And they get to relax a bit with the smart Adam Lind trade.

The Brewers' collapse didn't get enough attention. We switched from wondering what in the heck happened to the Giants right to wondering what in the heck happened to the A's, as if a lazy cloud of suck blew slowly across the Bay. While that was happening, the Brewers were falling even further, even quicker.

My pet theory: They needed a first baseman. The Brewers opened the season messing around with Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay, the baseball equivalent of a person using a Hotmail account to forward Christian Bale's on-set tirade to someone in 2014.

The Brewers had to, had to, had to know what they were getting into with a Reynolds/Overbay platoon. The upside was maybe an extra win over their replacement options. The downside was an arrangement that made less sense than Matt Clark.

That was from a September article, half-seriously blaming the entire slide on the Brewers' first base void. But there was a little sympathy for the GM mixed in, noting that first base has turned into a position that's almost impossible to fill with external options for every major league team. If teams don't have an internal option, luck isn't on their side. The odds aren't on their side. Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay might be on their side, but only by default.

Heading into this offseason, the Brewers had one primary goal: find a first baseman. Within a week of the season ending: The Brewers found a first baseman.

Adam Lind's renaissance from 2013 spilled into 2014, and he produced when he was healthy. It wasn't that long ago that he looked absolutely lost at the plate, striking out five times for every walk he took. We're over 800 plate appearances into the renaissance, though, and he was probably the safest trade target out there. The Brewers gave up a 31-year-old swingman who managed to lead the National League in home runs allowed, despite throwing just 150 innings. Marco Estrada is a potentially useful player, but his stats are all going in the wrong direction, and the years are working against him. Lind is a much better bet to help the Brewers as currently constructed.

One of the other questions the Brewers had was at third base, with Aramis Ramirez and his mutual option. The Brewers were willing to bring him back, but no one ever agrees on a mutual option ... except this time. Ramirez probably figured that a guaranteed $14 million salary in a comfortable situation was preferable to slipping down the slippery Kendrys Morales slope, with draft pick compensation ruining his market value more than anyone anticipated. Whatever the reason, the Brewers are happy. They don't have to mess with the lineup any more this offseason if they don't want to.

It's a good start to a tricky offseason for the Brewers. They might be the team in baseball with the greatest sense of urgency, the franchise that has the best reasons in baseball to make panicked win-now moves. Consider:

• Ryan Braun will be 31, and he's coming off the worst season of his career
  
  
• Kyle Lohse is signed only through 2015, and he wouldn't be a great bet after that, at any rate
  
  
• The incredibly prescient Carlos Gomez extension has just two seasons left, after which he might get $150 million or more on the open market
  
  
• The Brewers' farm system was widely regarded as one of the worst in baseball before last season, and that's not likely to change much before next season
  
  
• The team still draws remarkably well for a small-market team, but that might not be the case for an extended rebuilding period

Add it up, and you have a team that would be excused for panicking and making erratic moves, which makes the calm, reasonable Adam Lind deal somewhat refreshing. The Brewers have a first baseman. They get to keep their old third baseman. They can breathe, just a little bit, before approaching the marketplace with sacks of win-now cash.

If I were running the Brewers, there would probably be a smoking crater in the shape of Milwaukee because I would be an awful GM. If we pretend that's not the case, though, my offseason advice for the Brewers would to be to do the one thing that's never a good idea: Spend, spend, spend on a bullpen. David Robertson. Pat Neshek. Andrew Miller. Sergio Romo. Get them all on a conference call and explain exactly how nice the area is in the spring and summer. Leave the lineup untouched, save for some depth and extra pieces, add another starting pitcher to the established quartet in place, and spend too much on a bullpen that might not work.

There are other options. Pay a premium for one of the best starting pitchers on the market. Explore the outfield market aggressively, and turn Khris Davis into a valuable spare part. See if Jean Segura still has enough trade value to be the centerpiece of something substantial, and fill his spot with a stopgap. If it were up to me, I'd ignore everything I've ever written and spend on relievers. When the contracts look horrible, the Brewers might be so far down a ditch, it won't even matter.

The Brewers aren't doomed. Every team is just three years away from turning everything around, for better or worse. The available evidence points to the Brewers having a much better chance of winning in 2015 than 2016, though. They should have a little urgency. The Lind deal (and the Ramirez re-signing) help them play it cool at the start of the offseason, at least. There's a lot of offseason left -- too much damned offseason -- and there's still a lot of time for the Brewers to shake off their historic collapse.

Weeks had his best offensive season since 2012 while platooning with Scooter Gennett

A career .244/.332/.416 hitter against left-handed pitchers, Weeks found himself in a rigid platoon with lefty Scooter Gennett to begin the 2014 season.  By the end of the season, the platoon had softened a bit, as Weeks logged a nearly even amount of plate attempts against right- and left-handed pitching (131 to 155).  Even though Weeks had some success against righties (.294/.351/.395), all but one of his eight home runs came off lefties, against whom Weeks batted .256/.361/.504.

Much has been written about Weeks' defensive deficiencies, and 2014 provided more fodder.  Weeks' above-average error rate combined with his limited range contributed to a -7.5 UZR this season.  Basically, the statistics confirm what everyone intuitively knows, which is to say Weeks is a below-average fielder.  Despite those troubles, Weeks was still able to accumulate 1.2 fWAR in 2014, which tells you how much he contributed with his bat.

2014 was likely Weeks' last year as a Brewer, ending a relationship spanning more than a decade.  No doubt Weeks' departure delights some segments of the Brewers fan base, as the oft-injured second baseman has always been a lightning rod for criticism.  Words like "bust" and "failure" have been unfairly lobbed at Weeks, who was drafted by the Brewers with the 2nd pick of the 2003 draft.  This year Weeks drew plenty of fan ire for declining the team's invitation to learn left field in May.

Despite fan misgivings, Weeks was a consistently above-average player.  He generated positive fWAR nearly every season of his career, accumulating a career 18.1 wins above replacement.  Perhaps most importantly, he anchored second base as the team ended its 26-year playoff drought in 2008, and earned his first all-star berth as the team advanced to the NLCS in 2011.  Perhaps not the flashiest of Brewers players, but a very solid overall contributor who didn't deserve half of the griping uttered over his play.

Best Game

By Win Probability Added, Weeks' best game came on May 11 versus the Yankees, when Weeks went 3-5 and keyed a bottom-of-the-ninth victory with a one-out double.  But as for highlights, let's take a look at Weeks' role in acome-from-behind win against the Dodgers on August 8:

Contract Status

Weeks earned $12M in 2014, the final year of a 4-year, $38.5M contract.  The Brewers held a $11.5M club option which they declined earlier in the offseason.  The option would have vested had Weeks reached a designated number of plate appearances, which he came nowhere near doing.  Weeks is now a free agent and can sign with any team.

Today's lessons include the return of Aramis Ramirez, more on the Lind trade, and more from around the world of baseball.

Aramis Ramirez will return in 2015.

The one option decision we were waiting on for weeks has been made. Aramis Ramirez has decided to exercise his half of the mutual option and return in 2015. With this move, most of the core positions for the Brewers are now filled. It could be a quiet offseason for the Brewers, who don't need to make any big moves now. They could get by with just filling out the bench. Of course, Doug Melvin could surprise all of us with another move, but for now, things are set up for a solid core in 2015.

Cram Session

More from BCB

• Ryan Braun's cryotherapy procedure has provided an initial improvement for his thumb, but isn't enough yet. Gord Ash reported during an interview that Braun will need two more cryotherapy procedures before the start of the season.
• Our MVBrewers series continued yesterday with the first honorable mention: Rickie Weeks. The series will continue with the next one this afternoon.
• Taylor Green is returning to the Brewers on a minor-league deal. Also returning is RHP Manny Barreda and RHP Tim Dillard (h/t Adam McCalvy).
• SB Nation is doing its own series of awards this year, and we need your help to come up with some nominees for the Brewers.

Adam Lind

• Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reports that Lind was both caught off guard and excited when he was told that he was traded to the Brewers.
• Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs breaks down the Lind-Estrada trade and how it works out for both teams.

Other Notes

• Justin Schultz of The First Out at Third suggests that Jeremy Jeffress could be MLB's next lights-out closer.
• There will be 20 all-fan giveaways in 2015, and the first two were announced yesterday: a Rob Deer bobblehead on April 12 and a Wily Peralta bobblehead on April 26.

NL Central Update

• The NL Central could be the most competitive division in baseball next year. Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com looks ahead to the offseason for all five NL Central teams.
• Here is today's update on the Joe Maddon talk, and Big League Stew has all of the updates. In his introductory press conference with the Cubs yesterday, Joe Maddon says that the Cubs will be thinking playoffs next year. Following the press conference, he went to a bar and bought a round of drinks for everyone. Meanwhile, tension is still building in Tampa following his departure, but reports say Joe Maddon made an offer to stay in Tampa before leaving.
• The Cubs signed Tsuyoshi Wada to a new one-year deal. His new deal is for $4 million with $2 million in incentives, overriding a $5 million option he had.
• After losing bench coach Mike Aldrete to Oakland, the Cardinals promoted assistant hitting coach David Bell to be the new bench coach.
• Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs has his five favorite facts about Aroldis Chapman.

Around Baseball

• Twelve players received qualifying offers yesterday prior to the start of free agency. Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish has a list of the twelve players.
• The Twins made it official yesterday, hiring Paul Molitor to be their next manager.
• Who's the sleeper team for next year? Mike Petriello of FanGraphs has his very early prediction for which team will surprise everyone.
• Could Ned Yost's strategy of run prevention be seen more often in MLB in the coming years? Michael Bradburn of Beyond the Box Score anaylyzes how defensive metrics are being used more and more now.
• Madison Bumgarner may be getting what we wants right now, but there's one thing he wasn't able to do: Ride a police horse in the World Series parade.
• August Fagerstrom of FanGraphs recaps the year in "Little League Home Runs", which includes a Brewers moment that you probably don't want to remember.

The Angels shattered their international bonus pool allotment with the signing of the 20-year-old Cuban infielder.

The Angels made a rather surprising, yet significant, international addition on Tuesday, signing 20-year-old Cuban infielder Roberto Baldoquin to a deal that includes an $8 million signing bonus, per Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. Baldoquin's bonus sets a new record for amateur international players, more than doubling the $3.1 million given to shortstop Gilbert Lara by the Brewers in July.

Not much is known about Baldoquin except that he is a 20-year-old capable of playing shortstop, third base, and the outfield. He has spent the past three years with Las Tunas of Serie Nacional, according to Sanchez, and previously played for the Cuban National 16-and-under team. He defected from Cuba in February and has been training in the Dominican Republic ever since. He also starred in this excellent 10-minute workout video.

Over at Halos Daily, Nathan Aderhold was able to unearth Baldoquin's stats from Cuba. In his final Serie Nacional season in 2013, he hit .279/.372/.324 in 79 plate appearances, while playing exclusively at shortstop. Given his relative inexperience, it is likely that he begins his stateside career in the minors.

Since Baldoquin is just 20 and has played only three seasons in Serie Nacional, he is subject to MLB's international bonus pool rules, meaning his $8 million bonus shatters the $2.383 million pool allotted to the Angels over this signing period. Per MLB rules, the Angels will now essentially be forced to sit out the next two bonus periods, not being allowed to sign any players for more than $300,000. Of course, the club can still spend as much as it wants internationally for the remainder of the signing period ending in mid-June. This could make them a potential landing spot for prized Cuban outfield prospect Yoan Moncada.

While Baldoquin will likely begin his career in the minors, he could be able to help the Angels' big league club in 2016, coinciding perfectly with the free agencies of second baseman Howie Kendrick and third baseman David Freese, who have both also been thought to be available this winter.

Today's lessons include MLB award season, another MVBrewer honorable mention, and more.

The Brewers will have a quiet awards season.

Yesterday, MLB released the top 3 candidates for MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and Manager of the Year in a special on MLB Network. After going through all of the candidates, the Brewers were shut out of the awards in all four categories.  Three of those (the Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year) are not surprising since the Brewers didn't have a strong candidate for any of them.  The MVP vote is a little more surprising, though. It's hard to argue against the three candidates that are up there (Kershaw, McCutchen, Stanton), but it would have been nice to see Jonathan Lucroy finish in the top 3 after his great season.

We also saw the announcement of the Gold Glove winners yesterday. In right field, Gerardo Parra lost to Jason Heyward, which was expected. Parra just didn't have the same amount of time played to really justify a selection. The bigger upset was Yadier Molina beating Jonathan Lucroy for the Gold Glove at catcher. If you go by the numbers, this pick is more about reputation than actual stats, as Jonathan Lucroy had the better season there (and played more games as well).

There is still one more award that we could see some Brewers take home. The Silver Slugger winners will be announced tomorrow evening, and Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez are candidates for that award. Both have some stiff competition at their positions, so we will see if one of them can win the award.

Cram Session

From BCB

• How does the Aramis Ramirez option affect payroll? Derek updated his payroll projections after the option was officially picked up.
• Our MVBrewers series continued with our second honorable mention: Khris Davis. The third honorable mention will be up this afternoon.

Other Notes

• Following the return of Ramirez, Nicholas Zettel of Disciples of Uecker has a wish list of a few things he would like to see the Brewers do this offseason.
• Teddy Cahill of Brewers.com notes that Tyler Wagner has been finding success in the Arizona Fall League.
• Two more bobbleheads were announced yesterday for 2015. Hank the Ballpark Pup gets his second bobblehead on Mother's Day (May 10), and Bud Selig will get a bobblehead on May 31.

NL Central Update

• Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors has a few notes about the NL Central.
• The Cubs plan to be active this offseason. Jasper Scherer of MLB Daily Dish notes that the Cubs want to add "elite veteran talent" this offseason.
• One of the free agents that the Cubs may pursue is Russell Martin. Jeff Todd of MLB Trade Rumors notes that the Cubs will take a shot at signing the free agent catcher.
• The one person that was wronged with the Joe Maddon hiring in Chicago was former Cubs manager Rick Renteria. Cubs GM Theo Epstein has admitted that the way things were handled with Renteria was wrong.
• Charlie Wilmoth of MLB Trade Rumors has an outlook of the St. Louis Cardinals offseason.

Around Baseball

• Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish notes that Alfonso Soriano has announced his retirement. His sixteen year career includes time spent with the Yankees, Rangers, Nationals, and Cubs.
• Justin Perline of Beyond the Box Score has a list of the top 100 free agents by expected contract value.
• Dave Cameron of InstaGraphs compares two free agents, Nick Markakis and Nori Aoki, with their expected contract numbers.
• The Yankees can't outspend teams in the major-league free agent market or in the international market anymore, so they've moved on to a new way to outspend teams: Signing minor-league free agents to bigger contracts.

Today's lessons include a goodbye to Rickie Weeks, the next honorable mention in the MVBrewers series, and more.

Cram Session

• With the end of Rickie Weeks' career in Milwaukee, Jordan has a short goodbye post for him.
• Our MVBrewers series continued yesterday with Will Smith. Jordan has the profile for him, and our next honorable mention will be up this afternoon.
• Jordan also has some thoughts on hitting stats in relation to Pablo Sandoval.
• What is Adam Lind's value to the Brewers? Jonathan Judge of Disciples of Uecker analyzes what Lind brings to Milwaukee.
• Reviewing the Brew reviews the seasons of Marco Estrada and Yovani Gallardo.
• Over on The First Out at Third, Justin Schultz asks if Aramis Ramirez's power is gone, and makes a plea to Adam McCalvy to start using sabermetrics.
• The next two all-fan giveaways for 2015 have been announced. Carlos Gomez gets another bobblehead (this time in an all-star jersey) on June 14, and Paul Molitor gets a bobblehead on June 28 (when the Twins are in town).

Around Baseball

• Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish notes that the Rockies are willing to listen to trade offers for Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki.
• David Schoenfield of ESPN SweetSpot ranks each team's worst position in 2014 by how many wins below the average it was. He also asks if Paul Molitor can turn the Twins around.
• Should all teams start using humidors for baseball storage? Ryan P. Morrison of Beyond the Box Score looks at the potential implications of every MLB team using a humidor.

Can you name the catchers who have been as active as Jonathan Lucroy was in 2014?

As we've discussed Gold Glove and now Silver Slugger Awards this week, we're reminded of a pretty significant factor regarding Jonathan Lucroy: He was able to remain consistent and effective through the 2014 season despite catching a lot.

Lucroy led all NL catchers with 136 appearances behind the plate this season, which is also more than any NL catcher caught last season. In fact, this is only the 22nd time in the last 15 seasons a Senior Circuit catcher has played behind the plate this often.

So, here's today's quiz: How many of the most oft-used NL catchers of the last 15 seasons can you name in eight minutes?

If the quiz isn't displaying correctly for you here or you'd simply prefer to take it over there, follow this link to play the quiz at Sporcle.com.

Please post your score in the comments below, but also remember that comments on this post may contain spoilers. If you get all 22 answers correct, post your time along with your score in the comments.

If you've finished this quiz and would like another challenge, then you may also enjoy:

• JP's quiz asking you to name the 2014 Brewers with his clues
• My quiz from three weeks ago asking you to name the Brewers with more career hits than Aramis Ramirez
• Or my quiz from two weeks ago asking you to remember 2013's Most Valuable Brewers.

You can also check out the Thinker archives from last winter.

Good luck, and don't forget to post your score in the comments!

Today's lessons include more awards, another MVBrewers honorable mention, and more.

Cram Session

• Our MVBrewers series continued yesterday with Noah's profile of Zach Duke. The next honorable mention will be out this afternoon.
• How well do you know NL catchers? Kyle challenges your knowledge of them in his Thursday Thinker.
• Are you interested in running the Brewers? Max Rieper of Royals Review has an offer for you in the FanPosts.
• A preliminary list of managerial candidates for the Rays was released yesterday, and former Brewer Craig Counsell is on the list (h/t jimf in FanShots).
• The Silver Slugger awards were handed out last night, but no Brewers received one. Buster Posey beat Jonathan Lucroy at catcher, and Andrew McCutchen, Justin Upton, and Giancarlo Stanton beat Carlos Gomez in the outfield.
• MLB is set for it's Japan All-Star series next week. Rob Wooten will represent the Brewers on the team, and former Brewers Chris Capuano and Jose Veras are also on the team.
• Michael Trzinski of Reviewing the Brew has a profile of arbitration-eligible Gerardo Parra.
• Nicholas Zettel of Disciples of Uecker continued his series on building & rebuilding the team with the front office.
• David Schoenfield of ESPN SweetSpot continued his two-part series on the worst positions for each team, with the Brewers coming in at #24.
• Jean Segura's disappointing season was felt by many. Mike Podhorzer of RotoGraphs looks back at Segura's season and the many ways it disappointed in fantasy baseball.
• Diane Firstman of ESPN SweetSpot has an end-of-season Haiku for all 30 MLB teams.
• The next two all-fan giveaways have been announced. There will be a Khris Davis bobblehead on July 19, and a Matt Garza gnome on August 2.

Funny or pathetic? You decide (and also decide which moment should win)!

First up in the 2014 SB Nation MLB awards series is Funniest Moment. When a team finishes a season 66-96 as the Rockies did, the line between funny and sad is often quite blurry. But, as they say, life goes on. And, as such, we can always look back on things that might have been more pathetic than humorous and laugh, right? One of the following nominations carries that distinction. I'm sure you can figure out which one it is.

Without further ado, here are the nominees, in chronological order:

1) Oh, Corey, no

This play was previously included in our Five worst Rockies moments of 2014 list, so you know that it was probably more bad than funny at the time. But you have to look back and chuckle, now, right? I mean, how much more could one play possibly epitomize an entire season -- and, for that matter, an entire franchise?

2) Little League home run

Wilin Rosario -- a CATCHER -- came all the way around to score on his own hit as a result of a whole bunch of errors on one play by the Brewers. It was payback for the Dickerson moment, for the Rockies giving up a bases-clearing wild pitch and pretty much to the last four years in general.

The funniest part comes after Rosario slides across home plate. Have you ever seen someone so bummed out about scoring a run?

3) Barnes loses standoff

The Rockies' season was already in shambles when their post-All-Star-break set against the Nationals began, but that didn't stop Brandon Barnes from having some fun with Washington reliever Aaron Barrett prior to the start of the series finale.

Colorado's outfielder lost the pregame standoff, which included a game of Rock Paper Scissors, when umpires threatened ejection in his direction first. In all fairness, Barrett retreated to the dugout before Barnes. So there.

Next up: Most Regrettable Rockies Moment. Vote on this category first, then submit your nominations for most regrettable moment below!

He was calm like a bomb

When Mark Reynolds hit his first home run of the 2014 season, he didn't smile and simply shook Ed Sedar's hand.  This earned him the nickname "Grumpy" in the clubhouse, which even Ron Roenicke used.  It was all fun and games when Reynolds led the club with twelve home runs on May 30th.  Reynolds was signed for dingers, and he was delivering.

The environment surrounding Reynolds was decidedly less jovial (some might say downright grumpy) at the end of the season.  After May 30th, Reynolds hit just ten more home runs.  Nor did he show any other signs of power, hitting just six doubles during that time.  Indeed, while Reynolds' first two months concluded with a contractually passable .207/.281/.445, he slashed just .187/.291/.355 in the final four months.  As is Reynolds' nature, he struck out  in nearly 30% of his at bats during that span.  By the end of August, Reynolds found himself a bit player mostly coming off the bench.

Yet all things considered, Reynolds 2014 performance was a very good return for a guy being paid just $2 million.

According to Fangraphs, Reynolds was worth 1.6 WAR this season despite his offensive struggles in the second half.  Surprisingly, much of this positive value sprung from Reynolds' defense.  For the first time in his carer, UZR identifies Reynolds as a defensive asset at every position he played, primarily 1B and 3B.  This was a welcome change for a Brewers team not known for defense at the corner positions in recent years.  Jeff Sullivan labels Reynolds his second-most-improved defender, although he can't explain it (his paragraph on Reynolds begins with, "Look, I don't know.").  Reynolds certainly passed the eye test, though, with defensive gems like these:

Let's just forget that time he couldn't remember how many outs there were.

Best Game

By WPA, Reynolds best game came against the Yankees on May 11, going 2-5 with an RBI.  But let's face it, you came here to watch the big blasts, and we've got them.  It's all here, grand slams, second-deckers, and leaping grabs by elderly Cubs fans.  This right here is almost a better binge than Breaking Bad:

Contract Status

Mark Reynolds was on a one-year deal with the team.  He's a free agent this offseason.

The former can't-miss-prospect last played in the majors in 2012.

The Milwaukee Brewers have re-signed 30-year-old outfielder Jeremy Hermida to a minor league deal, per a club announcement. The deal includes an invite to major league Spring Training.

Hermida spent all of 2014 playing for the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate in Nashville, where he hit a solid .256/.370/.456 with a 117 wRC+ and 16 home runs. He still demonstrates considerable patience at the plate, as exemplified by his 15.2% walk rate in 108 games. He posted similar numbers in a 132 game stop with the Indians' Triple-A affiliate in 2013, hitting .247/.365/.416 with 17 home runs, 88 walks, and a 121 wRC+.

Originally drafted by the Marlins with the 11th overall pick in the 2002 draft, Hermida rose through the ranks of the minors as one of the more highly-regarded hitting prospects in the game. Prior to the 2006 season, Baseball America ranked him the 4th best prospect in baseball.

Initially, Hermida lived up to the hype, flourishing (125 OPS+, 2.4 WAR) in his first full season with the Marlins in 2007. However, following two consecutive sub-par offensive seasons in 2008 and 2009, Hermida's career went into a tailspin, as he bounced around four organizations, playing a combined 116 major league games from 2010 to 2012. He has not played in the majors since then. For the Brewers, he will likely serve as organizational depth, with an outside shot of him seeing some big league time were the need to arise.

Also on Friday, the Brewers signed infielder Pete Orr to a minor league deal with an invitation to big league Spring Training. The 35-year-old Orr last played in the majors in 2013, when he hit .200/.273/.200 in 15 games with the Phillies.

Nori Aoki is an interesting free agent case, but one of his biggest weaknesses is underexposed.

When baseball fans think of Nori Aoki, a few words probably spring to mind. "Japanese" is simple and unavoidable, but better descriptions include "fast" or maybe even an overall evaluation like "average".

Sometimes the correct answer is what comes to mind first. To describe Aoki as a fast Japanese guy who is approximately an average player is about accurate.The 32-year old has accumulated 5.1 WAR over the past three seasons and has been a pretty steady regular for the Brewers and Royals.

Speed has been a trademark skill for Aoki; he's piled up infield hits and stolen bases (his 67 SB since he debuted in 2012 is 24th in the MLB among qualified hitters) at an impressive rate. His wheels have translated to fairly good defense as he has a career UZR of +8.3 and DRS of +10 to his credit.

With that information in mind it's easy to dream on a player who can combine those skills with above average production offensively, which he has done by posting a wRC+ over 100 in each of his three seasons. However, there is something holding Aoki back: his base running.

While Aoki does have solid stolen base totals, efficiency has been a problem.

His career SB% of 70.5% is fairly normal due to a solid debut in 2012, but in the last two years he's had serious problems getting thrown out. Since the start of 2013 season, that SB% falls to 64.9%, and he has been caught stealing the sixth most in the MLB. Every player who has more CS to his name has stolen at least 27 more bases.

Not only has Aoki gotten thrown out often, he has done so in dramatic fashion. Hilariously, he has been caught stealing home four times. All of them in 2012.

It's hard to know how much blame he shoulders for this one that may have simply been a poor play put on by Ron Roenicke:

But he could definitely be considered at fault for biting on Yadier Molina's fake here:

Aoki just seems to have a knack for getting himself in trouble on the base paths, a knack that resulted in him getting picked off by a country mile in the ALDS.

He's actually so out to lunch here that Pujols swipes air and has to go get him on the noggin.

It would take an unreasonable number of videos to prove definitively that Aoki can be a problem on the bases, but you get the idea. In 438 games, between times caught stealing, picked off, and simply tagged out Aoki has made 54 outs on the bases, 14 of which have come at home plate.

That's approximately one out on the bases per 8 games. Simply put, that's too many outs. To give a frame of reference, legendary lead-footed behemoth Paul Konerko made only 75 outs on the bases in his entire career, or one per 32.3 games.

The comparison isn't fair because Aoki is clearly much more aggressive, especially when it comes to attempting to steal, but it gives a sense of the squandering of outs done by Aoki so far in his young career. The problem may well be correctable going forward, but for now it can't be denied.

At the end of the day Nori Aoki's free agent contract won't be very dependent on his base running acumen, but perhaps it should be. In one area of the game where you'd expect Aoki to excel he has instead been an anchor, even if he is the fastest anchor around.

. . .

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference

Nick Ashbourne is an Editor for Beyond the Box Score. You can follow him on Twitter at @Nick_Ashbourne.

The Mariners hate their young outfielder and the Twins need a new left fielder. Kismet.

I'm a simple man. I have simple tastes. Now that Paul Molitor has been chosen to lead the Twins and is assembling his elite coaching staff of what I assume will be former Brewers and Blue Jays, all I really want from the Twins this offseason is a new left fielder.

I think, or at least I hope, we can all agree that Jordan Schafer is not a long term solution to any outfield position. As much fun as it was to watch him run all over the field in defiance of his lengthy and awful history in the major leagues, it is exceptionally rare for 27 year olds with over 1000 plate appearances and a 71 career OPS+ to make a meaningful leap to become serviceable. So while we all should thank Schafer for making the end of 2014 a little less awful to endure, that shouldn't have any bearing on where the Twins turn in 2015 and beyond.

Likewise, it's hard to envision a similar leap forward for Aaron Hicks, at least enough to make seeing him in left field next year at all palatable. Assuming that Danny Santana really does start the year at shortstop, Hicks and Schafer will be needed to man center field anyway until Buxton is ready (assuming he is not hit a falling piece of Skylab before that day). The Twins need someone in left field, then, who can at least fill the hole admirably until they figure out a longer term solution, be that Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, or a finally on track Hicks.

A little over the month ago, I mused that having Torii back wouldn't necessarily be so bad. Then, of course, Torii cut a campaign ad for a bigot running for Governor in Arkansas, and now we're fighting again. I don't need the players I root for to be good people, necessarily, but I do need to be able to pretend they don't hold noxious beliefs, and frankly I'd like it if they could play a whole lot better than Hunter is likely going to provide in 2015.

So it is that I have turned my attentions west, and to Michael Saunders, of the Seattle Mariners. Saunders, a 28 year old former center fielder, has fallen far out of favor with the Mariners, who have publicly criticized his conditioning and are said to be pushing hard to trade him. Neither side is happy with each other, and it seems like a change of scenery is entirely in order.

Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik has said that Saunders could do more to improve his durability, while manager Lloyd McClendon has said he should spend more time in the weight room. I'm not really in position to dispute them, though Saunders' agent is, and he strongly takes issue with this characterization, saying "Michael was never told that there is something that needed to be changed. If there was, Michael Saunders would do it. These comments don't reflect Michael Saunders' work habits. They imply that he's lackadaisical."

Saunders has also been pretty stretched over his career as the Mariners' primary center fielder, a position he's mostly been forced into by the continuing and horrific health problems of Franklin Gutierrez. When he wasn't out with an oblique or a shoulder injury over the past year, Saunders hit .273/.341/.450. Freed from center field, Saunders also showed that he had enough range at the outfield corners to be an asset there. In half of a season, he was worth somewhere between two and two-and-a-half wins for the surprisingly competitive Mariners.

Perhaps best of all, Saunders also has two more years of team control, which would buy the Twins time to either develop a proper replacement, or sign Saunders to fill that gap over the long term. Plus, with such a short commitment, should Rosario, Sano, or Hicks prove the better option, Saunders would still be highly tradable, especially if his franchise doesn't spend the offseason tearing him down in the media.

So what do you need Seattle? A plucky shortstop like Eduardo Escobar? A youngish team-controlled starter like Kyle Gibson? A defensively challenged catcher/DH like Josmil Pinto? (Ooh, sorry, Jesus Montero. You have one of those, don't you?)  Bring me the head of Michael Saunders, I say, so long as it is still attached to the rest of him.

Today's lessons include a trade rumor, another honorable mention for MVBrewers, and more.

Happy Veterans Day to all of those who have served in the military. Here are today's links.

Cram Session

• The GM meetings began yesterday, and one of the names that is on the trading block is Rays pitcher Jeremy Hellickson. With rumors going around that an unnamed NL team is interested, Derek asked if Hellickson would be a fit for the Brewers.
• Our MVBrewers series continued yesterday with another honorable mention, Ryan Braun. Noah wrote the profile for him, and our next one will be up this afternoon.
• How has Jonathan Lucroy developed at the plate over his career? Justin Schultz of The First Out at Third analyzes Lucroy's strikeout and walk rates to show how he has grown.
• Over on Reviewing the Brew, Michael Trzinski reviews Brandon Kintzler's season, and Bill Berg reviews Martin Maldonado's season.
• In case you weren't paying attention, Cait Covers the Bases has a rundown of all of the all-fan giveaways for next season.

NL Central Notes

• MLB has opened up an official investigation against the Cubs for tampering in the Joe Maddon hire. Mike Oz of Big League Stew has the details on the investigation.

Around Baseball

• The Rookie of the Year awards were announced yesterday, and Jose Abreu and Jacob deGrom took the honors in the AL and NL, respectively.
• The Mets made the first big signing of free agency, agreeing to a two-year deal with Michael Cuddyer. Neil Weinberg of Beyond the Box Score has the details.
• August Fagerstrom of FanGraphs looks at baseball's biggest positional holes, and the Brewers first basemen make an appearance here.
• Former Brewer Nori Aoki is looking for a three-year deal, and he's seen as a good player overall. However, Nick Ashbourne of Beyond the Box Score asks if one of his biggest flaws is being overlooked.
• Banknotes Industries pulls out a classic moment in MLB history: the confrontation between Tommy Lasorda and the Phillie Phanatic. Bradley Woodrum has a poem and a video of the classic confrontation.
• In an exhibition game this morning, the MLB All-Stars defeated a team of players from Japan 8-7. The five-game Japan All-Star Series officially kicks off tomorrow, with the first game taking place in Osaka. First pitch is 3 am CST. All games will be on MLB Network, with re-airs that night.
• It's a Woot-Off day today (though only a small one).

Today's lessons include the Spring Training schedule, the disappearance of Miguel De Los Santos, and the next MVBrewers profile.

Cram Session

• The Brewers released their 2015 Spring Training schedule yesterday. With a pitchers & catchers reporting date of February 20, we are officially 99 days away from the start of Spring Training.
• What happened to Miguel De Los Santos? Noah looks at the case of the pitcher who never played a game in the Brewers system.
• Our MVBrewers series continued with a profile of Jimmy Nelson. The next honorable mention will be up this afternoon.
• It's early in the offseason, but it's not too early to start making projections. Jonathan Judge of Disciples of Uecker looks at the early projections for the NL Central.
• Meanwhile, Nicholas Zettel of Disciples of Uecker takes a look at the improved Brewers starting rotation in 2014.
• Was the Brewers bench bad? Justin Schultz of The First Out at Third analyzes the bench to find out how they really performed.

NL Central Update

• The Rockies and Pirates swapped pitchers yesterday. Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Rockies traded RHP Rob Scahill to the Pirates for RHP Shane Carle.
• Jeff Todd of MLB Trade Rumors reported that the Cubs were in discussions to acquire Nationals starter Jordan ZImmermann. However, a deal appears unlikely at this point.
• Drew Silva of Rotoworld looks at some players in the NL Central who are on the rise.
• Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors has a roundup of other rumors around the NL Central, including the possibility of Cole Hamels to the Cubs, the Cardinals plans for right field, and the Reds figuring out what they want to do next season.

Around Baseball

• The manager of the year awards were announced yesterday. Matt Williams of the Nationals won in the National League, and Buck Showalter of the Orioles won in the American League.
• Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors has a projected list of non-tender candidates. There are no Brewers on his list of candidates.
• In Game 1 of the Japan All-Star Series, Japanese RHP Kenta Maeda led the Samurai Japan pitchers as they held the MLB All-Stars scoreless and won the first game of the series 2-0. Game 2 is set for Friday following a travel day on Thursday.

Today's lessons include a hypothetical trade scenario, another MVBrewer profile, and more.

Cram Session

• Should the Brewers trade for Jonathan Papelbon? Derek put together a hypothetical trade scenario to trade for the reliever.
• Our MVBrewers series continued with Derek's profile Gerardo Parra. The next honorable mention will be up this afternoon.
• The Brewers released a group of minor league players yesterday. Noah has a FanShot with the details.
• The Brewers haven't been afraid to experiment with their defense at times. Tom Singer of MLB.com has some quotes from Doug Melvin, who isn't afraid to try a four-man outfield.
• A new postgame concert series is starting at Miller Park next season. Cait Covers the Bases has the details on the new postgame event.

NL Central Update

• The Cubs are looking for a starting pitcher, but they aren't certain how to proceed. Carrie Muskat of MLB.com looks at the possible approaches for the Cubs.
• The Pirates made another trade, acquiring catcher Francisco Cervelli for reliever Justin Wilson.
• Pushing young pitchers isn't a problem for the Cardinals. Tom Singer of MLB.com looks at the Cardinals approach to building a pitching staff.
• Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors has some notes from the NL Central, including the Reds offseason plans, Cubs bullpen plans, and a Brewers rumor.
• Mike Oz of Big League Stew has some aerial photos of Wrigley Field as it is undergoing renovations this offseason.

Around Baseball

• The Cy Young awards were announced yesterday. Clayton Kershaw was an unanimous choice in the AL, and Corey Kluber surprised the field and won in the AL.

An April minor league free agent pickup turned into a great asset for the 2014 Brewers.

In April Doug Melvin made a classic Doug Melvin under the radar move signing former Brewer Jeremy Jeffress to a minor league deal after he had been released by the Blue Jays. In about 55 major league innings at that point (including 10 with the Brewers in 2010), he had not been able to throw strikes and 2 franchises had given him away for nothing. Then he rejoined the Brewers organization. He dominated in 41 innings and became the closer at AAA, then was promoted back to the bigs as a last-ditch effort to improve the struggling bullpen on July 21st. He proceeded to become one of the most trusted options in the bullpen down the stretch, finally displaying the control needed to be an effective major leaguer. In previous stints in the majors, he walked 14%, 16%, 18%, and 12% of batters faced. With the Brewers this year he only walked 6%.

It's really, really tough to know if Jeffress has actually turned a corner or will start firing erratically at some point again next year. There's also a concern about his ability to get out lefties if he is used in high-leverage roles going forward. But with his stuff, it's possible that a year or two from now we will be thinking that Doug Melvin's biggest acquisition in 2014 was actually a minor league free agent who was picked off of the scrap heap.

Best Game

I am going to decline to actually pick a best game for Jeffress, because his signature achievement as a Brewer may have been his ability to avoid a bad game. In 29 games, the most runs allowed with he was charged with was 1. Regardless, enjoy a video of Jeffress striking out Buster Posey:

Contract Situation

The Brewers have control of Jeffress for likely as long as they want to retain his services. He has just over a year of Major League service time and his contract can be renewed for near the league minimum this spring.

The Atlanta Braves have traded outfielder Kyle Wren to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor league pitcher Zach Quintana.

The Atlanta Braves have dealt outfielder Kyle Wren to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor league pitcher Zach Quintana.

#Braves have traded CF prospect Kyle Wren for Brewers minor league RHP Zach Quintana. Wren is the son of fired GM Frank Wren.

— David O'Brien (@DOBrienAJC) November 14, 2014

After generating a lot of noise throughout the week, the Braves made a trade. The impact is minimal on the current roster but it is a bit eye opening none the less.

Wren hit .304/.362/.398 in two seasons in the minors. He was a former standout at Georgia Tech and the son of former General Manager Frank Wren. He spent last season at Double-A Mississippi.

Quintana is a former 3rd round pick and hasn't had a lot of success at the minor league level. He went 4-5 with a 5.70 ERA at the single-A level last season. In three seasons as a professional he is 11-13 with a 6.15 ERA in 52 games.

Today's lessons include a quiet offseason, trade rumors, and the next profile in the MVBrewers series.

Cram Session

• After the Adam Lind trade, it has been a quiet offseason for the Brewers. Noah says that's not shocking considering that the roster is nearly set.
• There was a potential rumor yesterday when minor league pitcher Zach Quintana was traded, and it allowed Derek to speculate on possible trades that could happen with Atlanta. (The trade was officially announced this morning, and it was just a swap of minor-league players.)
• The MVBrewers series continued yesterday with Jordan's profile of Jeremy Jeffress. The final honorable mention will be out this afternoon.
• Nicholas Zettel of Disciples of Uecker analyzes starting pitcher ranks by FIP, and how the Brewers compare to these rankings.
• Wei-Chung Wang's time in the Arizona Fall League came to a close yesterday. He pitched in the final game for Glendale yesterday, allowing four runs in five innings. He appeared to have a back injury as he left the game, but insisted it was nothing out of the ordinary.
• As the Arizona Fall League comes to a close, Jim Callis of MLB.com has some observations on a few players, including Wei-Chung Wang.
• The Brewers are selling holiday 4-packs again this offseason. Cait Covers the Bases has the details on this year's 4-packs.
• Will the new concert series create additional demand for Brewers tickets? Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar isn't sure of how well these concerts will be received.

Around Baseball

• The MVP awards were announced yesterday. Mike Trout was an unanimous choice in the AL, and Clayton Kershaw won in the NL. Lucroy finished fourth in the NL vote, and Adam McCalvy notes that it's the best finish for a catcher in Brewers history.
• The one voter who had Jonathan Lucroy second on his ballot was Dave Cameron of FanGraphs. After the awards were announced, he broke down the reasoning behind his selections.
• The MLB All-Stars fell to 0-2 in the Japan All-Star Series after an 8-4 loss to Samurai Japan. Rob Wooten pitched in the loss, allowing a run, a hit, a walk and two strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings.

The Brewers' backup catcher put together a bizarrely interesting campaign in 2014 as the lead actor in many of the season's finest moments.

Jonathon Lucroy casts a long shadow, but Martin Maldonado has carved himself into a niche cranny in Brewers fans' hearts. In 2014, the 28 year old catcher enjoyed a rebound from a tumultuous 2013 season with the stick, regressing back into his 2012 form which made us temporarily wonder if his potential trade value outweighed his value as a backup catcher. Here is a quick 3-year roundup to save you a few clicks:

Maldonado maintained his solid reputation as a defender, catching a respectable 32% of base stealers -- a career norm. He allowed the 11th lowest SB/IP for catchers (out of 58 total, minimum 250 IP), giving up one SB per roughly 20 innings caught. However, corresponding rate statistics in relation to passed balls and wild pitches put him in the middle of the pack, and his fielding percentage ranked dead last among the same qualifiers -- making him the worst catcher in baseball.

Nah, we know better. Maldonado has also developed a reputation as one of the better pitch framers in the league: Baseball Prospectus has him as the league's best in terms of extra strikes per framing chance. Maldonado "stole" a strike every 33 pitches, roughly.

But, most likely, Maldonado's greatest weapon remains his right arm -- in more ways than one, as we shall see.

Contract Status

Maldonado will enter arbitration for the first time in his career this offseason, and there is no reason to believe the Brewers wouldn't cut a check of around $750k for his services.

Best Game/Thing

Take your pick. You have three choices. One is the game in which he actually hit the cover off of the baseball:

Another is his wild overconfidence while managing to keep the Cardinals scoreless in the 9th inning of a blowaway:

Your final option got him suspended for 5 games, but was totally worth it: