The Brewers on Thursday traded for Marlins CF Christian Yelich and signed free agent CF Lorenzo Cain to a five-year, $80M deal, and by doing so "announced that they’re serious about making a run" in the NL Central, according to Jon Tayler of SI.com. Cain is a "relative bargain" at $16M per year, even if a "five-year deal carries him into his late-30s." It is a "risk that most teams shied away from this offseason." But it is a "leap of faith the Brewers had to take if they wanted to go all in." Instead of "targeting some nebulous, easily disrupted future, the Brewers used their payroll flexibility to get better now." Fans have not seen the Brewers reach the postseason since '11 and "haven’t watched the Brewers win a pennant" since '82 (SI.com, 1/25). USA TODAY's Jorge Ortiz writes after "opening each of the last two seasons with one of the five lowest payrolls in the majors as they rebuilt the team, the Brewers pulled off two stunning and expensive moves" to "bolster their outfield" (USA TODAY, 1/26). The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt tweeted the Brewers "moved their rebuild forward more than expected with 86 wins last year," and Owner Mark Attanasio and GM David Stearns have "just stepped on the accelerator." Haudricourt: "The future is now" (TWITTER.com, 1/25).
STILL SELLING: In Ft. Lauderdale, Tim Healey notes Yelich is the fourth Marlins star to be "sent packing" in the opening months of the team's new era under CEO Derek Jeter and Owner Bruce Sherman after 2B Dee Gordon and OFs Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna were "traded for prospects and salary relief last month." The Marlins’ "next big question" is about the fate of C J.T. Realmuto (South Florida SUN SENTINEL, 1/26). In DC, Dave Sheinin writes the Marlins’ fire sale has "contributed to one of the slowest winters in recent history for free agents." Teams that might otherwise "consider a splashy signing" instead "filled their needs with one of the Marlins’ castoffs" (WASHINGTON POST, 1/26).
