RD Topp
@rdtopp.bsky.social
Still hugging prospects. Hallelujah Hatrack.
It was an important step for them. They’d been in the playoffs 7/8 years but hadn’t won a series since 2018, so winning one was a big deal. The fact that it was against the Cubs made it that much better, but they’re still not where they want to be, which is the WS.
November 11, 2025 at 9:51 PM
It was an important step for them. They’d been in the playoffs 7/8 years but hadn’t won a series since 2018, so winning one was a big deal. The fact that it was against the Cubs made it that much better, but they’re still not where they want to be, which is the WS.
I would love to know where the Brewers had themselves and the Cubs projected for 2025 before the season started.
My guess is they looked at themselves as being behind the Cubs but in the playoff race and they decided it made a lot of sense to improve for later while the Cubs were loading up for 25.
My guess is they looked at themselves as being behind the Cubs but in the playoff race and they decided it made a lot of sense to improve for later while the Cubs were loading up for 25.
November 11, 2025 at 9:43 PM
I would love to know where the Brewers had themselves and the Cubs projected for 2025 before the season started.
My guess is they looked at themselves as being behind the Cubs but in the playoff race and they decided it made a lot of sense to improve for later while the Cubs were loading up for 25.
My guess is they looked at themselves as being behind the Cubs but in the playoff race and they decided it made a lot of sense to improve for later while the Cubs were loading up for 25.
Maybe someone will find it 100 years from now and not care then!
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1...
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1...
109-Year-Old Messages in a Bottle Written by Soldiers Heading to Fight in World War I Discovered on Australian Beach
The two letters survived the past century inside a Schweppes-brand bottle, which Debra Brown found on Wharton Beach in early October
www.smithsonianmag.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Maybe someone will find it 100 years from now and not care then!
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1...
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1...
Any credible argument that the Brewers don’t spend enough on players needs to start with the understanding that what they do is well within the norms established by MLB owners collectively in terms of how much they spend on salaries. You can argue that isn’t enough, but not that it’s an aberration.
November 11, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Any credible argument that the Brewers don’t spend enough on players needs to start with the understanding that what they do is well within the norms established by MLB owners collectively in terms of how much they spend on salaries. You can argue that isn’t enough, but not that it’s an aberration.
Of course this doesn’t account for non-player spending. We cannot know how the Brewers rank in terms of spending on things other than player salaries. We can guess, based on the winning, that they’re probably not skimping out on that side, but that’s just a guess.
November 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Of course this doesn’t account for non-player spending. We cannot know how the Brewers rank in terms of spending on things other than player salaries. We can guess, based on the winning, that they’re probably not skimping out on that side, but that’s just a guess.
The last year we have revenue estimates (and that’s all they are, estimates) the Brewers brought in $337M in revenue in 2024, which ranked 20th in MLB.
So the 2025 #Brewers ending up 19th in CBT player payroll tracks just about perfectly with them being 20th in revenue in 2024.
So the 2025 #Brewers ending up 19th in CBT player payroll tracks just about perfectly with them being 20th in revenue in 2024.
November 11, 2025 at 7:49 PM
The last year we have revenue estimates (and that’s all they are, estimates) the Brewers brought in $337M in revenue in 2024, which ranked 20th in MLB.
So the 2025 #Brewers ending up 19th in CBT player payroll tracks just about perfectly with them being 20th in revenue in 2024.
So the 2025 #Brewers ending up 19th in CBT player payroll tracks just about perfectly with them being 20th in revenue in 2024.
I’m not sure exactly what to expect. I strongly doubt they give out a FA contact of more than 2 years guaranteed for any real money because they haven’t done that since Cain in 2018. But I could absolutely see them adding a couple of 1-2 year guys that push the payroll up 15-20 million for 2026.
November 11, 2025 at 6:51 PM
I’m not sure exactly what to expect. I strongly doubt they give out a FA contact of more than 2 years guaranteed for any real money because they haven’t done that since Cain in 2018. But I could absolutely see them adding a couple of 1-2 year guys that push the payroll up 15-20 million for 2026.
It’s about both. You have to start with an accurate understanding of what was spent the year before if you want to have any hope at trying to figure out what the range of spending is for the next year. But it’s also good to just grasp what was spent for its own sake.
November 11, 2025 at 6:40 PM
It’s about both. You have to start with an accurate understanding of what was spent the year before if you want to have any hope at trying to figure out what the range of spending is for the next year. But it’s also good to just grasp what was spent for its own sake.
From what I can tell, these buyouts often seem to slip into a never never land where they don’t really get accurately reflected in any years payroll. That seems a limitation of the public sites that do this like Spotrac and Cots.
But it’s real money and needs to be accounted for somewhere.
But it’s real money and needs to be accounted for somewhere.
November 11, 2025 at 6:37 PM
From what I can tell, these buyouts often seem to slip into a never never land where they don’t really get accurately reflected in any years payroll. That seems a limitation of the public sites that do this like Spotrac and Cots.
But it’s real money and needs to be accounted for somewhere.
But it’s real money and needs to be accounted for somewhere.
Exactly, it’s not arbitrary. They said this is how they do it and it makes the most sense that this would be how they account for it. The money has to go somewhere, either last year or this year, right?
And, yes, now that we know this we need to better account for it ahead of time when adding.
And, yes, now that we know this we need to better account for it ahead of time when adding.
November 11, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Exactly, it’s not arbitrary. They said this is how they do it and it makes the most sense that this would be how they account for it. The money has to go somewhere, either last year or this year, right?
And, yes, now that we know this we need to better account for it ahead of time when adding.
And, yes, now that we know this we need to better account for it ahead of time when adding.
Yeah, the bat that makes the most sense to me is Yaz. Seems like a good fit. Pitchers there are lots of them. Littel, old friend Cody Ponce, Dustin May, Mike Soroka, Eric Fedde, Jose Quintana, Griffin Canning all have varying degrees of charm for me.
November 11, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Yeah, the bat that makes the most sense to me is Yaz. Seems like a good fit. Pitchers there are lots of them. Littel, old friend Cody Ponce, Dustin May, Mike Soroka, Eric Fedde, Jose Quintana, Griffin Canning all have varying degrees of charm for me.
The other thing worth mentioning before we put a bow on the #Brewers 2025 payroll is how their year end 40 man expenditure of 131.6 ended up ranking 20th in MLB and their full CBT taxable expense of 160.0 ranked 19th. So at the end of the day, they got back up to the edge of that middle third.
November 11, 2025 at 6:16 PM
The other thing worth mentioning before we put a bow on the #Brewers 2025 payroll is how their year end 40 man expenditure of 131.6 ended up ranking 20th in MLB and their full CBT taxable expense of 160.0 ranked 19th. So at the end of the day, they got back up to the edge of that middle third.
It’s a farm that’s leaning heavily on a group of RP, but at least one of them became a truly elite one and a couple more are well on their way towards being elite themselves if they hold up physically. But Turang and Rasmussen have already done enough themselves to beat that rank.
November 11, 2025 at 6:05 PM
It’s a farm that’s leaning heavily on a group of RP, but at least one of them became a truly elite one and a couple more are well on their way towards being elite themselves if they hold up physically. But Turang and Rasmussen have already done enough themselves to beat that rank.
Most of the projections, which were done before the Brewers made the QO, have him making less than 22 AAV and very few have him getting more than 2 years. The QO dampens that further.
I just doubt market will give him enough to make turning it down make sense. We’ll see.
I just doubt market will give him enough to make turning it down make sense. We’ll see.
November 11, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Most of the projections, which were done before the Brewers made the QO, have him making less than 22 AAV and very few have him getting more than 2 years. The QO dampens that further.
I just doubt market will give him enough to make turning it down make sense. We’ll see.
I just doubt market will give him enough to make turning it down make sense. We’ll see.
Obviously they could go higher or lower from that number, but I think that’s sorta the ballpark we’re talking about for this year. Now if they do trade Peralta and or Wiodruff declines, that makes it a whole different ballgame. But best guess today is somewhere around 15 million to spend for 2026.
November 11, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Obviously they could go higher or lower from that number, but I think that’s sorta the ballpark we’re talking about for this year. Now if they do trade Peralta and or Wiodruff declines, that makes it a whole different ballgame. But best guess today is somewhere around 15 million to spend for 2026.
How much room does that realistically leave to add?
Again, as I mentioned on the pod cots had them listed as OD $108M, but with all the buyouts that we now know were baked into 2025, it was functionally more like $125M. So that’s our baseline we need to compare to, so probably like $15M, +\-
Again, as I mentioned on the pod cots had them listed as OD $108M, but with all the buyouts that we now know were baked into 2025, it was functionally more like $125M. So that’s our baseline we need to compare to, so probably like $15M, +\-
November 11, 2025 at 5:38 PM
How much room does that realistically leave to add?
Again, as I mentioned on the pod cots had them listed as OD $108M, but with all the buyouts that we now know were baked into 2025, it was functionally more like $125M. So that’s our baseline we need to compare to, so probably like $15M, +\-
Again, as I mentioned on the pod cots had them listed as OD $108M, but with all the buyouts that we now know were baked into 2025, it was functionally more like $125M. So that’s our baseline we need to compare to, so probably like $15M, +\-
Oh yeah, I forgot to check that. Knock it down to 30.4 bWAR to date from guys who actually signed!
November 11, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Oh yeah, I forgot to check that. Knock it down to 30.4 bWAR to date from guys who actually signed!
This dude ping pongs back and forth between “peace President” and foaming at the mouth warmonger like 10 times per day.
November 11, 2025 at 5:13 PM
This dude ping pongs back and forth between “peace President” and foaming at the mouth warmonger like 10 times per day.
I’m sure teams like the Brewers not only put future values on all their farm hands, but they do it like semiannually or quarterly and have tracked the data over time to study when different types of prospects who “fail” actually peak in trade value and all that.
November 11, 2025 at 4:53 PM
I’m sure teams like the Brewers not only put future values on all their farm hands, but they do it like semiannually or quarterly and have tracked the data over time to study when different types of prospects who “fail” actually peak in trade value and all that.
Harrison’s value to the Brewers is I no way, shape or form captured by that 0.1 bWAR number. The size of that draft success is just so much larger than that. But it’s really hard to account for it. I’m sure teams like MKE have actually modeled this all out, but we don’t in the public sphere.
November 11, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Harrison’s value to the Brewers is I no way, shape or form captured by that 0.1 bWAR number. The size of that draft success is just so much larger than that. But it’s really hard to account for it. I’m sure teams like MKE have actually modeled this all out, but we don’t in the public sphere.
Like, for an extreme example, the Brewers drafted Montee Harrison, who went on to accrue 0.1 bWAR before becoming a college WR (another thing we don’t talk about enough) but who was also a critical piece of the maybe the most important Brewers trade ever, acquiring Christian Yelich.
November 11, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Like, for an extreme example, the Brewers drafted Montee Harrison, who went on to accrue 0.1 bWAR before becoming a college WR (another thing we don’t talk about enough) but who was also a critical piece of the maybe the most important Brewers trade ever, acquiring Christian Yelich.