was once batting in the .400s. The Brewers were never that good. However, through April and May, the entire league was patiently waiting for the Brewers to regress some bit, […]
Naming Contending Brewers Stars
The Brewers have spent 36 days in first place this 2017 season, which is perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the MLB campaign. Even those analysts and fans that felt the rebuild and develop campaign was on the right track hardly thought the Brewers would be competitive in the vast majority of cases. Many […]
Eric Sogard: Oasis or Mirage?
Quickly, without Googling: through this past weekend’s action, among Major League players with at least 50 plate appearances, who tops the leaderboard for wRC+? Mike Trout? A good guess, if a predictable one, but he’s in second place. Eric Thames? You’re really, really close. As in, same team, same first name, close. I’m talking about […]