On Dec. 20, 2010, word trickled out that the Brewers had traded four young players for former ace pitcher Zack Greinke. At a young age, Greinke was hyped as one of baseball's top prospects and finished fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year vote in 2004 with the Royals.
The next year his ERA skyrocketed as his control went south and he barely played in the majors in 2006 while battling depression and anxiety. But after getting treatment, Greinke came back in 2009 and won the Cy Young. So, when the Brewers made the trade, Milwaukee fans rejoiced - except for me.
Don't get me wrong, I loved the idea of Greinke pitching for the Brewers, I just didn't love the idea of getting rid of defensive wunderkind Alcides Escobar (SS), Lorenzo Cain (OF), reliever Jeremy Jeffress and starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi. Well, I was fine with Jeffress, but the other three were ready to star for the next 5-10 years and we were letting them go as they reached their prime.
Yes, in 2011, the Brewers won 96 games and made it to the NLCS, finishing just shy of a World Series appearance. So, for a year, with all their eggs in one basket, it seemed to work. But soon that luck started to falter.
Pitcher Shaun Marcum never returned to form, and both Yovani Gallardo and Randy Wolf sputtered. Greinke was eventually dealt the very next season as the Brewers failed to make another run, this time getting back three prospects, only one of which ever made a dent in the majors - Jean Segura (now with Seattle).
As for the four traded to KC? Well, Odorizzi was dealt to Tampa Bay for two future All-Stars and a closer (Wade Davis) that won two titles. Cain and Escobar were part of the backbone for the Royals, who went on to lose the World Series in 2014 and win it all in 2015. Each have become All-Stars, Cain finished third in MVP voting in 2015 and Escobar is a gold glover.
Milwaukee during that period? Garbage. The Brewers collapsed in 2014 and in 2015 finished with just 68 wins, trading nearly every available contract and starting over while canning their former GM (Doug Melvin) in the process.
But this past year the young prospects they swapped All-Star talent for happened to find their way into contention. All of a sudden, the future looks brighter than ever. This past week, GM David Stearns (who is the same age as me), signed back Cain (Jeffress was re-added in 2017 in a trade with Texas). On the same day, he also traded top outfield prospect Lewis Brinson and three others for Marlins All-Star OF Christian Yelich.
While I disliked the 2010 trade because both Cain and Escobar were already big leaguers, trading Brinson was a no-brainer for me. The Brewers already had solid OF depth, but Brinson's potential was tracked to become, basically, Yelich. And right now, Yelich is one of the best in the business and signed for five more years - the amount of time Brinson has left. Stearns traded one MLB player and three Single-A, highly touted prospects, for an MVP candidate who will stick around for five more seasons. That is a great trade.
With Cain in the mix, the Brewers' new first four batters (Yelich, Cain, Ryan Braun and Travis Shaw) are about as good as any other Top-4 in baseball. Oh baby, these Brewers are going for it.
Pitching is still suspect, especially when current staff ace Jimmy Nelson will miss the first two-plus months with an injury. Nelson is at-best a No. 2 on most staffs and at best the No. 3 for most contenders. Milwaukee needs more pitching. Free Agents Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta are still available, and despite the contracts the Brewers have acquired, Milwaukee still has plenty of money leftover to go get either (hopefully both). Another name being floated? Danny Salazar of Cleveland.
I love both the Indians and the Brewers equally. I truly do. The last major deal these two teams made was in 2007 when Milwaukee sent four players to Cleveland for ace CC Sabathia. Sabathia had one of the greatest half-seasons ever in Milwaukee, which led to a huge pay day. Oh yeah, Milwaukee also made the playoffs for the first time in 25 years that season. In return, the Brewers sent Cleveland Michael Brantley, won the 2015 MVP ahead of Cain but has missed most of the last two years with injuries. It was an equal trade in my eyes, and if the two teams can pull off another big deal - Milwaukee sending OF prospects or depth to Cleveland for Salazar, it will again look great for both sides.
I am excited as I have ever been entering a new season of baseball. In case you are wondering, pitchers and catchers officially begin reporting to Spring Training around the league exactly two weeks from today.
What a time to be alive.
- Adam Krebs is a reporter for the Monroe Times and is the defending fantasy baseball champion in his private league. He can be reached at akrebs@themonroetimes.net.
The next year his ERA skyrocketed as his control went south and he barely played in the majors in 2006 while battling depression and anxiety. But after getting treatment, Greinke came back in 2009 and won the Cy Young. So, when the Brewers made the trade, Milwaukee fans rejoiced - except for me.
Don't get me wrong, I loved the idea of Greinke pitching for the Brewers, I just didn't love the idea of getting rid of defensive wunderkind Alcides Escobar (SS), Lorenzo Cain (OF), reliever Jeremy Jeffress and starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi. Well, I was fine with Jeffress, but the other three were ready to star for the next 5-10 years and we were letting them go as they reached their prime.
Yes, in 2011, the Brewers won 96 games and made it to the NLCS, finishing just shy of a World Series appearance. So, for a year, with all their eggs in one basket, it seemed to work. But soon that luck started to falter.
Pitcher Shaun Marcum never returned to form, and both Yovani Gallardo and Randy Wolf sputtered. Greinke was eventually dealt the very next season as the Brewers failed to make another run, this time getting back three prospects, only one of which ever made a dent in the majors - Jean Segura (now with Seattle).
As for the four traded to KC? Well, Odorizzi was dealt to Tampa Bay for two future All-Stars and a closer (Wade Davis) that won two titles. Cain and Escobar were part of the backbone for the Royals, who went on to lose the World Series in 2014 and win it all in 2015. Each have become All-Stars, Cain finished third in MVP voting in 2015 and Escobar is a gold glover.
Milwaukee during that period? Garbage. The Brewers collapsed in 2014 and in 2015 finished with just 68 wins, trading nearly every available contract and starting over while canning their former GM (Doug Melvin) in the process.
But this past year the young prospects they swapped All-Star talent for happened to find their way into contention. All of a sudden, the future looks brighter than ever. This past week, GM David Stearns (who is the same age as me), signed back Cain (Jeffress was re-added in 2017 in a trade with Texas). On the same day, he also traded top outfield prospect Lewis Brinson and three others for Marlins All-Star OF Christian Yelich.
While I disliked the 2010 trade because both Cain and Escobar were already big leaguers, trading Brinson was a no-brainer for me. The Brewers already had solid OF depth, but Brinson's potential was tracked to become, basically, Yelich. And right now, Yelich is one of the best in the business and signed for five more years - the amount of time Brinson has left. Stearns traded one MLB player and three Single-A, highly touted prospects, for an MVP candidate who will stick around for five more seasons. That is a great trade.
With Cain in the mix, the Brewers' new first four batters (Yelich, Cain, Ryan Braun and Travis Shaw) are about as good as any other Top-4 in baseball. Oh baby, these Brewers are going for it.
Pitching is still suspect, especially when current staff ace Jimmy Nelson will miss the first two-plus months with an injury. Nelson is at-best a No. 2 on most staffs and at best the No. 3 for most contenders. Milwaukee needs more pitching. Free Agents Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta are still available, and despite the contracts the Brewers have acquired, Milwaukee still has plenty of money leftover to go get either (hopefully both). Another name being floated? Danny Salazar of Cleveland.
I love both the Indians and the Brewers equally. I truly do. The last major deal these two teams made was in 2007 when Milwaukee sent four players to Cleveland for ace CC Sabathia. Sabathia had one of the greatest half-seasons ever in Milwaukee, which led to a huge pay day. Oh yeah, Milwaukee also made the playoffs for the first time in 25 years that season. In return, the Brewers sent Cleveland Michael Brantley, won the 2015 MVP ahead of Cain but has missed most of the last two years with injuries. It was an equal trade in my eyes, and if the two teams can pull off another big deal - Milwaukee sending OF prospects or depth to Cleveland for Salazar, it will again look great for both sides.
I am excited as I have ever been entering a new season of baseball. In case you are wondering, pitchers and catchers officially begin reporting to Spring Training around the league exactly two weeks from today.
What a time to be alive.
- Adam Krebs is a reporter for the Monroe Times and is the defending fantasy baseball champion in his private league. He can be reached at akrebs@themonroetimes.net.
