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Milwaukee Brewers Looking at Trade Options with Boston Red Sox?

Brian Peoplis
Jun 7, 2009

According to Boston.com, The Milwaukee Brewers "might" be taking a look at moving shortstop JJ Hardy to Boston in exchange for pitching. ย It's a good feature on how baseball GM's analyze and execute trades, with Brewers GM Doug Melvin getting asked a few questions along the way. Boston Globe writer Nick Cafardo says:

"Melvin is trying to determine whether to shore up the pitching now or wait until things get dire. ย He wouldn't comment on whether he's engaged in talks with the Red Sox on shortstop J.J. Hardy; he did concede that his Triple A shortshop, 22-year-old Alcides Escobar, is ready for the big leagues, but, he said, "We have a very good shortstop."ย 

I'm as excited as anyone for the arrival of Escobar to the bigs, but trading Hardy at this point would be a big mistake. To date he's got 24 RBI's, .234 avg, and 5 home runsโ€”not great, but it could be worse, as Brewer fans know Hardy is prone to long slumps. ย 

However, Hardy's defense is undoubtedly the best in the starting infield, and what he lacks in consistent hitting power he more than makes up for in his stonewall defensive presence. ย 

One look at the Red Sox pitching yields a few scenarios: Brad Penny would most certainly be the pitcher sent in the trade, mainly because I can't see the Red Sox parting ways with anyone else in their starting rotation (and don't say Tim Wakefield, thank you).ย 

I say the best case scenario is to offer a package with Corey Hart, who is by all means expendable with our outfield depth and his lack of offensive consistency. The question is: Who would want to deal a solid starter or reliever for a guy like Hart? ย 

If I'm an opposing GM, I'm passing.