What the Brewers recent transactions mean for the Colorado Rockies

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DENVER, CO – JUNE 23: The sun sets over the stadium as the Arizona Diamondbacks face the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 23, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Diamondbacks 10-5. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

On Thursday, the Milwaukee Brewers shocked the baseball world twice with in the span of about an hour and a half as they announced that they made a trade and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that they had signed a player.

Yesterday, the Milwaukee Brewers announced that they acquired outfielder Christian Yelich from the Miami Marlins for four prospects, including three of the teams top ten prospects.

The #Brewers have acquired OF Christian Yelich from Miami in exchange for OF Lewis Brinson, OF Monte Harrison, INF Isan Diaz and RHP Jordan Yamamoto. pic.twitter.com/1Cni0JA67B
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) January 25, 2018

Shortly thereafter, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on Twitter that the Brewers had made their second big splash of the day by agreeing to terms with free agent outfielder Lorenzo Cain.

#Brewers in agreement with free-agent outfielder Lorenzo Cain, sources tell The Athletic. Deal is pending a physical.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 26, 2018

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN later reported that the two sides agreed on a 5 year, $80 million contract, which would be the largest of this offseason.

Lorenzo Cain has agreed on a 5-year, $80M deal with the #Brewers, source says. It’s the biggest free agent contract of the offseason. The deal includes no-trade protection and significant award bonuses. Milwaukee building a super outfield with addition of Yelich and Cain.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) January 26, 2018

We here at Rox Pile showed the case for the Rockies signing Cain just before Christmas and made cases for the Rockies trading for Christian Yelich in these two articles. With the Brewers moves, it obviously makes the Rockies external choices for outfield spots but what else does it mean for the Rockies?

DENVER, CO – JULY 4: A general view of the stadium as fans enjoy a fireworks display after the Cincinnati Reds 8-1 win against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 4, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

It makes the free agent market less viable

If Cain passes his physical, he will be signing for 5 years and $80 million. This is more than most people thought he’d sign for and considering that we are less than a week away from February, it is a big surprise that Cain resigned with the Brewers for that amount (Cain was drafted by the Brewers and was with them through 2010, until he was traded to the Royals for Zack Greinke). MLB Trade Rumors predicted at the beginning of the offseason that Cain would sign for four years and $70 million.

Since Cain signed for a larger deal than expected, that will influence the free agent market. Free agents like JD Martinez, who was sorely mistaken when he believed that he is worth 8 years and $210 million, might believe that he can still get a decent contract. The Boston Red Sox reportedly had an offer out there for 5 years and $125 million but he and his agent, Scott Boras, could say that if Cain got $80 million, Martinez is at least worth $150 million. If the Rockies weren’t already out of the discussion for him, they would almost definitely be out at that price range.

Another player who could think that they could get more is former Rockie Carlos Gonzalez. As you may remember, he did not have a good 2017 season for the Rockies but he did have a strong September. With Cain getting $80 million, he could demand a multi-year contract from teams. Plus, his agent is Scott Boras so he will try to get every penny out of teams that he can.

PHOENIX, AZ – JUNE 30: Ian Desmond. Getty Images. /

It makes trade options less viable

With the Marlins getting so much from the Brewers for Yelich, it obviously takes one player off the board that the Rockies could have traded for but it also makes options for trades less viable. The Rockies obviously didn’t want to give up three of their top ten prospects for Yelich and, personally, I can understand why. However, for other outfield options on the trade market, like for Avisail Garcia of the Chicago White Sox, it could raise the trade value for them.

However, it does open a different avenue for the Rockies

Even though the trade market and free agent market could help revitalize the “market values” for players on the free agent market and for teams looking to trade players, the Rockies still could pull off a trade with the Brewers, if they really do believe that they want Ian Desmond at first base and somebody else in left field.

With the Brewers acquiring Yelich and signing Cain, they have a very good outfield. However, it is overcrowded. Along with Yelich and Cain (assuming that he passes his physical), the Brewers have Ryan Braun and Domingo Santana as outfielders. Santana hit .278/.371/.505 last season with 30 home runs and 85 RBI. In fact, he was just named eighth on MLB Network’s list of the top ten right fielders right now (you can check out their listings thus far here). With that, I don’t think that they should trade Santana (although there have been rumors that they are shopping Santana and outfielder Brett Phillips. They could also potentially get something for outfielder Keon Broxton.

MILWAUKEE, WI – SEPTEMBER 16: Ryan Braun #8 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates his home run in the dugout during the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Miller Park on September 16, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Marlins defeated the Brewers 7-4. (Photo by John Konstantaras/Getty Images) /

That leaves their other outfielder, Ryan Braun, most likely out of the picture. There are some things that aren’t great about him.

First off, he had a positive performance-enhancing drug test in 2011 but he, at least according to the New York Times, won his appeal on the suspension on a “technicality.” Later, in 2013, he was suspended as a part of the Biogenesis scandal for positively testing for PEDs. He was suspended for the rest of the 2013 season (65 games) plus any postseason games (but the Brewers didn’t make it). When he was suspended for that, he admitted that he took PEDs in 2011, the year that he originally won his appeal.

Second off, since his suspension, he has gotten as high as 91 RBI in a season but from 2007 through 2012, he had 97+ RBI in each season.

Third off, he’s not getting any younger. He turned 34 years old in November.

Fourth off, he’s owed $56 million in the next three seasons plus a mutual option for $15 million for 2021, or a buyout of that option for $4 million.

Fifth, he has a partial no trade clause and, according to MLB Trade Rumors, one of the 24 teams that he can block a trade to is the Rockies.

Sixth off, he had a down season in 2017 that was injury plagued.

DENVER, CO – MAY 05: Sunset falls over the stadium as the Atlanta Braves face the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on May 5, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. The Braves defeated the Rockies 13-9. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

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There are obviously a lot of things going against the Rockies acquiring Braun but if he were to accept a deal to the Rockies (which he very well could considering that the Rockies made the playoffs last year and he would be much closer to his home in Malibu, California), they could get him for very little. This would obviously depend on how much of Braun’s contract that the Rockies would be willing to pick up, if any. If they picked up all of it, they would not have to give up much for him but if the Brewers pick up most of or all of it, the Rockies would obviously have to give up some prospects.

However, it wouldn’t be all bad for the Rockies. Braun has played very well postseason play as he has a .379 batting average in 15 playoff games and has played decently at Coors Field in his career. He’s also only one season removed from a 30 home run, 91 RBI, .305/.365/.538 slash line season. He also has 6 Defensive Runs Saved in 2016 as well.

Final Thoughts

The signing of Lorenzo Cain and addition of Christian Yelich for the Brewers may cause an increase in the market for outfielders so the Rockies may have to turn to Ian Desmond and Ryan McMahon to play left field and first base, at least to start of the season.

However, with the Brewers influx of outfielders, Ryan Braun could be expendable for the Brewers. The Rockies could try to get Domingo Santana instead but since he had a career year last year and since he has five years of control before free agency and a very low salary (just slightly over the league minimum), he could take a lot more to acquire. For Braun, he does have a lot of baggage and a no trade clause that he would have to waive but he’s only one season removed from a pretty good 2016 season.

Next: What do Larry Walker's troubles on the Hall of Fame ballot mean for Todd Helton?

If the Rockies decide that the rest of the trade market and free agency is a bit too expensive, they could turn to the Brewers and Braun or Santana and potentially, he could help the Rockies get to the postseason in 2018 and help them advance further in the playoffs.

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