If I were a team in need of an everyday short (memo to Theo Epstein) I would be trying to make a waiver deal for JJ Hardy, who was demoted to AAA by the Brewers in favor of uber-prospect Alcides Escobar, who has a .762 OPS in in AAA as a 22 year-old.
Hardy is having a bad year, hitting 229/300/367, all below his career norms. Just last year he was one of the best hitting shortstops in baseball, and he provides good defense. He's also 26. The suitors will probably line up, but demoting him probably hurt his trade value. He was in a prolonged slump, with his OPS at its lowest level since May 6.
There's only a few teams with shortstops who are better than how Hardy performed in 2007-08. Some smart team is going to gobble in up, and though the Brewers may be better long-term with Escobar, they likely damaged the return they could have received for Hardy.
Honestly, this purge smells like a with hunt to me. I don't think this makes the Brewers better in 2009, and not sure about 2010. Odd move from Doug Melvin.
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