might be the acquirable player most likely to get us the two or three wins

let’s say sabathia replaces bush and bush replaces mota, let’s generously say for 1/2 season. I think you’ve got 1 win in the upgrade from bush to sabathia, and maybe .25 wins in the upgrade from mota to bush. 2 or 3 wins could happen, and those upgrades, looking at who is available, might be the most likely to allow that to happen.

starting pitching is so tricky.

I think the Indians will shop this around, and a deal much like this will get done.

If the offer is actually LaPorta, which is an overpay, i assume Melvin is savvy enough to say something like you have one day to decide in order to get it done now and to limit the shopping the indians get to do.

So, what are the odds he is pitching Monday against Colorado instead of Dave Bush?

I like it. But the workload scares me. He’s thrown less than 100 pitches all of three times this year, and threw 240+ innings last year. I’d expect to get a B level prospect back if laporta or gamel are in for Sabathia as insurance against catastrophe.

This is interesting:

2008 Peavy xFIP: 3.52
2008 Sabathia xFIP: 3.24

Yeah, LaPorta would be cheap for years, but the Brewers are already set for years at the corner outfield spots with Hart and Braun. Even if Hart ends up moving into center field, the Brewers still have a number of outfield prospects (and perhaps Mat Gamel) with no service time to fill in that corner outfield spot. With a number of cheap options (though without the shiny first-round pick status) at the same position, LaPorta’s value to the Brewers as a cheap corner outfielder in the future is likely considered by the front office as less than guys who might be able to play third base, shortstop, or catcher. That’s likely why they’re willing to send LaPorta out in a deal for pitching this year rather than keeping him for the sake of fielding a lineup of cheap players in future years.

Now, they could try and get a pitcher who will be around after 2008, but how many guys like that are actually on the market? How often do currently good pitchers (like a Greinke) with more than just the one season of team control actually get traded in the middle of the season? To wit, Melvin has already mentioned guys like Matt Cain and Zack Greinke are more likely available in the offseason. If that type of pitcher is not available now and the front office feels the team needs a starting pitcher this year to get them over the hump into the playoffs, why not go for the best guy out there by dangling a cheap player that can be more easily replaced with your other cheap players? I guess they could go only for a lesser option like Greg Maddux (six innings of wiliness per start) or Randy Wolf (really?), but they don’t seem like guys who would make as much of a difference.

Do yourself a favor and check out C.C.’s stats since those abysmal first 4 starts. He’s been more or less the same guy who won the Cy Young in May and June.

It’s like we have our own brood of mini Estradas.

Maybe they’re too far down the system to attract any attention? Or maybe because we, as an organization, have had such little offense out of our catcher spot in recent memory that Jason Kendall looks good to us, and we keep Dave Nilsson’s number on speed dial just in case. With that sort of history, we might have trouble getting appropriate value for our catching prospects. Kind of like trying to trade Tony Gwynn Jr. when you yourself are desperate for a centerfielder.

He’s good enough to get to the Majors as a catcher, which is more than can be said of Salome at this point.

Prince is already almost too short to play first, and Salome is much shorter.

Gamel is the Prince insurance. He has little chance of being a third sacker and with Braun in left, that leaves first as the most likely destination. They may tinker with Gamel in the OF while Prince is still on the team, but I would be very surprised if he isn’t the 1B in 3 years.

Can anyone remember the last time anyone in the majors had a 5-7 first sacker?

This is the rep amongst Brewer fans, but over the last 20 years, how often have the Brewers really had to trade away young home-developed stars?

Sheffield had to go because he wanted out, not per se due to salary issues.

Anyone else? What were the circumstances of Vaughn leaving?

The Brewers of the past really didn’t have to sell their home grown talent, frankly because they weren’t producing much of it.

Economics WAS important, but more so from the standpoint of them not being able to afford to GET top line talent (as opposed to losing it), forcing them into horrible acquisitions like Stubbs, Berry, Hammonds, etc.

It could be selective memory —and probably IS selective memory -- but I thought LaPorta projects more to a mini-Braun than a Rickie II. But your point is well-taken - LaPorta could be the next Kevin Barker.

it was more or less inevitable anyway. I suspect that a lot of the “Money thinks he can stick at third” talk was just trade posturing and/or keeping it positive since Gamel can read.

Might not happen until the offseason…maybe, a la Corey, he’ll go play outfield in the AZ fall league.

That’s a decent site overall, but Nosco’s got a tenuous grasp on reality. If you’re looking to see some analysis from the other side that reflects this particular universe, you’d do better with Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer (usually), Paul Cousineau of The DiaTribe, and Ryan and Jay over at your SBN sister site Let’s Go Tribe!

“In January, 2008 the top five Brewers’ prospects, according to Baseball America, were 1B/OF Matt LaPorta, LHP Manny Parra, SS Alcides Escobar, RHP Jeremy Jeffress and 3B Matt Gamel. For reference, at that moment, the Brewers were rated to have only the 21st best prospects among the 30 major league teams meaning, essentially, they had a significantly below average farm system.”

He’s very toolsy, and you have to remember that the FSL, and Brevard County in particular, is a terrible hitting environment. He’s also a pretty good CF, but isn’t playing there because Brevard has a better one in Darren Ford.

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