Brewers & Guardians
Submitted by: Spikes
Brewers
| Name | Age | Level | P1 | P2 | Availability | Years | AFV | Salary | Surplus | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oscar Gonzalez | 24 | Majors | OF | Medium | 6 | 32 | 11.8 | 20.1 | 16.1 | 20.1 | 24.2 |
Total Value:
20.1
Guardians
| Name | Age | Level | P1 | P2 | Availability | Years | AFV | Salary | Surplus | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Lauer | 27 | Majors | SP | Medium | 2 | 20.2 | 12.7 | 7.5 | 6 | 7.5 | 9 | |
| Joey Wiemer | Minors | OF | 13.6 | 10.9 | 13.6 | 16.3 |
Total Value:
21.1
Comments
8Inspired by BigBat's desire to trade for Lauer. Brewers could use a good bat in right field and Gonzalez seems to fit the mold. Also young with lots of control. I picked Wiemer as the OF prospect I thought the Guardians would like the most because he bats right-handed. Cleveland has a good supply of left-handed bats in the outfield. Wiemer would go into spring training with a shot at making the opening day roster but would probably need more time in AAA. At least for now, the muscular Gonzalez has combined extreme bat-to-ball skill with enough pop to produce in the majors. He batted .296 in his 91-game rookie season, with 11 homers and a 19% strikeout rate well below the MLB average. If you're looking for a comparable player, you might think of Gonzalez as a right-handed Corey Dickerson — reliably good batting average, some homers and acceptable defense in a corner outfield slot. You don't want him to be the best player on your team, but you certainly wouldn't mind seeing him step in against a nasty relief pitcher. (Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)
I'd say it's a no from Clevelands standpoint... Gonzalez, OGonz, SpongeBob... has become a fan favorite in Cleveland on a team that the casual fans barely know anyone on the team. PR wise Cleveland would like to keep him... Plus OGonz has something the rest of the team doesn't. He is a right handed bat with power... They don't have an internal replacement in a very heavy left handed organization. I don't think he is available outside of someone like Reynolds... If they had an internal replacement, they would do this deal...
Thanks for your prompt response. As you can see from the above comments, I tried to address the right-handed hitting outfielder need by trading Weimer to the Guardians. However, the reason the Brewers might be willing to trade Weimer is probably the same reason Cleveland would rather keep Gonzalez. Gonzalez has had a successful season already and although I think Weimer will be the better player, he is still just a prospect and Gonzalez provides more certainty. I understand the PR factor from the standpoint of a fan. Brewer fans have a similar feeling regarding Adames. I don't know how much weight the front office's put on the fan factor but in a trade that's pretty much even, I'm sure it's at least a consideration.
Cleveland likely wins the deal in the long term if Weimer becomes at least a league average bat, so it's not a bad proposal, just isn't something that the 23 Guardians will do in my mind.
But you said they would do this deal if they had an internal replacement. Well that internal replacement would be Wiemer. I can't say if Wiemer would replace OGon's bat(probably not), but it's very safe to say that OGon might regress and Wiemer would be an upgrade defensively and on the basepaths. I didn't vote either way on this deal because I just don't know if I would or wouldn't do it. I like the fact that it creates a lot of consideration and thought though.
NEWSLETTER? SURE, SIGN ME UP!
Initially, my reaction was "no way", but I'm having 2nd thoughts. I think Lauer improves Cleveland's rotation that is already pretty good and soon to get better. The hesitation comes from dealing Gonzalez. He's a valuable bat that Cleveland's offense desperately needs so it comes down to the question of.....can Wiemer give similar offensive production as Gonzalez? That's the gamble. One thing that Wiemer does bring that Gonzalez does not possess is good defense and baserunning. For that reason the Brewers may reject the idea themselves. I don't know if I like this deal or not, but it's a good post that causes some serious contemplation. I think most of your downvotes here on Cleveland's side are just ignorant fans that like Gonzalez's Spongebob connection to the fanbase. They probably aren't looking at actual facts.
Thanks for your reply BigBat. I can understand your hesitation regarding Gonzalez. When including Wiemer in the trade I felt the same way about Wiemer. I don't blame anyone from either team to give this a down vote because there are valid reasons for each team to say no. My final decision to post the trade was due to my opinion that this fills the need for a right-handed hitting outfielder that has the potential to make Milwaukee's lineup stronger. The Brewers are dealing from strength to fill what I consider a need. Ironically, Wiemer could be the guy to fill that need but I liked the certainty of Gonzalez better.
There are also reasons to upvote this deal for the reasons you and I mentioned.