Recently, much has been made
about a potential Brewers-Josh Hamilton union. The Brewers are one of
the possible suitors for Hamilton because of their low guaranteed
payroll for 2013.
Other fans want priority
placed on resigning pitching ace Zack Greinke. Both Greinke and
Hamilton will take up a large portion of the payroll, so the Brewers
won't be able to add both.
Still other fans want the
Brewers to blow up the current roster. Trade Greinke, Marcum, Weeks,
Hart, and K-rod for younger position players. This group of fans
believes a few position players, teamed with the plethora of young
pitching, can bring the Brewers back to the top in only a few
short years.
No question, Attanasio and
Melvin will have much to debate as this season progresses and
throughout the offseason. But what course of action will they take?
This will depend on the
Brewers success this season. If they can right the ship and get back
in the playoff hunt, the Crew will most likely not blow up the team,
but play for another post-season run. If they continue to struggle
and fall out of contention as the trade deadline approaches, they may
elect to trade and get younger.
To me, adding Josh Hamilton
adds nothing but a good story to the Brewers. The addition of
Hamilton will mean the Brewers will not resign Greinke, Marcum, or
K-rod. They will also be adding another outfielder to a stacked OF
group. Braun, Gomez, Hart, Aoki, and Morgan are all quality OF's
already.
More sense could be made of
the “rebuild” choice for the Brewers. The Crew's minor league
affiliates are filled with good pitching prospects. Wily Peralta and
Tyler Thornburg are developed pitchers in the Brewers AAA and AA
clubs, while recent draft picks Jed Bradley and Taylor Jungmann pitch
high-A ball. By trading some high value pieces on this years team –
like Greinke, Marcum, and K-rod, who are all free agents after this
season – and adding some poisition players, this team could be a
contender again in three or four years.
Of course, this plan will
mean a few years of losing baseball in Milawukee.
Regardless of the Brewers
choice, there are going to be some angered or frustrated fans.
Attanasio and Melvin have done nothing but good things for the
organization in the last few years, and have earned the trust of
their fans. Hopefully, the aggressive minded Attanasio won't be
temped by Josh Hamilton, but will pursue quality prospects that will
rejuvenate an empty farm system. The Brewers have the key pieces to
be good for several years. Braun, Gallardo, and Lucroy are All-Star
players at important positions. With the incoming pitching and a few
more infield prospects, the Brewers could be very good for several
more years.
-Zack
follow me on Twitter!
@WisSportsPulse
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