Brewers still think trade market open
SAN FRANCISCO -- From a distance, Monday looked like a challenging day for the Brewers on the trade front. The Angels and Mets made deals with potential implications for Milwaukee, while Brewers first baseman Adam Lind remained sidelined by a stiff back. Still, general manager Doug Melvin expressed continued confidence about being active before Friday's 3 p.m. CT non-waiver Trade Deadline.
"Sometimes it depends on how teams react emotionally," Melvin said. "When the competition does something, do they have to react?"
In the span of less than an hour Monday afternoon, three news items emerged that could impact the Brewers' efforts:
• The Angels traded for Boston's Shane Victorino. Los Angeles has also eyed Brewers outfielder Gerardo Parra and dispatched a scout (former Brewer Jeff Cirillo) to Miller Park after the All-Star break to eye Parra and others. But even after acquiring Victorino, the Angels remain in the market for a left-handed bat, and Parra is still in play.
• About 15 minutes later, the Mets acquired reliever Tyler Clippard from the Athletics for Minor League right-hander Casey Meisner. The Mets are one of the teams known to have shown interest in Parra, and Meisner, as first reported by Newsday's Marc Carig, was an early target of the Brewers. One Brewers source said the Mets had been more focused on the bullpen, and the teams haven't been talking much about Parra recently.
• Both trades happened just after the Brewers posted a starting lineup missing potential trade chip Lind for the second straight day. The flare-up of Lind's back, which sent him to the disabled list in 2011, '12 and '14, could complicate the possibility of a trade, but Lind said he was feeling much better and expected to return to regular duty Tuesday.
Lind's chief suitor seems to be the Cardinals, who have had recent conversations with the Brewers about Lind, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported of Lind that rival executives "think he's going to land in St. Louis."
Melvin has traded within the National League Central before, sending reliever John Axford to the Cardinals in 2013 and third baseman Aramis Ramirez to the Pirates last week.
Would Lind be different? Axford was removed from the closer's role at the time of his trade, and Ramirez intends to retire at season's end. Lind, though, is a productive run-producer under club control for the rest of this season and next. His contract includes an $8 million club option with a $500,000 buyout.
Melvin has been laying groundwork for trades from the Brewers' war room at Miller Park. Half of the team's pro scouting staff was in Milwaukee recently for five days of discussions, and now six different scouts are in, working together from 9 a.m. to about 9 p.m. daily.