The Athletics acquired outfielder Khris Davis from the Brewers yesterday for prospects Jacob Nottingham and Bubba Derby. The A’s also designated pitcher Sean Nolin in a related move. Here is a sampling of the reactions to and effects of the deal.
- Brewers GM David Stearns doesn’t expect to make any deals between now and the first day of Spring Training, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Pitchers and catchers report to camp next Sunday. In my opinion, the club does seem to have an opportunity to buy low on a free agent outfielder if they would rather give recent acquisition Rymer Liriano more competition than Kirk Nieuwenhuis or Keon Broxton.
- In another tweet, Haudricourt relays that the acquisition of Nottingham has no direct effect on Jonathan Lucroy’s status with the team. Nottingham had a successful campaign in High-A last season, but he’s at least one year away from reaching the majors. Given the direction of the Brewers’ rebuild, Lucroy seems to destined to find a new home as soon as he proves himself healthy and effective.
- The trade made sense in a formulaic way, writes Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs. The A’s had a role for an outfielder while the Brewers are busy acquiring prospects and players with upside. Sullivan provides some background about Davis, noting his ability to slug without steep platoon splits. He ranked in the top five percent of hitters in bat exit velocity on liners and fly balls. In other words, when he makes contact, it’s hard. That could help him to fit into spacious O.Co Coliseum.
- ESPN’s Christina Kahrl also likes the trade for both teams. As she notes, affordable power hitters are few and far between, making this a rare opportunity for Oakland. Davis is under club control for four more seasons and has yet to reach arbitration. The Brewers farm system was recently rated fifth by ESPN’s Keith Law prior to the trade. The club is poised to rebound quickly from their tear down. They may possibly dodge the scariest years of the new Cubs juggernaut in the process.
- Nottingham is an offense first catcher, but he’s still one of the best catching prospects, says Jim Callis of MLB.com (video). His power and hitting ability could potentially play at another position if he doesn’t stick behind the dish. Meanwhile, Derby is described as a undersized pitcher who could start or convert into a setup role.
Still a few more guys the brew crew would like to unload. Rebuild is definitely going in the right direction though.
If Lucroy is traded in spring training, Josmil Pinto would be s great back up piece as he has a great power stroke. Honestly, if his bat reaches its ceiling backing up Maldy, they could hypothetically move him to DH when its instituted
A DH in the National League is ridiculous
Also, i would like to add that Rymer Liriano is my biggest surprise of the year. While i dont think he’s Roy (with Seager and Crawford) hes in the perfect situation for himself.
I agree, I think Liriano’s ceiling is still pretty high and he hasn’t fallen that far. A change in home park would do him all the good.
lucroy wants to be traded. seattle looks like a good spot to land.
He’s not going anywhere yet. Teams aren’t willing to give up what Milwaukee wants until he proves he’s back to 100%. If he start off well he may be gone at either the deadline or as soon as a contender has an injury at C.
Seattle doesn’t seem to have the prospects to land Lucroy
If they would give up Peterson (which I doubt) he’d be a very intriguing piece to the Brewers.
It would cost a lot more than Peterson to get Lucroy.
Of course, but there’s have to be a cornerstone of the trade and he be a good starting point. They’re not going to give up Jackson and their young pitching is mostly over rookie status so they are less appealing to the Brewers.
Peterson isn’t even a top 100 prospect anymore so he definitely couldn’t be the cornerstone or main component of the trade. Jackson was awful last year. Barely making it in the top 100 as a prospect now. Even Jackson wouldn’t be enough or the cornerstone. Rumor was the Brewers were asking for Gallo from the Rangers who’s a top ten prospect in all of a baseball. Now not saying they could get that but they are shooting for legitimate top prospects and Seattle doesn’t have any right now.
They can ask for whatever they want, Gallo was not happening and rumor was neither was Brinson or Mazara. Until he shows he is back healthy they are just not going to get that kind of return. If any deal is made soon it’s going to be for lesser pieces than that which is why I said he’s going nowhere yet.
I agree they can’t get Gallo now. People are saying teams will want to scout him in spring training to make sure he is legit back before offering a big package like that. But even if the Rangers don’t offer Gallo Mazara or Brinson they could still offer a better package then the Mariners could. And so could Washington and Minnesota without giving up their top guys. Which is why I initially said Seattle just doesn’t have the prospects to get him. If the Brewers were willing to take non top 100 type players for Lucroy he would have been traded months ago.
Shane Peterson was never, ever a top 100 prospect.
Texas seems really reluctant which leaves them in a tough spot right now. Everyone knows that ideally they want to try to move him sooner or later, but without anyone getting in on a bidding war there is just no reason for anyone to offer that 2 top 100 type package that the Brewers reportedly want. Even with a decent spring I see no way that he doesn’t start the season as a Brewer, bit I doubt he finishes the season as one.
He was talking about DJ Peterson
That would be a heck of a move for Seattle, getting Milwaukee to accept their own player as a trade piece.
Heyman or Rosenthal, one of them, just reported Texas, Washington, Oakland and more were interested in Lucroy. There is definitely a market for him but I can see the hesitancy with giving up big time prospects with the past injuries. Keith Law said if Lucroy was made available he would be the biggest name on the market and should get the Brewers 2-3 good prospects. That was at the beginning of free agency. There will be a good sized market for him once he proves he’s over the injuries. Which is why I assume he gets traded in Spring Training, unless he gets hurt again.
My doubt about spring training is people will want to see that he can catch an entire game and on back to back days and that’ll almost never happen on spring.
Mmm I don’t think so. It’s not like he’s coming off major knee surgery or something. It was a concussion. They just had an article about him in the local newspaper and he said he’s preparing harder for this year than he ever has before. I know everyone seems to say that but I see a pretty good bounce back year for him.
I don’t know. I think Mauer’s recent stories about his post concussion problems and how getting in and out of a crouch affected his balance is going to scare people a bit til they see Lucroy do it regularly.
Well it’s a brain injury so everyone’s is different in how it effects them long term and short term. There are NFL players that have had a few and they moved on fine fairly quickly. I’m sure those other teams have reviewed his medicals by now. And if the Brewers had reviewed them and seen that he had the problems Mauer had i’m sure they would have traded him already or told him to move to 1st. Cause the Brewers don’t really have a 1B anyway so it would work out. If they still have him as a catcher they must be confident he’s over it.
I’m sure they are confident he’s over it and the report seem to suggest the same, but if I’m a team thinking about trading a big package of prospect for him I want to see it first.
For sure and that’s probably what is happening. I’m sure he will be scouted heavily in spring training.
Despite all the Luc talk it’s Smith that I can’t believe hasn’t been moved yet. Oakland was said to have significant interest, surprised they couldn’t work out a package for the both of them.
I agree. The reliever market is crazy though. Teams are getting hauls for the good guys with years of control left so I can see the hesitancy for teams like Oakland to give that up. I always thought the Dodgers would have been a good fit for Smith, and I know Minnesota loves him. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.
No it wouldn’t right now. That’s why they haven’t traded him.
Seattle signed Ianetta and traded for Clevenger so that Zunino could work out issues in the minors. The Mariners have no need for Lucroy. He’ll go to Washington or Texas likely.
Mariners can just use those two until Zunino gets his confidence back up and can take over again.
Cubs juggernaut? Laughable, I think they won a playoff series. Let’s let some games be played before anyone is anointed as a juggernaut.
Cubs are a juggernaut? Haha let’s see two good seasons before we anoint them as anything. Toughest division and with their “meh” pitching, you never know. They won’t be sneaking up on anybody from now on.
Who has meh pitching? The Cubs? They have the best rotation in the division.
Stop talking trash man, show some respect. Cubs pitching staff is top 3 in the game.
I mean Hammel is a pretty weak spot but they are pretty solid all the way through otherwise. Adam Warren solidified them for me.
Arrieta, Lester and Lackey are meh? By that standard I guess the Mets rotation is just decent.
why couldnt cub get a little better each year, build momentum. they are good but are set up for huge disappointment even if they have a decent season. theo in last year of contract. schwarbs alreadya platoon player. bryant .378 babip. zobrist at second everyday lowers his value, heyward in cf not the same as he is in rf, could be a long season.
I still think it is just a matter of time before the Cubs trade Soler and move Heyward back to RF. Imo Zobrist was brought in for veteran leadership above all else. The Cubs still have Baez who could take over 2nd full time and move Zobrist back into a super utility role. Who knows what kind of trade scenerio Theo comes up with but simply by having Zobrist on the roster Schwarber or Baez can be moved without creating a hole in the lineup. He could possibly trade the starter from just about any position except 1st and CF and have another high quality player ready to step in and take over. That is exactly what I call a juggernaut. They have a current/future all-star caliber player in every position including the bench. What more can you ask for?
I don’t think it’s a terrible trade, but I’m not sure if Oakland is the best place for Davis to succeed. To me, it has fallout written over it. Not sure why Oakland keeps making these shot in the dark moves, I.e. Billy Butler, when they need a few more pieces before a trade like this would pay its full dividends. I do think Davis could be a 30-90 ceiling guy, but not in Oakland. Good haul for the Brewers, but this would have made more sense for a receiving team who was contending or nearing contention. Would love to see what this guy could do in a Rockies uniform, for what it’s worth.
I agree that Oakland may not be a great fit. He moves from the hitter friendly NL Central (especially Miller Park and his home/road splits show it) to the much less power friendly parks of the AL West. Plus a sub-par defensive OF now moves to a much tougher park to play in defensively.
Isn’t the whole point of the A’s getting him is that he’s a top 3 exit velocity guy in the game, meaning that his homers are homers in every park?
Can’t wait to see him hit in both Texas teams regularly though. He’s a massive factor going into Arlington and Houston games.
Yes he hits a lot of long homers that will still be homers in bigger parks, but not every one will be like that so you have to expect some regression from his great HR per AB rate from last year.
You need to look up what “exit velocity” means.
That’s average exit velocity, not every single ball gets hit that hard. Don’t think that he never hit any wall-scrapers.
Grasping pretty hard at that narrative, I think.
Not really. He hits some bombs, but he also had his fair share of Miller Park jet stream helped balls in that torrid second half last year.
I just think their offense and pitching still has a lot to prove on a consistent basis until it makes sense to trade some seemingly solid prospects, also if the players are stating a chemistry issue. Almost everyone on paper has flashed great glimpses at some point, but the team needs a lot to align for everything to flow even so. It may definitely work in their favor…he has some offensive similarities to Cespedes in a capacity, but I don’t know. Gray is obviously stellar and I like Hahn and Graveman could be a stud, but we have to keep in mind that their win total last year was in the 60s and their team isn’t getting any younger. They aren’t old like the Yankees were by any means, but they definitely lack that young offensive can’t-miss centerpiece a team would ideally build around, or a winning season to progress beyond
Their 60 win total last year was due to losing something like 31 1 run games… They didn’t deserve to win more than 68, but they weren’t as bad as a 68 win team. Revamped bullpen should help that. As far as “their team not getting any younger”… Their team is actually pretty damn young. Average age was 28.3 last season and then adding davis, Alonso, Hendriks, Alvarez….. Vogt, Valencia and Lowrie are their only starters over 30 (and are all 31). Yeah they added old man Rich Hill, but…. They’ve also got a bunch of prospects ranked in their top 10 who are starting the year at AAA. I definitely wouldn’t say “their team isn’t getting any younger”
That’s average exit velocity, not every single ball gets hit that softly. Don’t think that he never hit any absolute-bombs.
A loss is a loss. Even if losing consistently by a run, you’re still an unsuccessful team. My point was that the majority of their players have more or less peaked at their age, barring some magic chemistry. We’ve seen some flashes, but nothing yet points to a resurgent year for most players, offensively. Alonso apparently can’t hit more than singles and doubles, Butler was way too average for 10 million, Lowrie has some pop but struggles with average and staying fully healthy, Semien is okay, Valencia hasn’t been getting full seasons of ABs for a fair assessment, Riddick has been fickle since his monster year, Vogt fell a
off a cliff, and I’d still like to see another season of Burns. I mean I like what they’ve done with what they have, but it takes a specific chemistry for it to work. I know this is a moneyball franchise, but that doesn’t work as easily when can’t miss studs like Correa, Syndergaard, Bryant, Seager…to name a few…are coming into the league more frequently. I just think that they should have kept Russell, and in general, it wouldn’t hurt to invest a little in promising prospects and maybe sign some team friendly deals instead of blowing 10 mil on Butler.
It’s Christina Kahrl, not Christian.
The new Cubs juggernaut? Since when did a single 3rd place divisional finish following several losing seasons in a row equal a juggernaut? The Cubs MAY end up being good, but you are definitely putting the cart before the horse with that statement.
Yeah that comment was absurd. The Cubs didn’t even make the World Series, yet everyone’s treating them like they’ve won five in a row. Heck, they haven’t won a World Series in over 100 years. And they still have to pass the Pirates and Cards just to win their division.
Can you point out a glaring weakness on the Cubs? Even a position of need? I can point out several on both the Cards and Pirates. I expect the Cubs to suffer through a bit of a sophmore slump with a few of their players but they have to be the hands down favorite to win the NL Central this year.
yeah, but it’s all theoretical. The best team on paper or in terms of potential is often not the team to go all the way in the mlb, nfl, and even NBA. Took an entire career of Manning’s greatness to win just one championship, even with the offensive gems he’s had the blessing of playing with. I will say that a team like the Cubs is due, though.
On paper in February 2015, the Royals were not the best team in the league and the Rangers and Astros were among the worst. None of those things mattered when Texas and Houston made the playoffs and KC won the whole thing, did they?
The glaring weakness of the Cubs is they haven’t done anything yet. We might look back in 10 years and say 2016 was the start of the Cubs dynasty or we could look back and say that they messed up another talented group so I guess we can wait til next year once again. The point is that neither of those statements is true YET, so making a claim about it is just a waste of time.
You do realize that Payton Manning won 2 Super Bowls don’t you. Also what the article was stating that with projections of the young cost controlled talent and the free agents brought it the Cubs look like a potential Juggernaut. NBA is also pretty easy to forecast the finals, because 1 player can affect the game so much. Now I agree the statement carries a lot of what ifs along with it but they aren’t entirely off base.
Ugh, can we stop saying “You do realize, dont you” especially when the person clearly doesnt? It’s so uppity like “I know soo much more than you, you peon!” Just state the facts without being a jerk about it.
could you point to a glaring weakness on the Nats last year? I think they were even better than the Cubs on paper and we all know what happened…
you’re right, I was misinformed about Manning. It was simply an example. With the teams he has had and individual ability, we could have expected a dozen championships is my point. Again, the emphasis wasn’t on the NBA…that’s why I listed them last. Panthers nearly went undefeated and still lost. . Bengals were big contenders prior to Dalton going down. Prior to Manning being benched and rested, it was questionable if the defense could carry them that far. In baseball, Cardinals didn’t necessarily have a 100 win team on paper. SF Giants are consistent overperformers. It goes on and on. Nationals had a flurry of injuries. Any number of things can go wrong or not as planned. Zobrist and Heyward are excellent players, but you can make all the right moves and still lose. Who even knows how the team will respond now that they are heavy favorites to succeed
I’m honestly surprised that the A’s didn’t turn this into a legit blockbuster and get Lucroy and Will Smith in the deal. Lucroy is a perfect flipping opportunity, being that the A’s are solid at C with Phegley and Vogt.
They would have had to gut their farm for that. Even then not sure it would have been enough
For 1 year of Lucroy? Looks like they really arent trying to move him until the deadline if that’s the case. Might be a wise move if you look at who Oakland got at the last one.
Lucroy has two years left on his deal. Fangraphs projects Smith as the 8th best reliever in baseball this year and he’s signed for pennies for 4 more years. Might be wise for you to check out what big time relievers have been getting this offseason in trades. Again A’s probably don’t have enough for that
Yeah, I know what relievers are getting in trades, lay off the condescending. Fangraphs can project all they want, Smith is still a no-name.
Condescending? Like how I’m supposed to look to see who Oakland got at the last one? He’s a no name to you because you don’t know baseball. Really that simple.
I personally believe that Keon Broxton will win a starting job somewhere in the Brew Crew’s outfield…I’m just not sure if he will play CF or in one of the corner spots. I think his speed and bat make him profile out to be in CF, but I’ve been reading a lot of people in the Brewer’s system believe that his long term future could be in a corner. But either way, I think he is on the 25 man roster coming out of Spring Training.