So This One Guy Went To This One Place This One Time

Okay, sports fans, here’s the situation which I first brought up on Twitter late Sunday.

…but first, the necessary disclaimer so that people don’t fly off the handle and start spreading wild theories that aren’t actually what I said.

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This is simply something that I know happened.

The intent of why it happened is clear and will be explained, but nothing further than the specific intent which I will spell out for you should be inferred.

IN. NO. WAY. should this be taken to mean that something is imminent or even forthcoming on this topic with these players.

I also don’t know about anything else that could be related to what I know or what it could mean.

I love to speculate and will happily do so with you in the comments if you want, but anything further than what’s listed in the body of the blog post itself would be pure guess work by me.
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Okay? Is that clear enough? I certainly hope so. On to the good stuff.

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A little while ago the Brewers sent a representative to view a specific minor league team with the intent to (at least) scout two specific players. Could more have been scouted while the representative was there? Absolutely. I just know that the person was there to scout two players for sure.

Many asked if this was regarding a possible trade. I said “maybe” because if the Brewers do decide to make some trades these could end up being players that they target. Then again, they may not target them. I’m not saying for sure that they’ll focus on these guys or not. I’m just passing along the information that they were watched.

Several people asked whether or not the information that I had indicated that the Brewers would be buying or selling. I wasn’t able to say, because I simply can’t tell. The fact that the person was there to scout these two players doesn’t give any sort of indication as to which direction the team might be leaning as to whether to sell or buy at the trading deadline, in my opinion. I know that the decision to buy or sell has not yet been made, and with good reason.

But one of these two players that were scouted, to me, is more of a “buy” scouting and the other is more of a “sell” scouting. Then again, I don’t claim to know much about scouting so one of the players could really be either.

Enough build up for you?

Here are the details then:

• The representative: (I thought about sharing this, but realized that it doesn’t matter and there’s no real reason to mention it.)
• The team: Las Vegas 51’s. (Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays)
• The players: 1B/LF Adam Lind & SS Adeiny Hechavarria

I’ve linked to both players’ MLB.com player pages (which you can access by clicking their names above. Check out their stats with the AAA 51’s if you so desire.

Adam Lind has had a down season offensively at the MLB level, so much so that he was sent down to AAA in the middle of May. He’s been crushing it down there and, according to a report, really seems to be enjoying baseball again which is something he wasn’t able to do while slumping so badly in Toronto. A change of scenery seems to have helped him just by heading to Las Vegas (though obviously the difference in opposing pitching helps plenty too), so maybe a change of scenery and leagues in MLB could benefit him as well.

To me, this is the player who I’m not sure what they might be thinking by looking at him. Clearly he could help the Brewers now (assuming he hits, of course) but we’re also currently covered at 1B with the seemingly (mostly) permanent move of Corey Hart to 1B.

Then again, who knows what might go back to Toronto in any deal, so perhaps a hole would open up that would need to be filled one way or another. That’s the fun of speculation.

Adeiny Hechavarria is a slick-fielding 23-year-old shortstop whose glove is Major League-ready but who still needs to develop his hitting a bit.

I reached out to prospect guru Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus and ESPN.com to ask what he could tell me about Hechavarria’s big league potential. Goldstein’s response: “Plus plus defender, will (pick) it enough to play every day, but hit in the bottom of lineup.”

That’s good enough for me.

Clearly this would be the type of player that would be acquired on a Brewers “selling” trade because with the talk about his potential, his “ready” glove and defensive abilities, and how highly the Blue Jays organization speaks of him, it would take quite the piece to acquire Hechavarria,

If the Blue Jays are in it enough to make a push, and need something that the Brewers have that they think will put them over the top, then sending Hechavarria to someone might be a move they’re willing to make. And we all know how badly the Brewers needs a ready shortstop.

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So, there you have it. I hope you didn’t make this out to be something earth-shattering and I did what I could to calm people down without giving anything away on Twitter before I could confirm enough of what I wanted to about this.

Thanks for your patience and understanding (those that gave it) in allowing me to confirm a bit before I posted.