Saturday, December 3, 2011

My Hope/Realistic 25 Man Roster Prediction For 2012

I have been contemplating posting a 25 man roster prediction for sometime now. Obviously, this early into the offseason it is hard to really pin down a good projection of what the club will look like. I mean hell, we have not even got to the Winter Meetings in Dallas yet. But with some recent rumors on players the Brewers are "in on" I have decided to come up with what I hope the roster looks like on Opening Day 2012. I like to think this is also a realistic option.

I see no way or no how that the Brewers re-sign Prince Fielder. It is a pipe dream and I wish they would just totally move on from him. In his place I think the best option is a Gamel/McGehee platoon at 1B. It is really now or never for Gamel and I think he deserves a shot. I go with McGehee in the platoon with Mat because I have the Brewers signing Aramis Ramirez to play 3B on hopefully no more than a 3 year deal. Aramis would slide right into the cleanup spot behind 2011 MVP Ryan Braun. At SS, the Brewers do not seem to want to give the amount of years Rafael Furcal or Jimmy Rollins seek or the amount of money Jose Reyes wants. With Clint Barmes already signed to the Pirates that leaves bringing back Betancourt or signing his offensive clone but much better glove man Alex Gonzalez. That seems like an easy choice, A-Gon all the way. On the bench I see them going with a younger better defensive backup Catcher in Martin Maldonado and resigning Jerry Hairston to serve as the #1 bat off the bench and a super sub that can play all over the OF and IF.

The starting rotation should be the exact same as it was in 2011 unless Doug Melvin has some kind of sneaky tricky trade up his sleeve. In that case the most likely arms to slide into the rotation would be either Michael Fiers or Wily Peralta. As for the bullpen I think the re-sign Saito over Hawkins and then go with all players that are already in house. I would not mind a trade for the White Sox Matt Thornton or signing someone like Frank Francisco, but assuming all the arms I listed below are healthy I think it is a damn good bullpen. Most of what I have heard is Braddock is recovered from whatever personal/mental issues he had and will be ready for Spring Training and same goes for Manny Parra and Brandon Kintzler and their physical injuries.

Of course a lot can happen between now and the start of Spring Training in Maryvale, AZ in February. But right now I think this would be a very good playoff contending club and it could be a realistic one based on the players, money and contracts.

Starting Lineup:

1. Corey Hart - RF
2. Nyjer Morgan - CF
3. Ryan Braun - LF
4. Aramis Ramirez - 3B
5. Rickie Weeks - 2B
6. Mat Gamel - 1B
7. Alex Gonzalez - SS
8. Jonathan Lucroy - C

Bench:

Martin Maldonado - C
Jerry Hairston - IF/OF
Casey McGehee - IF
Taylor Green - IF
Carlos Gomez - OF

Starting Rotation:

Yovani Gallardo
Zack Greinke
Shaun Marcum
Randy Wolf
Chris Narveson

Bullpen:

John Axford
Takashi Saito
Kameron Loe
Zach Braddock
Manny Parra
Brandon Kintzler
Marco Estrada

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does appear realistic. Much prefer Alex G to Yuni B. If Braddock is right and Parra/Kintzler are healthy, then the bullpen could be effective with a proper setup man like Saito (who I also want back).

JD said...

I really hope Braddock is right and Parra is ready to go. Would be great to have two LHP that can throw heat out of the pen. If they don't bring back Saito would like to see Hawkins back or Francisco brought in for 8th inning. I really believe a Gamel/McGehee platoon at 1B with ARam at 3B could produce very close to what Fielder/3B gave us last year.

Al said...

I don't see Green sitting on the bench with three options remaining and only one season in AAA. Also, not adding a reliever and both Parra and Braddock being on the 25 man (especially Zack, with options) seems very unlikely, at best.

However, if Hairston does return, I could imagine a true PH being on the team, like a Vlad or Ibanez, rather than a 5th OF.

JD said...

Al, that is a good point on Green. Maybe they sign a veteran in that spot or put a guy like Wheeler on the roster. If Parra and Braddock are both healthy, why couldn't they be on the 25 man? Not saying they will be, but why not?