[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers get a big win in the first game of a three-game set at home against the second-place Portland Wild Things, largely on the strength of great pitching from staff ace Daniel Torres and reliever Jamel McNeil, but also with the bulk of the offense coming from the current hottest hitter on the team, Pat Rondeau.
With both Antonio Puente and Ruben Souffront in prolonged cold spells at the plate (Puente's has been basically season-long), and even Ryan Rodgers a bit chilly of late, Rondeau is getting a good amount of playing time and he's looking to prove that he deserves even more. In addition to two big hits on the night, Rondeau also made some fine catches in rightfield and threw out a runner on the base-paths.

Perhaps as some indication of what other teams think of Rondeau's potential, he is mentioned in pretty much every trade offer that comes the Brewers' way, and now, with the trade deadline looming, the team has received the first truly interesting offer for Rondeau that they don't feel they can just shoot down without deliberation.
The Jacksonville Wolf Pack are offering 25-year old Jared Stephenson, an All-Star last season and the 1965 World Series MVP. He's not superstar level but he might be exactly the kind of upgrade the team is looking for at thirdbase, and he's young, a good teammate, a solid defender, and a solidly above average hitter. And even though his pure speed grades out as poor, his stolen base and base running abilities mesh nicely with the team's approach. In addition to Rondeau the Wolf Pack are asking for a decent catching prospect currently down at single A Bainbridge- Justin Curasone. While Curasone certainly has potential as a plus defender and possibly decent contact hitter, his eye and ability to avoid striking out both look to project as being quite sub-par. He's a hard worker, granted, but at this point there are at least 2 catchers ahead of him in the system with equivalent potential, and 1 coming up behind him who could develop into a major leaguer. Curasone is not a deal breaker.

But Rondeau? In spite of his pure talent and great character, our scouting staff does not consider him likely to take over from our current three outfield starters. And he's actually older than both Puente and Souffront. On a purely logical level this deal probably makes sense, even as it stands now without negotiation. (And, if we do consider this, there will be negotiation.) This might be my first great hurdle in terms of having to make a decision about a player I really, really like and don't want to part with.

Looks like I'll be sleeping on this one.