With Rickie Weeks down for at least 3-6 weeks, the Brewers are turning to a familiar face to add some depth while they figure out what their plan is moving forward — Felipe Lopez is heading back to Milwaukee (well, Nashville, actually) in exchange for cash considerations.
Who knows, maybe they got him for the $1 they received from Atlanta for Wil Nieves.
Doug Melvin, like most general managers, likes players he’s dealt with before. For the most part, you know them and feel like they’re safer bets because you’ve seen them personally before. For that reason, it shouldn’t be a total shock that the Brewers called the Rays about Lopez. The biggest surprise might be that he was still around — he’s struggled to hit major league pitching since his hot close to the 2009 season with the Brewers, although he was hitting .312/.365/.484 in Triple A this year.
That’s where the Brewers are saying he’ll stay for now, presumably while they look for bigger upgrades. While Lopez has a history of lazy defense, there’s a shot he’d hit well enough to lessen the blow of losing Weeks. At the very least, it’s a low-risk move that could end up paying large dividends — kind of like the first time Melvin traded for him.
Melvin doesn’t sound all that optimistic about finding a “true” second baseman on the trade market, but it’s important to remember that we’re still a few days away from the deadline. We learned from the Nyjer Morgan deal that “prices change,” (Melvin’s words) and as we get closer to the deadline the demands for the likes of Jamey Carroll or Todd Walker may come down. For now, though, it looks like the Brewers will have to work with Craig Counsell and Eric Farris until the deadline.
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