CC switches leagues, still the fattest player on team

The CC trade has shifted the balance of power in the National League dramatically. The addition of the reigning AL Cy Young award winner immediately vaults the Brewers into the elite of the NL. Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin has proved to be very shrewd and one of the best in the business as he was able to bring over a legit ace for basically one blue chip prospect whose path to the majors was blocked by Hart and Brauny. The Brewers will be able to send CC and his portly self to the hill about 16 times for them from now until the rest of the season. The Brewers have gone from good to very good and in the world series discussion.

Front Office Decisions:
This trade was simply monstrous for Milwaukee. There is no question that LaPorta can mash, he was teeing off in AA ball and it looks like he will bring 30 homer power to a corner outfield spot as soon as 2009. The Brewers, however, already have Hart and Braun more than capably filling those spots and it did not seem like LaPorta would have a place to play in '09. Further, the Brewers did not have to trade either Mat Gamel or Alicides Escobar, their other 2 top prospects, in this deal. Milwaukee wants to win now and the addition of CC for one of their top prospects whose path to the majors was blocked looks great as they now have put together one of the strongest teams in the NL.

Is CC a rental player? CC and Sheets are both free agents at years end and these two players will no doubt be the focus of the Brewers front office in the offseason. It is not (maybe a little?) all that unthinkable to create a scenario where Milwaukee gives both these guys a truckload of money to keep them. It is nothing but speculation at this point, but it will be interesting to see how well the Brewers play in the second half and how far they go in the postseason with a front three of Sheets-CC-Parra. Both will command big dollars as free agents and finishing this season in Milwaukee, they could have a leg up on the rest of the MLB for extending their services. The other, more plausible scenario is that they will keep one of the two aces. Perhaps they have grown tired of Sheets' constant DL stints and inability to put together a season of 25+ starts as their supposed ace. They might be looking to let Sheets walk and use that money to sign CC to the fat deal he will command. The way I see it, however, is that Milwaukee will try very hard to sign both Sheets and CC this offseason.

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The Brewers do not have very good pitching prospects in their minor league system. Their only other two top prospects are position players. They will have Yovani Gallardo back next season and if able to re-sign CC and Sheets, they will without question have the best staff in the NL, and probably all of baseball. They do not have very good internal options to fill in any rotation holes, and Melvin knows this. If they let Sheets and CC walk, their staff would be horrible, if they are able to sign one of the two, they will be back in the middling ranks of the NL. The only position player they will have to make a contractual decision about soon is Prince Fielder. His deal will be up in 2 years, and it seems most prudent to let him walk, using the money they would have used to pay him to keep both CC and Sheets. They have an internal replacement for Fielder in Mat Gamel. Although Gamel can't really field any position at the big league level right now, he does project as a first baseman. While his bat is probably ready now, his glove is not. One more season in the minors to work on his glove at first and he will be ready to step in at first base.

Melvin must have been dreaming of this scenario when he made the trade. If they are unable to lock up CC, fine, the trade still works for the Brewers. They dealt LaPorta, who will unquestionably be very good, but who would not have had a place to play in Milwaukee, for a chance to win the series now. But Melvin must have envisioned a scenario where he would get the OK to pay both Sheets and CC while letting Prince walk the following season. CC looks like a loner for the second half, but he might be donning a Brewer uniform for years to come.

Aftermath:
I cannot have more respect for Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin. The timely nature in which he pulled off this deal was phenomenal for the Brewers. It was not a last minute, panic deadline deal and he did not give up a whole ton for CC. He will be able to make two starts for the Brewers before the ASB and have a week to get comfortable with his new team before the second half begins.

The NL wild card is there for the taking. It does not look like it will come out of the East this year with the Mets and Phillies playing very inconsistent baseball. The Cardinals should be a joke, somehow are not, wait, no, but really, they are. Nobody is buying into their staff (Kyle Lohse, are you kidding me?) and I am skeptical they will be able to finish the season as strong as they have started it. The NL West is just a mess this year with no team even at .500. Milwaukee is clearly, far and away, the strongest team in this bunch vying for the wild card. It is also quite possible that they overtake the Cubs and the NL Central as summer baseball resumes.

A front three of CC-Sheets-Parra is scary good in a playoff series. They, along with the Diamondbacks, and I guess the Cubs (hello, Ryan Dempster) have the strongest playoff rotations in the NL. Arizona, of course, has to first win the West. From where I am sitting, Milwaukee is as good as in.

The Brewers are also able to boast one of the most powerful lineups in the NL and after a slow start have seen Prince, Braun, Hart and Co. hitting much better as of late. They have power in basically ever single spot of their lineup and their bats have been heating up along with the summer weather. The weakest link of the Brewers club remains their bullpen. But with Gagne coming back into a setup role with less pressure I believe he will be able to pitch more effectively. Torres has been pitching well in closing duties with a sub-3, and has looked fine. Riske is decent enough and CVilla has been great for them giving them a very quality long relief guy. And once Suppan comes back they will probably opt to move McClung back into the pen which will give them a little bit more depth. It's debatable whether or not he deserves to be demoted to the staff over Bush but they will be able to use his arm out of the pen more than Bush making starts in AAA. It looks like their bullpen will be fine.

With the addition of CC, I like the Brewers to come out of the NL, barring significant injury. It cannot be overlooked how dominant a pitcher CC is and what he will bring to Milwaukee's staff. With CC, I like the Brewers team more than the Cubs right now, and barring a Harden reaction or a huge move by Chicago, the Brewers look like the best team in the National League as the ASB approaches.