... would love to see Brandon Moss, Pedro Alvarez, or Steve Pearce at 1B.
I guess the Brewers have different ideas ...
http://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2016/11/29/brewers-sign-eric-thames-play-first-base/94592564/
This is Stearn's way. Grab value guys. Thames is Carter with less strikeouts, but possibly less power. He's a left handed bat in a predominantly right handed lineup.
He signed for $16 million over I think four years, so if he hits over 20 bombs, he's a steal. Carter would have required a 9 or 10 million dollar deal this year. He's not that guy.
Should be interesting to see the development of the Brewers over the next year or two. Stearns is a guy who will pick up retreads while still building through the farm system. Sort of like Ted Thompson does, but with baseball it is easier to sign other guys who have some talent.
I don't disagree with letting loose of Carter - and, while I'd rather see one of the others I mentioned than Thames ... Thames is the kind of guy you don't mind giving a shot. Really ... anybody who can handle the job defensively can play 1st for the next couple of years - but it would be nice to score a few runs ... and that's a whole lot of RBIs to replace.
Carter's power production is going to be hard to replace, no doubt. Thames won't hit 41 bombs this year, or any year for that matter. Let's hope he can hit 20+ and make better contact, while playing a decent first base.