FRIDAY: The Brewers and Mets are still talking about Davis, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). However, Milwaukee is holding firm in its stance that it will not part with right-hander Tyler Thornburg. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reported earlier in the week that the Mets had asked for Thornburg in return for Davis.
Haudricourt adds (also via Twitter) that if the Brewers are still in talks for Davis, it's likely an indication that Loney is still asking for too much in terms of years and/or average annual salary.
THURSDAY, 12:46pm: The Mets and Brewers met to discuss Davis on two separate occasions at the Winter Meetings, tweets Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. The Rays and Pirates are also possibilities for Davis, he adds.
10:23am: According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, all indications are that Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin could move quickly to address his first base need. Melvin is meeting with Mets GM Sandy Alderson, Haudricourt continues, so it's possible the two sides could work out a deal for Ike Davis. The Brewers have some interest in James Loney, but negotiations with him would be more complicated with other teams such as Pittsburgh in the mix, Haudricourt adds (Twitter links).
The Brewers missed out on a pair of their top first base targets yesterday, with each heading to the Mariners. Seattle reached an agreement with Corey Hart and swung a trade for Logan Morrison within an hour's time, leaving the Brewers with a sizable hole at first base.
I think Seattle has an extra first baseman or 20
Look for Corey Hart to be on the block when they sign Kendrys Morales.
If the Mariners were planning on signing Morales they wouldn’t have signed both LoMo and Hart.
You haven’t been following the Mariners lately I see.
…this may have been a joke
What’s questionable about Dunn? He’s shown what he will do. Strike out a ton, walk, and in the event he hits a ball it’ll probably be a HR.
You responded to the wrong comment xD
Poor defense, not a good hitter (Homeruns =/= good hitter, just good power), too much money though it is a one year deal.
Dunn is on the White Sox…not Seattle.
Yah ones with horrible stats or serious injury question marks
This would have been funny, except I’m pretty sure you can’t trade a recently-signed FA until like, June or something.
Corey Hart is the only one who was a recently signed FA. Nothing prevents them from trading LoMo or Smoak or anyone else they raised/traded for.
I think that a deal involving Adam Dunn, John Danks, lots of $$$, and another piece for Lucroy would benefit both teams.
It would have to be a good piece to be worth the Brewers adding on over 50 mill in questionable players for one of their better players.
Yeah, i just don’t see where this makes sense for the Brewers. Lucroy is a very good catcher on both sides and Dunn is 280 lbs of dead weight for a roster.
But come on… His 30 home runs would be well worth his 200 strike outs
We already have Juan Francisco for that. And he costs less to feed.
Don’t forget his .140 batting average.
Only thing missing is the last three years of Albert Belle’s deferred contract. Maybe the Brewers can throw in Ryan Braun and pay his entire salary.
No.
Yah that’s never going to happen…the Brewers wouldn’t even think about it.
Something along the lines of: Weeks for Dunn would have been move viable.
Dunn: 15 mill, one year left
Weeks: 11.5 (option that vests with 600 abs which I doubt he would get anyways.)
Sox would get a 2B and could deal Weeks and could just play him until Semien is ready. Could also package Beckham in a deal with others to improve another spot on the team.
Brewers get a left-handed bat added to an all righty lineup.
No that deal makes no sense for the Brewers…they take on 3.5mil to get a bigger and older Juan Fransisco. They also lose their back up 2B.
I was just saying that’s the only deal that would come close to making sense not that I actually want it to happen. But anyway, God forbid you lose your backup second baseman haha
Especially when you have Elian Herrera, Irving Falu, and Jeff Bianchi all on your roster and capable of being a backup second baseman… lol
Weeks wouldn’t exactly be a big loss at this point. You are correct, Weeks for Dunn is really the only deal in this scenario that would make any sense, and it probably wouldn’t/shouldn’t happen.
haha and those guys can probably play other positions too! Ooooh a guy on the bench who can play ONE position. Why have him when you can have someone who can play that same position…AND others haha
Exactly! I’d take one of those three guys on my bench over Weeks on the bench 7 days a week and twice on Sunday. Especially if some team out there is willing to take a flier on Weeks and give us something in return in trade.
I was just mentioning another downside to that trade…Dont have to get so sensitive.
I don’t man, don’t see losing a guy who only plays one infield position a downside.
People are so quick to get rid of Weeks, but when he turns it around the Brewers won’t look good.
Look at Juan Uribe…he turned it around after 2 years of horrible performances. I’d be all for dumping Weeks if we had a viable option, but the Brewers Dont.(Gennett is still a huge question mark)
Lucroy is one of the best catchers in baseball. He gets overshadowed in the NL by Molina and Posey but he’s right there. Why would they fill one hole by creating an even larger one?
I and most Brewer fans prefer Moreland or Smoak over Davis. Either way, they shouldn’t be discussing young controllable pitching in return. If a GM brings up either Thornburg or Nelson, just say no thanks.
That’s why I was hoping they’d sign Hart quick or even get a deal done with Loney. I don’t want Melvin giving up anything for a quick fix at 1st that most likely won’t make any difference this season.
Loney would be a really bad signing at anything close to what he wants. I’d strongly prefer nothing to James Loney at that price.
I’d prefer they go with Francisco and Halton and wait for one of Morris or Rogers to make his way up, but it seems Melvin is insistent on bringing in a first baseman.
I’m just saying I hope he doesn’t give up anything semi-valuable to get one, especially the pitching that the Mets are asking for.
Agree, the Brewers would be CRAZY to trade Nelson for any of those 1B options. He is the lone prospect I have any hope for.
Which is hilarious considering Moreland and Smoak have a) never shown the same upside as Ike, b) despite Ike’s very public struggles STILL have significantly worse career numbers, and c) every projection has Ike outproducing Moreland and Smoak in 2014.
I would actually prefer Davis, honestly. Younger, more power upside, and a better defender (at least, better than Smoak. Very slightly worse than Moreland, but not by much). I mean, let’s look at what they’ve done:
Smoak for his career: -0.1 WAR, -0.5 UZR, 95 wRC+ in 1942 AB’s
Moreland for his career: 2.1 WAR, 8.7 UZR, 99 wRC+ in 1560 AB’s
Davis for his career: 5.5 WAR, 7.6 UZR, 112 wRC+ in 1711 AB’s
Just a few choice stats, but almost every stat I’ve looked at points to Davis being more worth acquiring than Moreland or Smoak. And, again, he’s younger. That all said, if the cost of Davis is Tyler Thornburg or Jimmy Nelson or any of our other young pitchers, thanks but no thanks.
but he’s on the mets!
I think Smoak makes a ton of sense. He’s no all star but is still on the young side & has some decent upside. I can’t imagine he’d cost too much.
Smoak is basically Juan Francisco.
Except for the fact that Smoak takes walks and had a nice OPS+ of 113 last season.
1st basemen? Why Not Lind?
Precisely. Or according to Jeff Blair’s radio show this morning, the Jays have been in talks for KCs Billy Butler. Perhaps a three way trade with Jays, Royals and Brewers. Brewers get Butler, Royals get Colby Rasmus, Jays get Lohse or Gallardo.
You guys answered your own question. Brewers don’t want to give up a starting pitcher. Lohse and Gallardo are anchors of what otherwise is a young staff. The earliest either would be available is July.
don’t see this ever happening for the brewers or royals – ever. when’s the last time butler has done anything but DHed? royals don’t need any more OFs, and why would brewers give up either pitcher w/ their contract?
I wonder if a team in need of a 1B like the Brewers (or Pittsburgh) would be interested in Mike Carp?
Absolutely! Carp makes a lot of sense.
Boston has stated a desire to keep him, but I’m thinking that’s just a ploy trying to keep people from thinking they can get him for nothing since Boston doesn’t have a position for him; it just doesn’t make sense to keep him around to mostly sit on the bench when your flexibility is already limited by the platoon in LF, especially with a few teams in the market for a player like him.
I have no idea what his value would be at this point though; he was always supposed to be a talented hitter, but it had never materialized for him (although he was playing in a terrible hitters park) and it got to the point where Boston got him for almost free a year ago, and then he comes out and destroys the ball in relatively limited time for a year. I guess it depends on whether teams are more scared about his history, or intrigued by his potential.
I for one, would be just fine saving the money and letting Juan Francisco, Sean Halton and Hunter Morris just duke it out for the position. Davis is just the same damn thing as all three of them as is, and Loney is going to come crashing back to earth faster than one of the hunters from Pacific Rim
I want to agree with you, I think Halton and Morris have promise, but I don’t think I can tolerate Francisco’s strike out rate. I think a one year rental would be best; Hart would have been a great idea, but we all know how that turned out. Anyway, a one year rental to spell the youngsters with experience would help them to develop.
Loney’s been good enough to start for 7 seasons. The one thing he does provide is some level of consistency. Of all the guys in the mix, he’s the least likely to crash to levels the Brewers experienced last year.
Yeah he’s consistently average unless he’s in a contract year.
The contract year phenomenon is bunk. If a player could suddenly “turn it on”, he’d do it all the time and get paid more in general.
Uh huh. You are incorrect.
Guys will play hurt a lot more, stay out late a little less, etc. etc.
It’s human nature.
The numbers say you’re wrong and so does logic. If a player could magically play better, he simply would.
I don’t think the money thing is that big of an issue. They didn’t want to pay Hart because of injury concerns. Loney’s asking price right now, $27 million over 3 years, won’t break them either. it’s just they think of he’s worth more like 2 years, $14 million.
The problem is that we tried that last year… and it exploded. All over our face. If I have to look at another revolving door of players who are playing first and shouldn’t be, I’ll flip and check back in 2015.
Loney hasn’t really had a down year, excluding 2012. If Attanasio is fine shelling out the cash, let him. No draft pick. Maybe a two year deal with an option for the third. Plus it’s not like we have any major holes to fill with that money. There are all of zero starters that could be had for $10M or less that are better than in-house options.
Point is, we need a first basemen to contend and James Loney may be the easiest solution.
Give Morris a full year
According to Doug Melvin, there will be no resolution for the Brewers 1B today.
Also of note is that the Mets have just left the Winter Meetings.
I have a thought can Clint Barnes play 1st base??? Brewers should sign him as free agent & could use him at other positions too.
Barmes’s only value is his defense at SS. He’s been an atrocious hitter the last two years.
He’s a shortstop, and he can’t hit. You obviously didn’t watch the Brewers last year, because he is quite the upgrade over Yuniesky Betancourt….
I’m assuming you meant to direct this to the OP and not me. I agree with you; Barmes at 1B is an absurdity.
It was a sarcastic joke (and sad reality) based on your comment, since we spent all of 2013 with a horrible hitting shortstop at first in Yuni.
He literally would be an upgrade over what we had there last year.
Oh, haha, I totally forgot about Betancourt playing 1B.
Barmes just re-upped with the Pirates.
I’m sure there probably looking for someone with more experience etc, but Jesus Montero doesn’t seem like that ridiculous of a target to me.
The Brewers experience last year with a lot of guys playing 1B who never played there before precludes their interest in Montero. Besides with Hart out of the picture, they prefer a left handed bat.
Again, see: Francisco, Juan.
Would love Montero. We could have the Biogenesis Brothers instead of the Bash Brothers……..Oh wait, they were roiders too.
Adam dunn and Addison reed for weeks and lucroy
Adam Dunn is NOT a viable 1B option, he is basically a DH only at this point. And Lucory? Really? Why would the Brewers want to trade him? Great def/cheap control/good offense and no great options behind him at C.
Lucroy is not going anywhere.
I hope the Brewers land Loney… The price and years is way to high for a guy who has had 1 good year in the last 4 seasons. I’m not sure who I want the Pirates to grab at this point.
It somehow feels like the Brewers might overpay to get Ike and I have no ideal why. He’s terrible, but Sandy is still talking to Melvin, which makes me think they have something going on. He shouldn’t be able to get Thornburg, but you never know with Sandy. There are a few reports that Tampa has likely offered Matt Joyce for ike, and Sandy is out trying to get a better deal. The Mariners did the mets a huge favor taking 2 1B off the board.
Melvin might budge here. As a Mets fan, I hate to see them give Duda a shot over Ike at first, but understandably, Ike has more value.
Getting a guy like Thornburg allows the Mets to trade away a Montero-type for a SS. Maybe the Mets throw in a lower level pitching prospect like Domingo Tapia or Gabriel Ynoa to get the Brewers to budge.
I think you named two suitable low level prospects but I bet Melvin would want a prospect that is as close to MLB ready as Thornberg. Someone like Fullmer or Black.
Forget any of these 7 starters: Gallardo, Lohse, Estrada, Peralta, Thornburg, Will Smith, or Jimmy Nelson. Any starter beyond that is open for discussion including former first rounders Jungmann and Bradley and Brewers minor league pitcher of the year, Johnny Hellweg, who struggled in the majors with command.
If the Brewers were going to overpay to get Davis he would already be a Brewer…the Crew isn’t giving up a very promising controllable arm for Davis. Keep dreaming
I disagree.
Both GMs are standing firm with their proposals, that is why no deal is done yet. As the offseason grows shorter, and if the Brewers still have no viable option at first, expect them to blink first. Remember, it’s the Brewers that need the first baseman, not the Mets that need the starting pitcher.
FWIW, if I’m Sandy Alderson, I add that that lower level prospect to get this done and move on to getting a shortstop.
The Brewers have many options at 1B and aren’t as desperate as people think they are. Also the Brewers aren’t really expected to do much next year so getting a new 1B isnt that big of a need…and surely won’t overpay to get one.
And I Dont think a so-so prospect will convince the Brewers to part with Thornburg.
Way more likely the Pirates blink as they are actually desperate.
well see
I think it’s pretty short-sighted or ignorant to call Ike terrible.
He’s been wildly inconsistent but it’s still hard to argue he doesn’t have any upside whatsoever. And I would bet money on him putting up better numbers in 2014 than Corey Hart, James Loney, Justin Smoak, and Mitch Moreland to name a few. Oliver and Steamer agree.
I’m not saying he is great. This isn’t Cabrera/Votto we’re arguing here. But in a sea of mediocre, a guy with some pop and the ability to take walks is definitely not “terrible”.
I don’t get the moving quickly point? I mean LoMo, Hart, Morse, Morneau are gone….anyone else that plays 1b that I missed? What’s the point in moving quickly now? Majority of your competing for a 1b have covered their need. You didn’t move quickly is the problem. I can’t believe Milwaukee wouldn’t pay 2years 15mil for Morneau?
They were waiting for Corey Hart to sign a deal, and you saw how that went. The Brewers were trying to be loyal (and cheap) and now have no choice but to scramble. I say it’s not worth getting in a bidding war. Halton and Morris can handle first and hit .250 with 20 HR’s between them. Lots of strikeouts, but such is life as a Milwaukee Brewer.
Who are Halton and Morris? That is to say, can you describe them a bit for someone who doesn’t closely follow the Brew Crew?
Sean Halton: non-prospect who has hit pretty solidly throughout his minor league career. Could provide a decent platoon partner and/or little bit of pop off the bench.
Hunter Morris: low-end prospect until he exploded in AA in 2012 to gain some attention. Underwhelming AAA performance in 2013 has left his future with Milwaukee a bit hazy (didn’t even get a September call-up).
I’ve followed Halton very closely. He’s streaky as a hitter. When hot, he’ll do a lot of damage. If he can minimize his slumps, he can be a very good offensive player.
Hunter Morris tore it up in AA in 2012, and we were hoping would be ready to go in 2014. But he bombed pretty badly in AAA, hitting 247 with a .310 obp. but he’s a lefty bat, which the Brewers need. He’s 25 now
Sean Halton was up with Milwaukee for a little bit this year. He’s a big 6’7″ righty, 26 years old. Hit .238 in 101 At bats with 4 HR’s. Can play the Outfield a little as well, but also kind of a strikeout machine, and pretty slow.
Between the two of them as a platoon, I say you can get decent return without having to give away anything of value for Ike Davis.
It’s not really accurate to say Morris “bombed” in AAA. Yes, he only hit .247, but his walk rate was up, strikeout rate was down and still hit 24 HR.
Halton is more like 6’4″ or 6’5″ but big (think a poor man’s Michael Morse). He was never highly touted by their own people but he just kept moving up in the system every year and stayed with big club the entirety of spring training last year.. Never quite hit with the power in the minors his physique suggested but can hit the ball a long way and always hit for decent but not great average. Got a chance last year and didn’t fall on his face (.238/.291/.396). Notably hit walk off HR vs. Reds in September, a loss that was crushing to the Reds, then a couple days later hit first career grand slam. Halton can also play both corner OF spots and 3B in a pinch.
I don’t get the moving quickly point? I mean LoMo, Hart, Morse, Morneau are gone….anyone else that plays 1b that I missed? What’s the point in moving quickly now? Majority of your competing for a 1b have covered their need. You didn’t move quickly is the problem. I can’t believe Milwaukee wouldn’t pay 2years 15mil for Morneau?
This seems like way too much work for a player that’s not very good anyway.
Mets fan here. I understand why the brew crew is reluctant to move young pitching as they have little of it as my mets did a few years ago before they started to replenish the farm. However I still believe these two teams could come to an agreement wih the mets getting back a curtain 13′ allstar shortstop instead of just a salary dump of their troubled firstbaseman. I propose a package of Noah Syndergaard, Ike Davis and if needed an a ball prospect such as Tapia or Mateo for Jean Segura. Mention tradeing Syndergaard or Thor as mets fans refer to him and you are immediatley trolled and ostrified. We simply dont realize that we have include quality to get quality. Brewers get a young power arm that goes a long way towards the rebuilding of their future staff and a potential 30 hr guy in davis. Mets at last get Jose Reyes replacement with years of controll. Works for both teams. While Segura is indeed a guy they should be building around I think their need for a young power arm makes them listen on Segura. Feedback please
Syndergaard is not going anywhere….Sandy has already made that known.
Not even worth considering from the Brewers perspective. We will not trade you Segura for any piece you have outside of Zach Wheeler.
We wont trade Jean Segura for anything. He isn’t going anywhere.
They aren’t reluctant to move young pitching. There reluctant to give a high upside player with long term control for someone who can barely hit .200.
I think you’ve found the rare deal where both sides would feel like they were getting ripped off. Kudos.
Pretty funny stuff. As a non-fan of both teams, it would be pretty absurd for NYM to turn down getting Segura in a package like that.
Why do you think the Brewers are asking about Ike Davis in the first place? Answer is to fill a hole. Your proposal might fill one but creates a much larger one that’s currently in the hands of a young all star caliber player. That proposal reminds me of the old Three Stooges episode where Larry explains to Moe that they are drilling a second hole in their boat to let the water out that is coming in through the first hole.
The perception is the Brewers don’t have young pitching. They may not have guys that project as aces, but they have a decent amount of guys who project as 3-5 starters, and most of those guys are at or near the majors now. Thornburg is at or near the top of that group and is coming off a great stretch late in the year. Brewers just won’t give up on him for a guy like Davis who is coming off an awful season.
I would be very disappointed if Segura left. I Believe the only logical trade at this point is not with the Mets. I look at the Rangers roster and see Mitch Moreland behind Fielder. Also I see Weeks behind Gennett on the Brewers depth chart. The Rangers gave up Ian Kinzler to get Fielder. Moreland for Weeks would be interesting for both teams.
ike davis ruben tejada and rafael montero/any other pitching prospect besides syndergaard for jean segura. get it done sandy
As a Mets fan, I don’t see why Ike Davis has any value in the trade market beyond a similar high risk, high reward head case. I don’t blame the Brewers for not wanting to give up a good arm for him, though hats off to Sandy if he pulls it off.
Frankly, the Mets aren’t going to have good production out of 1B next year no matter what. Lucas Duda is latin for Rico Brogna. Unless Sandy can fleece a team out of of a really good trade, they might as well let Ike have another shot at 1B and trade Duda for a ham sandwich or maybe have him man the register at Shake Shack.
When some comments said 36 year old journeyman Marlon Byrd would get 7.5m, I thought something was way off. He got 8m a year. Does anyone know what players are worth now? James Loney looked like a 3-5m ball player until this year, now he could get 8-10m?
I’m not sure what the limit is for the Pirates, they have ownership that will not lose money to win. If Loney ends up a Pirate, the money in MLB has increased wildly to the point a ham and egger like Loney can be payed what was star money only a year ago.
Maybe Seattle would accept Lucas Duda for Thornburgh.
Thornburgh stays. The Brewers have always had a problem with pitching. Giving up a starting pitcher they have the rights to for the next 5 years won’t happen.