Stearns prefers to be among buyers
But games leading up to trade deadline are critical
As Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns likes to phrase it, a team informs its decision makers what the proper course of action might be at any given point in time.
The information being provided by the Brewers over the past month certainly has not been encouraging, with 18 losses in 27 games entering the game Tuesday night against Atlanta at Miller Park. But, with two weeks to go to the July 31 trade deadline, Stearns said there was still time for to figure out the best possible moves.
“The record over the past month speaks for itself,” Stearns said. “We have not played good baseball. We are fortunate, in many ways, to be in the place in the standings where we are (48-47, 21⁄2 games out of first place in the NL Central as of Tuesday). So, now we have 21⁄2 months to take advantage of that good fortune.
“The way I would look at it is adding is meant to complement a good team that has a chance to get to and advance in the playoffs. It’s certainly my belief that this team has the ability to get to that point. We’ve got two weeks to the deadline. We can learn a lot in two weeks. It’s an important stretch to us.”
Barring a worse collapse over those two weeks, Stearns’ inclination seems to be to add to his roster, not subtract, as some have speculated with the team headed in the wrong direction of late.
“We’re still in evaluative mode,” he said. “We still have time. But, certainly, we would like to be in a position to add to the team.”
The question is: What is the Brewers’ chief area of need. The starting rotation has been in flux all season, and adding an established pitcher certainly wouldn't hurt. The bullpen also has been struggling and has only one sure thing in Josh Hader, making relief help a necessity.
The offense also has struggled during the team's skid, but Stearns is more likely to stay with the group he has there with expectations of getting more hitters going.
With only one trade deadline this season, teams must declare themselves by the end of the month. And, with so many teams in the NL at least in the wild-card hunt, it appears to be a sellers’ market, allowing teams to bid against themselves.
“I’d say there’s substantial industry activity and discussion,” Stearns said. “I can also say because there are so many teams lumped together, some of the more notable activity may be more likely to wait. Everyone’s still, for the most part, in discussion mode and understanding other team’s interests and needs. And a lot of teams are still working through their interests and needs.
“The industry, and certainly we are driven by deadlines. We’ve got two weeks to go. We’re going to be watching
every game and we’ll take it from there.”
It has not escaped the notice of Stearns and manager Craig Counsell that Travis Shaw has picked up the pace considerably at the plate since being optioned to Class AAA San Antonio on June 28 in the midst of a dreadful, season-long hitting slump. Entering Tuesday, Shaw was batting .324 with a .477 on-base percentage and 1.242 OPS in 11 games since going down.
Over his last eight games, Shaw was batting .417 with five homers, 13 RBI and 1.618 OPS.
“Travis is doing great,” Counsell said. “It seems like he’s really gotten on track. He has been consistent. It’s fun to see.
“I think Travis Shaw being back to Travis Shaw is going to force us to do something. That’s how I feel. It’s a bat you want in the lineup. That’s a good problem to have, and one we’ll definitely consider.”
The problem is, who would go down to make room for Shaw on the roster? The last time he came back from a rehab assignment in the minors, second baseman Keston Hiura was optioned to San Antonio, something that seems unlikely now with Hiura one of the few hot hitters on the club.
Tyler Saladino had done nothing offensively (3 for 35) since coming up from the Missions but provides the only backup for Orlando Arcia at shortstop.
“We have to cover ourselves positionally,” Counsell said. “That’s got to happen. That’s the tricky part.”
Asked how he could make room for Shaw without creating a major hole on the roster elsewhere, Stearns said, “We’ll find room for productive players. We can have creative roster structure as we have in the past.
“We’re pleased to see what he has done so far in Triple-A. We also recognize it’s been a relatively short period of time. We want to make sure we’re giving him sufficient opportunity to work through it and get on a roll.”