Brewers Trade for Jonathan Schoop Rather Than a Starting Pitcher – I’m Dumbstruck (UPDATE)
The Brewers did a good job to add Joakim Soria to a bullpen that is, in my opinion, going to be very ground down very soon.
The Brewers did an interesting job to add Mike Moustakas at third base and then shift life-time third baseman Travis Shaw to second base, theoretically to address their hole there.
Fine. I can accept those things. And if they could just now add a starting pitcher, they’d have had a very good trade season. Except they instead opted to do this:
The Brewers have reportedly acquired Jonathan Schoop from the Orioles
via @Ken_Rosenthal pic.twitter.com/1Ozj63cUeA
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 31, 2018
Per source, the full return for Schoop: Luis Ortiz, Jean Carmona and Jonathan Villar. #Brewers #Orioles
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 31, 2018
Jonathan Schoop, 26, has cost control going for him, as he’s under team control for next season (getting an arbitration raise on his $8.5 million salary this year). In 2019, then, he could probably be the Brewers’ starting second baseman.
As it stands, though, it looks like Schoop, who rates as a slightly below average defensive second baseman, will be asked now to be the Brewers’ shortstop, a position he hasn’t even played with any kind of minimal regularity in four years. Oh, and they’re doing this so they can add his bat – he’s hitting .244/.273/.447 this year with a 90 wRC+.
So, rather than upgrade their rotation by adding a pitcher, the Brewers have actively harmed their rotation by putting a dodgy-as-hell defense in the middle infield for them. I’m befuddled. This can’t possibly work, right?
Like, credit for being bold, I guess, but if I’m a Brewers fan right now, I’m thinking the front office just torched this deadline. They have a rotation that right now REQUIRES 22-year-old Freddy Peralta not to hit a speed bump, Wade Miley to suddenly be good again, and Chase Anderson, Jhoulys Chacin, and Junior Guerra to keep massively outpitching their peripherals. I mean, good freaking luck with that.
UPDATE: This isn’t more impressive:
So, if you folks were looking for an exact formula of how Moustakas, Shaw and Schoop will fit into the same lineup, there isn't one. Sounds like at least one will be sitting on any given night because Arcia is going to be the SS. One exception could be on nights when Shaw is 1B.
— Tom (@Haudricourt) July 31, 2018
So you’re going to sit some of the very bats you went out and acquired (instead of just getting a pitcher) so that you can start the shortstop that was so bad you had to demote?
