The Brewers announced this evening that they have non-tendered three players. Infielder Jonathan Schoop is the most notable name who’ll be sent onto the open market; he’ll be joined by veteran lefties Xavier Cedeno and Dan Jennings.
[RELATED: Projecting Payrolls: Milwaukee Brewers]
Schoop was picked up last summer with intentions of installing him as a key figure in the infield for the 2019 season as well. As GM David Stearns acknowledged today, though, that deal simply did not work out.
Ultimately, the Brewers felt they could put the projected $10.1MM Schoop would have earned through arbitration to better use through other investments. There are indeed loads of possibilities on the second base market. Schoop, meanwhile, will join a crowded group — but will stand out from may owing to his power ceiling and young age.
Otherwise, Stearns and co. were obviously uninterested in continuing to commit roster space to a pair of lefty specialists who did not project for much of a payroll hit ($1.6MM for Jennings; $1.5MM for Cedeno). It seems likely the Brewers will end up looking at other southpaws on the market this winter, as ace reliever Josh Hader is the lone lefty remaining in the pen.
I’d scoop Schoop. Jays? Yip!
The last thing the jays need is yet another RH MI.
Agreed, we don’t need any middle
Infielders, let alone an over priced one.
What? Name 1 LH MI in all of baseball? Unless you mean a LH Batting MI, this doesn’t make sense. Either way there is not many MI switch hitter.
Without looking it up, in the AL alone you have S-Hitter’s Lowrie, Moncada & Villar. LH batters Didi G., Cano, Gordan, Kipnis, Wendle & Holt. I’m sure there are more. Of course all MI’s throw RH.
B.Craw ss LH hitter
Oh Schoop there it is!
If he’s going to play for a bad team, Pirates 2B is wide open.
Of course that means they’d have to trade both Nova & Cervelli since Pirates would never lose profit, but could be the fit that gets them into the hunt.
Yankees should sign schoop
Another team who doesn’t need yet another RH bat
Please no
Exactly! He can still hit, so this would be the perfect way to sign a guy on the cheap, that if he rebounds, is an all star level player.
Yanks don’t need streaky high-ceiling guys like Schoop. They need to sign Machado and add a versatile backup IF in the Holt/LaStella mold (Wade doesn’t have enough of a bat). That’s really all they need for a complete lineup and bench.
good Scoop is garbage
Schoop is a nice bounce-back candidate for pillow contract
Yep.
Red Sox
Damn Pedroia lovers
Pirates:
Schoop, Bell, Marte, Dickerson forms a decent enough heart of the order to maybe get them in the hunt if Archer turns things around and the rest of the young starters pickup where they left off.
Waiting to hear that the Padres have signed Schoop and moved Urias to SS.
I doubt it. Tatis shouldn’t be too far behind
Tatis played in AA last season. A 1 year pillow contract for Schoop until Tatis is brought up in 2nd half of 2019.
I like that move. Shouldn’t cost to much and if you do bring up Tatis, then Schoop goes to the bench as a utility guy
Tatis can play third which the Padres need a 3B badly, Urias can play SS or 2B as can Schoop. They don’t have a real 3B yet until Tatis.
Right, the idea was Schoop to play third. As a placeholder for Tatis.
Have a friend who does decent predictions (Pacodamus) who calls for SD to sign Schoop but to play 3b. Read somewhere he’s played there before and has the arm to pull it off. Would be a good add for SD.either way.
Would be a great addition if he regains his 2017 form.
No surprise.
Mmmm kinda. It was anticipated. But what’s surprising is how little a chance the Brewers gave him since he came over, and, in that context, they gave up some pieces (including a solid MLB player who outperformed him and a solid prospect) to get him.
Sterns has always been quick to non-tender relatively solid players
Chris Carter was non-tendered after winning the home run crown for the NL in 2016 and just last year, he cut Jared Hughes loose.
While I don’t see Schoop every returning to his former level from 2017, as there were a lot of peripherals to suggest he wasn’t quite as good. Cedeno and Jennings on the other hand have been rather reliable relievers over the past few seasons, and seem likely to continue to do so.
More than anything, however, I think this is just a waste of resources. While I understand that trades are simply gambles, why would you fold on a trade in which you gave up Luis Ortiz among others after just two months? Seems like it’s a bit premature.
Schoop might bounce back, but his price tag thru arbitration is too high to take that risk. They might still bring him back at a lesser price tag
He is a free agent now. Teams can sign him for anything he will agree to and are not bound by arbitration this offseason.
Free agent status and a tour of teams’ front offices can serve as a reality check for some players and their agents. Sterns waited until the last minute to non-tender Schoop which means to me he was interested in bringing him back at a lower price. They obviously didn’t agree how low that price should be. Now the market will determine if Schoop’s or Sterns’ price was more correct. I’m not saying the Brewers will resign him but I’ll bet they keep in touch with his agent.
Chris Carter was horrendous though.
Luis, meet Gleyber. Gleyber, meet Luis.
Yea I don’t really get cutting Dan Jennings either
For starters, he hit an abysmal .200 in a brewer uniform, and rarely saw the field in September or October. Clearly the possibility of moving on completely from him began well before the season ended.
Second, Carter was garbage except for the HR. Third, they’re planning to contend next year, so hoping for a bounce back from Schoop is not the best option.
They traded Villar to get him, who I’d argue Stearns held onto for far too long hoping for a bounce back, so perhaps he learned something from that. As for Ortiz, my understanding is that Milwaukee would have lost him in the Rule 5 draft anyway, so either way he’d be gone.
And for $10 mil, they should be able to get someone better to play 2b..maybe even resign Moose for a little more and keep Shaw at 2nd.
Stearns must’ve realized he could get a better 2B for cheaper thru F/A (Lowrie, Murphy, LeMahieu et al.)
Dodgers?!
Unless he gets a text from Machado to meet up in Philly.
Good choice, ten million was too much of a gamble on schoop
Would the Yankees put him at 2B?
Back to the Orioles on a 1 year deal. Low pressure environment and can regain his swagger
O’s sign him for:
1. a low salary ;
2. with big incentives;
3. a bigger bonus if traded and
4. an opt out if not traded by the AS break.
What a disaster trade for the Brewers
Actually, the trade moved Jonathan Villar 792 miles away from Miller Park. That alone made it a good trade.
Really? Did you see what Villar did in Baltimore?
Villar should’ve stayed with MIL as a role player. Great baserunner and solid defender, a perfect foil for Shaw at 2B.
You’re joking right? If he wasn’t getting caught stealing, he was getting picked off. And besides physical errors in the field, he suffered plenty of mental ones as well. Say what you want about acquiring Schoop, but Villar was not good at all for a year and a half longer than most brewer fans care to remember.
That it was!!!! Should of kept Gennett.
Now is the time for Schoop to transform into a superutility player during winter ball because that will be his best bet in the majors going forward.
Eppler?
Tigers need a SS. I wonder if he would cost less than Iggy?
Probably a noob question but why non tender Dan Jennings? To me that’s more surprising than non tendering Billy Hamilton
The brewers just think his value as a player doesn’t match the dollar amount he would get in arbitration, meaning they think they can find the same on field production for less money. IMO.
I reckon that’s fair. Idk maybe it’s because my team has been pitching starved since 2013 but cutting a guy that can give you slightly above average outings from the bullpen is usually worth keeping around
Can’t disagree with that. He wouldn’t be a bad pick up for the reds at the right price cuz he is a good pitcher. But the brewers have a bunch of young pitchers, starters mostly, that have 40 man roster spots now. I expect them to utilize a lot of that SP depth with shorter outings and having two starting pitcher type guys throw 3 or 4 innings piggy back style-ish. That’ll take up some bullpen space and the trio of jeffress knebel hader is there for a few more years.
He would be a great fit for the Yankees
Padres!
Like some commenters have mentioned, Luis Urias can also play SS at a high level. Only reason he is pegged for 2B is because Tatis Jr. is looming and ownership wanted to distinguish those two as the double play combo of the future.
That doesn’t mean that Urias can’t hold down SS to start the season while Schoop is brought in to play 2B. When Tatis is ready you bring him up, slide Urias to 2B and Schoop to 3B or you immediately start grooming Tatis for 3B and let Urias hold down SS, either way bringing in Schoop would be a welcomed problem for the Padres.
The guy is a year removed from elite numbers in a very difficult division at a position where any offense is a premium. I would love it if Preller gambled on a pillow contract for Schoop.
Or just bring him in to play 3B if his arm strength can handle it as some suggest.
Cheaper alternative than the trade route. Schoop is a second baseman but can give the Padres third base production and numbers there if they wanted to go down that route.
I’m surprised that I haven’t heard that he reminds Brewer fans say he reminds them of Rickie Weeks lol. I think Shoop can absolutely rebound from this but in order for that to happen he needs to do a Matt Kemp and lose some weight with conditioning, he is only 27 but he seems like he is moving like Cano. He just wasn’t right when he got to Milwaukee, never smiled and looked very unhappy. Now as far as Cedeno and Jennings honestly there looks to be a couple of Rule 5 lefties that are very close to major league ready that I think could do about the same production at a lot more cheaper price. Now as far as the Schoop trade in how much we lost in the deal I know Villar had out worn his welcome. People wanted him released even in the FO. There had also been a bunch of rumblings that the Brewers were very unhappy about his conditioning and weight gain. The urgency to get better wasn’t showing
Sure he could bounce back but rather doubtful. He looks lost in the batter box and is brutal to watch.
The Pirates should consider signing all three of these players.
They need a lefty in the bullpen.
They need power at second base.
Adam Frazier can be the super utility man that SRod and JHay were.