Friday June 15th, 2012

Image Courtesy of MLB.SI.com

Brendan Henderson: 

                The Milwaukee Brewers are currently sitting in fourth in the NL Central division with a sub-par 28-33 record. Yes, that’s a decent record but I mentioned that it was “sub-par” because baseball fans are used to seeing the Brewers with a better record, but the Brewers lost Prince Fielder to free agency and they lost Alex Gonzalez this year due to injury.

                The Brewers are still in good shape to finish the year near the top of the NL Central, which is why I think they will be buyers at the trade deadline. As I mentioned above the team lost their shortstop, Alex Gonzalez for the season, the team had Cesar Izturis playing shortstop but he also got injured and he is currently on the 15 day DL. So the Brewers currently have Edwin Maysonet playing shortstop. Izturis was batting for a .216 in 31 games played and Maysonet is currently batting .200 in 23 games so there isn’t much difference in offense production between the two, in my opinion the Brewers need to get some offense production from their shortstop which is why I think the Brewers need and will go after a shortstop at the trade deadline. The teams ahead of them in the divison standings (Pirates,Reds, and Cardinals) are all not unbeatable teams. They still have a chance to make a playoff run, which is why I think they need to be buyers at the trade deadline. The Brewers need some more offense fire power if they want to make a run.

                The Brewers have hit for power this year but they haven’t been good in terms of batting average, as the team is 25^th in the MLB with a .239 batting average. The Brewers haven’t been getting on base that well also; they are 19^th in the MLB with a team OBP of .315. With that being said, I think they need a shortstop who can get on base and who is decent with the stick. I see the Rockies’ veteran shortstop Marco Scutaro as a good fit for the Brewers club, he has a OBP of .319 this year but his OBP is .337 in his career. Marco is also a pretty good hitter, he has a career batting average of .270 and his batting average is .268 this year. Overall, at the trade deadline I think the Brewers need to pursue a shortstop like Marco Scutaro.

                The next issue for the Brewers is free agency after this season is over, the team’s ace; Zack Greinke is a free agent after this year along with pitchers Francisco Rodriquez and Shaun Marcum. To me the Brewers HAVE to go after Greinke, they need him. Greinke won’t come cheap though, he is scheduled to make $13,500,000 this year. I think Greinke will get a contract of five years worth anywhere from 75-110 million dollars. If the Brewers don’t offer him this kind of contract he will get this money somewhere.

                Shaun Marcum will be making $7,725,000 this year, which is a major jump from what he got paid last year, $3,950,000. I honestly can’t see Marcum getting a good deal from the Brewers IF they successfully sign Zack Grienke. I think Marcum will get about a 3 or 4 year deal worth about 10 million dollars a year. I wouldn’t expect Marcum to be a Brewer if Zach Grienke is a Brewer next year.

                In my opinion Francisco Rodriquez won’t be a Brewer next year because simply, he gets paid too much. I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve all the money he gets; it’s just that the Brewers can’t sign him because of how much he makes.  He made $12,166,666 last year which easily one of the MLB’s top paid set-up men, and the Brewers just don’t have the money for him. I don’t expect K-Rod to wear a Brewers uniform next year.  Hopefully the Brewers at least retain their ace, Zack Greinke. Otherwise, if the team loses Greinke, Marcum and K-Rod, 2013 could be a very long season in Milwaukee.

Image Courtesy of Wtop.com

***Today’s feature was prepared by Brendan Henderson, MLB reports Intern.  We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers.  You can also follow Brendan on Twitter (@HenduBlog)***

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