Thanks to everyone who submitted questions for our inaugural Milwaukee Brewers mailbag. The response was overwhelming, so I tried to answer the questions that were most frequently asked.
Fans were most interested in the first-base situation, but other areas covered are the future of Carlos Gomez, the looming decision to bring back Yovani Gallardo, when to expect a new hitting coach to be hired and much more.
Question: Who is at fault that we did not have a offensive 1st baseman this year? The manager or the GM? -- Dan, Deer Park
Who are some possible solutions to our first base problems? I've heard Adam LaRoche's name being thrown around as a possibility for the Brewers -- David, New Berlin
What are their options at 1B? Do they move Lucroy and get another catcher? Is there a potentially available player either via free agency or trade? -- Nathan, Madison
Why didn't the Brewers address the needs at first base before the trade deadline? Now I suppose they think they got a gem in Clark and we will have no hits again at that position. -- Mark, Hudson
Answer: Since there were about 10 other questions about first base other than the ones I listed above, so let's start here. Solving the problem at first base should be Milwaukee's top priority this offseason. But doing that is easier said than done.
The fact the Brewers haven't found a first baseman is on general manager Doug Melvin, but he hasn't had many good options on the free-agent market and it isn't easy to trade for a starting first baseman. The free agents last offseason weren't very good, while the first basemen on a trade market weren't any better than Mark Reynolds or Lyle Overbay.
There are in-house options. The best of those would be moving Jonathan Lucroy to first base and making Martin Maldonado the starting catcher. I don't believe that is going to happen. I also don't think the Brewers can head into next season banking on Hunter Morris, Matt Clark or Jason Rogers if they expect to contend for the postseason.
The Brewers are unlikely to seriously contend in 2015 unless they improve at first base. Free-agent options are slim again. If the Nationals decline Adam LaRoche's option, he'll become the prize of the market. Michael Morse is a solid bat, but he's not great defensively. Michael Cuddyer can certainly hit, but can he stay healthy?
With the uncertainty of the free-agent market, Melvin may need to make a major trade to acquire a first baseman. That's easier said than done, and the Brewers are certainly going to have to pay a hefty price in return.
Q: What free agents do you expect the Brewers to take a good look at this offseason? Could they be active in the trade market as well, especially at the corner infield positions? -- Jason, Germantown
A: Outside of first base, the obvious hole is at third base if either the Brewers or Aramis Ramirez decline their part of the $14 million option for 2015. Third base is another tough position to fill, which means the Brewers will likely execute their side of the option on Ramirez. It will then be up to him whether he comes back.
Unless Melvin decides to completely overhaul the roster, the bullpen and the bench are the other areas needing to be filled. I do expect the Brewers to be very active in the offseason. After the way last year ended, my feeling is that Melvin will make a couple of moves nobody sees coming.
Q: Do you see Carlos Gomez getting another contract extension from the Brewers if so what kind of deal would you think? â Michael, Kaukauna
A: Good question, Michael. If Gomez continues to produce the way he has over the past two seasons, the Brewers probably won't be able to afford him.
Gomez has been one of the best players in baseball since the beginning of 2013, and agent Scott Boras will be sure to seek a large contract when the center fielder is a free agent following the 2016 season.
Luckily, the Brewers still control Gomez at a bargain price for two more seasons.
Q: Do you think it is a wise move by Doug Melvin to bring back Yovani Gallardo? He seems to have lost some miles on his fastball, gets his pitch count up early and is very inconsistent. â Perry, Wausau
A: Milwaukee has until after the World Series to officially exercise a $13 million club option on Gallardo for 2015. There are quite a few reasons as to why the Brewers would bring Gallardo back.
The Brewers won't find a pitcher of Gallardo's caliber for under $13 million. Sure, some of his starts are frustrating, but he has been quite consistent over the course of his career. Gallardo has been hurt perception-wise by being labeled "an ace" throughout his time with the Brewers. He isn't a No. 1 pitcher, but Milwaukee isn't going to be able to afford those types of arms unless they draft one. Check out Wily Peralta's final numbers from last season and compare them to Gallardo's. They are very similar, but most consider Peralta's season a huge success while want Gallardo chased out of town. Yes, his fastball has lost a few miles per hour from a few years ago, but he has adapted by changing the way he pitches.
There are arguments to be made to move on for Gallardo, too. That would leave both Mike Fiers and Jimmy Nelson with tentative spots in rotation entering spring training. The Brewers are going to go with Gallardo because of his consistency: six straight seasons of 30 or more starts, ERA under 4.00 in five of the last six years and has pitched at least 180 innings in every full season of his career. It is hard to replace that kind of production. Gallardo will be back for what's likely his final year with the Brewers in 2015.
Q: With Coulter being moved to RF is that an indication the Brewers don't see Braun there for the long term, since he has a long term contract? â Steve, Balsam Lake
Do you think Clint Coulter will start the year in Double-A with his move to right field? â Michael, Kaukauna
A: When Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash told us that Coulter was changing positions, one reporter asked if his landing spot would be determined by organizational need or where he fits best.
Ash said it was similar to the draft, you don't worry about the organizational depth chart and instead move the player to the position where he is going to succeed. So the fact Coulter is in right field says nothing about Ryan Braun.
Coulter had a great season for Class-A Wisconsin last season, but he's only 21 years old with a lot to prove. My guess is Coulter begins 2015 at Class-A Advanced Brevard County, but he certainly could make the jump to Double-A at some point next season.
Q: I've read the term cross checker several times relating to Brewer's scouting personnel, what exactly is that? And what are their responsibilities? â Steve, Balsam Lake
A: A crosschecker is a step up from the area scouts. The Brewers employ five crosscheckers, a national crosschecker, a national pitching crosschecker, an East Coast crosschecker, a West Coast crosschecker and another person with just a crosschecker title.
Area scouts file reports to their regional crosschecker, who then creates a broader evaluation of the players picked out by the area scouts. The job of the national crosschecker is to compare and rank players from all over the country, essentially serving as the right-hand man to the scouting director.
The Brewers are currently looking for a scouting director to replace the late Bruce Seid. They will likely be interviewing crosscheckers for the job, as that is the natural progression in the scouting world.
Q: Cain, Escobar. Aioki, Ishikawa, What did we get for them Mr. G. M.? Seems like the Royals and the Giants were better judges of talent. -- Ron, Felch, Michigan
Do you think if the Brewers kept Aoki they would have probably won the division? I think he was the guy the Brewers were lacking all year, kind of like Molitor when he played there, "The Igniter". â Al, Star Prairie
A: What did the Brewers get for Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar? Zack Greinke helped the Brewers to a division title and a trip to the NLCS in 2011. To get a pitcher of that caliber, the Brewers had to give up young talent. You can debate whether it is wise to give up prospects to make a run at a title, but Greinke helped the Brewers to within two wins of the World Series. Then he got them Jean Segura and a pair of pitching prospects. The Royals traded one of the top prospects in baseball before the 2013 season to get James Shields. In order to get talent, you have to give talent.
Cain is a talented player who is coming into his own this season, especially this postseason. The 28-year-old hit under .270 with little power in 2012 and '13. He's been injury prone throughout his career and has played in just 64 percent of Kansas City's games over the last three seasons. Escobar is a nice player -- career .263 hitter. But like Cain, he isn't a superstar.
Travis Ishikawa hit .257 with four home runs in 94 games for the Brewers in 2012. He has been released by four different organizations since. He's a 31-year-old journeyman with very little power. Great story, but he's nothing more than that.
The Norichika Aoki trade also isn't one to lose much sleep over. Could he have helped the Brewers this season? Probably. But I don't think a singles hitter would have lifted Milwaukee to the postseason. Carlos Gomez's on-base percentage was higher than Aoki's during the regular season. Aoki, a 32-year-old in the final year of his contract, had a WAR (wins above replacement) of 1.0 in 2014. The Brewers were able to get a talented 25-year-old left-hander they control for six more years in Will Smith. Seven years of Will Smith should turn out to be more valuable than one more year of Aoki.
Q: Any idea who the new hitting coach might be? Do you think maybe Robin Yount would be interested in that position? â Ken, Portage
Q: I read the other day that the Astros did not retain Pat Listach. If I'm not mistaken, he was interviewed for our managerial opening before Ron Roenicke got the job. Do you think Listach could find his way onto the coaching staff for 2015? Also, do you have a prediction as to the next hitting coach? â Andrew, Germantown
A: It is very hard to predict who will be hired for coaching vacancies since the candidate pool is so large. The Brewers should be announcing their new hitting coach and new first-base coach in the near future.
I do not think Robin Yount is in the pool of candidates. He's said many times that he has way too many other interests to have interest in spending the time required of a major-league coach. Yount, who lives in Arizona, is perfectly content helping out at spring training. Also, just because a player was a great hitter doesn't mean he'd be a great coach.
Listach definitely could be considered. He was not asked back by Houston after the Astros hired their new manager. Listach has experience as a bench coach, first-base coach and a third-base coach. I'm not sure if he'd be at the top of the list as a hitting coach without experience in that area, but he might be considered for the first-base coach opening.
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