I just heard Doug Melvin's interview on 1250 WSSP in Milwaukee. He had some rather interesting comments regarding the future of the Milwaukee Brewers.
One of the first things that jumped out at me was how much Melvin liked newly acquired infielder Felipe Lopez. From Melvin's comments, it would seem that the Brewers have great interest in keeping Lopez past this season. I, for one, like Lopez a lot. The only confusing thing about that comment, is where does that leave J.J. Hardy?
Melvin next addressed that by using his patent, "we're not motivated to move him" line. It seems whenever Doug has said that in the past the player has been moved. I am not so sure on how much I like trading Hardy. This offseason, Hardy's trade value was off the charts. He was coming off two stellar seasons with his bat and glove. This season, although he has remained a great defender, his batting stats have regressed. He has posted a .228/.300/.367/.667 line in 368 at bats. One of the things that made J.J. so valuable was his ability to hit out of a spot (SS) that rarely generates much offensive production. I wouldn't sell J.J. right now. His value is much lower than what he can be worth.
Melvin's final comments related to this past offseason. He discussed how relieved he was that he didn't bite on some of the other, higher priced, pitchers this offseason. He cited the poor work from John Smoltz and Oliver Perez as examples. This is one thing that gets overlooked when grading Melvin this year. If the Brewers would have wasted their money last year, they wouldn't have any flexibility this coming offseason.
Today, it was reported that the Brewers may have interest in recently DFA'd pitcher Vicente Padilla. Padilla signed a gigantic $33 million deal just 2 1/2 years ago with the Rangers. If the Brewers did get him, it would not be in any trade. There is no way they would be willing to eat any of the remaining money on his contract. I don't really see the point in going after Padilla. With Bush coming back soon, I really don't see him as much of an upgrade of what we already have.
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