Brewers exploring all options at winter meetings
National Harbor, Md. – One thing that allows Milwaukee Brewers general manager David Stearns the luxury of exploring all personnel options with his club is that every position would be covered if the 2017 season began today.
In other words, there is no gaping void at any one position.
“It’s a comforting position to be in,” Stearns said Monday as the winter meetings got cranked up at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.
“We do feel as though we could go to spring training tomorrow and be comfortable with the group we have.”
That doesn’t mean Stearns will be standing pat as his rebuilding process continues. He quickly added, “The work we have to do from now until spring training is to improve upon that group. There are certainly areas in which we can greatly improve, so that’s going to be our goal.
Selig basks in glow of Hall of Fame election
“For the past week, we’ve been engaged in talks that have progressed at a pretty good clip. I’m terrible at predicting when a trade gets over the hump or when it doesn’t, but we’re engaged on a number of fronts. We’re setting ourselves up for the possibility of making a deal.”
Beyond Orlando Arcia at shortstop and newcomer Eric Thames at first base, no position is set in stone at this point. Ryan Braun obviously would be the leftfielder if he remains on the club but he could be had in the right deal this winter.
The positions most open to speculation are second base and third base. Scooter Gennett, who started 121 games at second last season, recently signed a new $2.525 million deal but there is no guarantee he will start there in 2017.
Jonathan Villar did not perform well at third base, committing 12 errors in 42 games after losing the shortstop job when Arcia came up at the beginning of August. Accordingly, Villar was given eight late-season starts at second base, a position at which he could see considerable action next season.
Hernan Perez could be the third baseman in place of Villar, but manager Craig Counsell said he considers Perez more valuable as a multi-position player. Add that all together and it’s easy to see why Stearns is not ready yet to commit to a regular at second base or third.
“It’s something we’ll continue to evaluate throughout the off-season,” Stearns said. “We think that Johnny has the ability to play (second). It’s something he’s probably a little more comfortable doing than third base because he’s had more experience doing it. He picked it up very nicely toward the end of the year.
“At the same time, that’s where Scooter has played his entire career. So, that’s something we’ll sort through the rest of the off-season. We’ll talk about it and head into spring training with a plan on how we’re going to approach it. We’d certainly imagine that Johnny is going to get a full complement of plate appearances next year.
“Throughout our infield, adding some depth would not be a bad idea, whether that’s third base or other positions. We’re certainly open-minded to what could come our way. I don’t have a priority in terms of an exact position or area of the team I’d like to improve next.
“We didn’t actually add the person (Aaron Hill) who started opening day for us at third base last year until the very end of the off-season, so we’re still at the front end of this thing. We’ve got a long way to go. I’m sure we’ll have many opportunities to shape our club between now and then.”
With a weak starting pitching market this winter, especially after Rich Hill returned Monday to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Stearns is getting plenty of calls on his rotation. Junior Guerra, who had a breakthrough season (9-3, 2.81 ERA in 20 starts) as a 31-year-old rookie, has attracted considerable attention.
Stearns listens to all offers but made it clear he would not deal a starter with years of control remaining without a considerable return.
“We have some depth with our major-league starting pitching and right now not a lot of teams have that,” he said. “We’ve fielded calls on that segment of our team and I’d imagine we’d continue to do so.
“Cost-controlled young talent is tough to find. It makes the price – if we are going to part with any segment of it – that much higher.”
The Brewers came to the meetings with one opening on their 40-man roster and have begun discussions on possibly making a selection in the Rule 5 draft of unprotected players Thursday. Milwaukee has the ninth pick.
Last year, the Brewers took two players in the Rule 5 draft – infielder Colin Walsh from Oakland and reliever Zach Jones from Minnesota – but neither player stuck with the club for a full season as required.
“We’ll meet Wednesday evening to determine whether we think a selection is wise, and if so, who that will be,” Stearns said. “We just have to decide whether one of them is worth picking and taking a roster spot.”