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2018 SB Nation GM Simulation

The guys over at Royals Review are once again putting on the annual SB Nation GM Simulation, scheduled to kick off Sunday Nov 4. I have once again accepted their invite to run the ol' Milwaukee Nine's fake front office during this excessive and I'm looking forward to the benefits of an increased budget and the label of "a contender" in any faux negotiations.

Looking back to last season, I have to pat myself on the back for getting the Yelich trade about as close as anyone could a month before it actually happened (I traded Lewis Brinson, Keon Broxton and Isan Diaz for Yelich and Brad Ziegler) and felt pretty good about getting guys like Matt Albers and Jonny Venters on minor league deals. My other big trade for DJ Lemahieu would have shored up the 2B situation, but obviously Lorenzo Cain made for a better leadoff hitter in the real world. I overspent on the bullpen by re-signing Anthony Swarzak and bringing in Mike Minor on a 4 year deal and likely could have skipped those deals. But I have to believe a bullpen of Hader, Knebel, Jeffress, Brad Hand, Minor and Swarzak would have been every bit as dominant as what we had in 2018. Of course, I missed on adding a decent starting pitcher as I ended up getting Luis Perdomo vs Chacin and/or Miley and those two were huge factors in the playoff run we just all witnessed. I felt I did well last year, but I think David Stearns' job is safe for now. For a full recap of last year's project, you can find it here.

Looking ahead to this year's sim, I'm still deciding on my overall strategy. As much as I would like to stand pat and basically retain the same squad as the Brewers fielded this year (which is what I think will probably happen in reality), that makes for a rather boring time. Even though I assume the Brew Crew will do little over the winter besides buying out arbitration years for some of their younger players (something this sim does not allow for the sake of keeping the project manageable in 4 days), I do have a few ideas on how to get this club back to back NL Central crowns and another shot at a World Series.

I'd like to improve at C, 2B and LH pitching. I think I can retain Wade Miley or Gio Gonzalez at a reasonable cost, so that hopefully leaves me just looking for a LH reliever via FA or trade. My plan (for now) is to keep Jonathan Schoop even at his $10.1MM arb number as I like his IF versatility and the fact he has minor league options. He's expensive, but his bat is too good to just give up on. However, if I find a decent trade offer for Schoop, I would probably jump at it. Even with Schoop in the fold, I'd love to find another utility IF type like Marwin Gonzalez to give me some cover. I think he's a realistic candidate for Milwaukee's roster given his versatility and Houston connection. Finally, at C, I doubt I'll meet the asking price for Realmuto as I have zero interest in trading Hiura, Burnes or Woodruff. So I'll need to look elsewhere. Grandal will likely cost an arm and a leg, but maybe there will be a rebuilding team like KC with Salvador Perez who is interested in getting some salary relief.

I'd love to hear other people's idea on potential FAs or trade targets (even minor league targets) before next weekend. As usual, I will post a recap after the conclusion. I always try to have fun with this, so feel free to offer any input.

(PS - I know I jumped off this message board for a while, but I've continued to follow the comment threads causally. Things were just too negative on here when Milwaukee was struggling in August and I needed a break. Then they turned it around and I was content just watching the club play some of the best baseball I've seen a team play as a fan. But now that it's the offseason, I hope to be more engaged and active on here as people discuss potential moves and the 2019 season.)