Arbitration approaches, Millwood rumors, Fielder Contract

The deadline for offering free agents approaches. Free agents are given either an A, B, or no ranking depending on there position and production, and teams may recieve compensation for those players leaving, but only if the offer of arbitration is extended. There is more to this, but I do have a longer explanation in a post from the summer. Long story short: Teams want draft picks, but can't just offer in case the player excepts, as he is then under contract. Also, a player almost never takes a pay cut in arbitration.

There is no point in extending offers to free agents who are not ranked since there is no compensation. The Brewers have no type As this year, however do have 4 type Bs. If these players are signed elsewhere the Crew would recieve a draft pick between the first and second rounds.

Mike Cameron- Made $10 million last season and I really doubt he will be making that much in 2010. Brewers have already committed to Carlos Gomez as their outfielder, making it almost a sure thing Cam' is not offered.

David Weathers- The Brewers already declined Weathers' 3.75 million dollar option, paying him a $400k buyout instead. Seeing as David make 3.4 mill this year the decision has already been made, Weathers will not be offered arb.

Jason Kendall- GM Doug Melvin has already said he does not want to allocate $5 million to the catching position, which is what Kendall made this last year. Seems likely the Crew goes the cheap route, Kendall is not offered.

Felipe Lopez- The second basemen had a career season and enters a week crop of middle infielders. After making only 3.5 million in '09 if he were to accept arbitration would likely not see 5. Also, arbitration is a one year contract, and I'm sure Felipe would like to see a couple of years. This being said, it is doubtful that he would accept an offer, and if he does it wouldn't be a bad deal for the Brewers, who could always trade him or Weeks later on. Lopez does get offered arbitration, and declines.

So it is a bit of a shame for the Brewers to have 4 players and only get 1 pick out of it, but it's better than last year when they had 2 type A free agents and only got a supplemental and a 2nd rounder (Ben Sheets never signed with another team).


Now on to new Kevin Millwood rumors. Supposedly the Orioles are interested, and the sourse claims that the Rangers would like to move his 12 million dollar salary to free up money for a bat. This is all and good, however the report coming in a few days ago was the the Rangers had new real incination to move Kevin...


Some other interesting ideas came up in a Brewers Mailbag with Adam McCalvy. It has been said that the Brewers will look to sign Fielder to an extension following the heart of this offseason. Fielder is already under contract for 2010 and under team control for another season after that. What else we know is that Fielder's agent, Scott Boras does not like to sign deals during arbitration years, and it was even surprising when a two year deal was reached last winter. What is scary now is the comparison McCalvy made between Fielder and another Boras agent... Mark Texiera. Tex signed a 8 year 180 million dollar contract last year with the Yankees and will be seen as a comperable for Prince. Mark was 28, with a .282 avg, 140 hr and 450 rbi after 4 seasons while taking 5th in rookie of the year voting, winning a Silver Slugger and making an All-Star team. Prince will be 27 when he hits free agency, and is currently a .283 hitter with 158 hr and 443 rbi while taking seventh in ROY voting, winning a Silver Slugger, making an All-Star team, and taking third in a MVP ballot. Yikes. The point is why would would Prince sign a 3-5 year deal now when he is just two away from would could potentially be a 200 million dollar pay day? I would like to see it happen but it won't. To me Prince will be a Brewer for the next two years MAX (and likely less).


That's it for now, hopefully things will heat up after Tuesday, and the Winter meetings are just right around the corner. Getting cold outside, Brew Up.

Happy Thanksgiving, Some Rumors

Well, Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Hope everyone has a good weekend of Turkey and football and is super excited for the deadline for teams to offer arbitration on Tuesday.

Here is a rumor that came up and was (somewhat) shotdown today. The Brewers are enquiring about Kevin Millwood from the Texas Rangers. This is not the first time that the Crew has taken a look at Millwood who looks to be the veteran leader atop a young and talented rotation. The depth the Rangers have could be the reasoning for the Brewers inquiry. However, what went along with this was the note that the Rangers are not particulily looking to deal Millwood. Also, the note comes in the Rangers GM Jon Daniels has said he hasn't spoken to Brewers GM Doug Melvin for several weeks, so even though this rumor may be true, it's old.

Milllwood is a big 35 year old right hander who has been with Texas for 4 of his 13 big league seasons. He owns a career line of 155-121 with a 4.02 ERA. His '09 season was his best in a while, and after back to back years of around 170 innings and ERAs over 5 he turned in a 198ip year with a 3.67 ERA. However, that being said, walks were up and strikeouts were down. His best season was way back in '99, going 18-7 with a 2.68 for the Atlanta Braves. Kevin is set to make $12 million in 2010, the last year of a five year contract.

So I'm not sure for the price if he is worth it, and I'm rather sure he is not what Brewers fans want. At least he can still strike people out, but beyond that he is far too Suppan-esque.

Cappy is Back, Halama Signs, Pavano Rumors

The Brewers have resigned lefty Chris Capuano, 31. For those of you who remember, Cappy was an 18 game winner back in 2005 and an All-Star in 2006 before a poor 2007 campaign. Spring training '08 lead to a second Tommy John surgery. The Brewers resigned Chris last year on a minor league deal. After some set backs he threw 9 innings in A ball, allowing three runs on 8 hits with 8 strike outs.

Former Big Leaguer John Halama also signed a minor league deal. The team has yet to announce it but his agent has confirmed it to be so. The 37 year old last pitched in the Bigs in 2006, but is currently impressing in the Dominican Leagues. So far in 7 starter he is 4-2 with a 1.64 ERA and has walked only 3 in 44ip. The Dominican League is full of quality players too, his last start came against a team with 8 position players who have had major league experience. I discussed some of Halama's history in a previous post.

Both players recieved invites to Major League Spring Training.

Also, another name coming up in rumors again, Carl Pavano. Pavano's agent confirmed that he has had some "informal" talks with GM Doug Melvin. Pavano had a 5.10 ERA last year in 33 starts, his first healthy season in a while. Carl's agent mentioned that things probably won't heat up for a while, as the market will probably wait for the number one guy, Lackey, to sign before getting going. I kind of see this as a "kicking the tires" kind of thing. There is no way this is an upgrade of any kind over Looper, and Carl has an awful injury history. But, his season wasn't awful and if other free agents fall through I suppose the Brewers have to sign somebody...

Brew Up everyone.

Rumors Wrap-Up, Some Catch-Up

What pitchers aren't the Brewers being connected to? A list so far of names that have been heard:

John Lackey-Number one pitcher on the market, Doug Melvin has spoken with his agent, likely out of the Crews' price range
Mark Mulder-Seems likely Mulder will sign an incentive laden deal and attempt a comeback in Milwaukee. One source said Mulder not it Milwaukee would be "an upset".
Doug Davis-Brewers claimed him off waivers from Arizona but could not work out a trade.
Jarrod Washburn-Wisconsin native has said he wants to pitch close to home
Randy Wolf-Vague rumors of interest
Carl Pavano-Just heard this today. Brewers are "very interested".
John Smoltz-"Brewers could be players" I would assume the Brewers are interested in him as a starter, though he has said he was open to the bullpen, and apparently teems are interested in him to close.
Ben Sheets-Former Brewers would be interested in coming back.
Rich Harden-Vague
Todd Wellenmeyer-from SI.com

Personally at this point I see the Brewers signing 3 pitchers. Mark Mulder on a deal, then Washburn, then somebody that is not a big name. I really just don't see this big trade happening. What would we give up and what would we get? Not sure.

Speaking of not a big name, the Brewers are reportedly close to signing former Major Leaguer John Halama. This will be a minor league deal and will provide some AAA depth much like Mike Burns did last season. Halama is a big lefty that spent parts of 9 seasons in the Bigs, last pitching for the Orioles in '06. His best season was probably '99, in which he went 11-10 with a 4.22 ERA in 179ip.

Another note. Brewers signed 16 year old Dominacan prospect Santo Aybar, a short stop. Aybar was rated the 18th best Dominican prospect recently. He must undergo an age verification before the contract becomes final, and will likely start his career at the Brewers' Dominican camp.

Well I guess that's it for now. Sorry it has been so long between posts. Not really too much has been going on, I will try to restart some articles and stay steady with the news. Hopefully some things happen now that it is officially free agent season. Also, the Winter Meetings will be going down in two weeks, and of course I will be providing great coverage. It for now. Brew Up.

Lucroy Gets Consideration

GM Doug Melvin has now said on two separate occasions the catching prospect Jonathan Lucroy may get the nod next year for the Crew. Apparently there has been contact with Kendall's agent, but Melvin also said that he doesn't see the team spending the $5 on catching that the team did this year, so that can go ahead and cross out big name free agents like Bengie Molina, and probably a guy like Miguel Olivo too. Though it seems as if Kendall would be welcomed back at a discount.

Lucroy had a nice season in AA ball this year, and is continuing to impress currently in the Arizona Fall League. He has passed up Angel Salome on the depth chart, after Salome failed to impress and battled injuries this year at AAA Nashville. Melvin said he spoke with Salome who insists that he is working hard and is ready to compete for a major league job. Could come down to a battle in Spring Training.

I personally see Lucroy getting the nod, his defense is better than Salome's, and walks more than he strikes out. I guess Mike Rivera will be back as the reserve catcher, although he may get a few more starts this season than in the past. Salome will spend another year at AAA and hopefully reach the form we expect him to. Then in the end, Lucroy can be our all-star catcher for the next 8 years and we can trade Salome for a top notch pitching prospect...

Fun Stuff, happy Vet's Day. Brew Up.

Anti-Lackey Rumors, Looper

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi are reporting from the GM meetings which are currently rapping up in Chicago.

The ESPN writers state that the Brewers "do not expect to be a serious player" for Lackey, as they believe he would likely prefer a large market. Also, seeing as he is the number one pitcher on the market, it seems unlikely Milwaukee would come up with the best offer.

This is basically what anyone could have thought, but to me these pieces seem to be coming from a Mil-town insider, giving them some more weight. Phrases like this are discouraging, after the Sabathia trade coup GM Doug Melvin pulled off two years ago things some how seem more possible. Dousing the flames of my dreams...

Also coming in is a bit regarding Looper's option.
These writers don't really hazard a guess as to the probability of the option being picked up, but says that the Crew will need to replace those 34 starts, and mentioned Doug Davis and Jarrod Washburn as likely targets. One thing they do say is that Looper would likely pick up his half of the option if the Brewers do exersize. Brade lives in Chicago and enjoys playing for the team. The option is for 6.5 million with a 1m buyout. So the question is can we do better for 5.5?

Oh well. We'll keep our eyes peeled for any more rumors, articles pending. Brew Up.

More Lackey Rumors

So Jerry Crasnick at ESPN took a poll of twenty executives down at the GM meetings (which are happening now). One of the subjects of this talk was free agent ace, John Lackey, talking both place and price. Eight said the Yankees, four the Mets, three the Angles, with the Dodgers, Astros, Brewers, and Orioles receiving one vote apiece (one abstained). Estimated price range for Lackey was 3 years $36 million to 6 years $100 million. I'm going to guess the guy who said 100 mil also voted Yankees...

Not that I put any real strength in it, but it is interesting that someone thinks the Brewers have a shot. I'm not sure how I support that much money being spent (I was against signing Sabathia...) but something like a 4 year 48 million dollar deal wouldn't be too bad, a Suppan like contract for a pitcher much better than Jeff Suppan. However, seeing as he is the prize catch this winter, I see the price being much higher, and the Brewers grabbing somebody in my previous posts.

Thought I'd pass it on. Brew Up.

Davis and Washburn?

Hey there everyone. Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors has just released his top 50 free agents list, with predictions of which team will sign who. Of the top fifty the only two he has signing with the Brewers are Doug Davis and Jarrod Washburn, numbers 34 and 35 respectively.

Dierkes sites the fact that the Brewers claimed Davis off of waivers from the D'backs this season. Apparently Davis is looking for 3 years, however Dierkes does not see that happening.

Tim makes less of a case for Washburn, going with the idea that the Wisconsin native may take a hometown discount.

Dierkes then gives the idea that the Brewers may not acquire both of these players, but should be looking for two pitchers, the other which may be obtained by trading Matt Gamel.



I thought this was interesting. To me I see both of those as next to impossible, and one fairly likely. Washburn seems more likely to be available on a one year deal, which is preferable. I also feel like the Brewers signing Mark Mulder is rather likely, to take a chance on a rebuild, so signing two guys who would have guaranteed spots seems very unlikely. Looper is pretty much gone, and I see Bush saying bye-bye too (maybe as a non-tender, I'm not sure what kind of return there would be), so that leaves only two open places behind Yo, Soup, and Parra with Burns and Narveson held as back ups. I think the money is available to get some good players, lets see what happens.

Brew Up.

Roster Updates, More tidbits.

First and foremost I suppose is the addition of utility man Adam Heether to the 40 man roster. A 2003 11th round draft pick, Heether would have become a free agent if he hadn't been added. Adam can play 2nd, 3rd, and short, as has spent some time in the OF. The righty put up a good season in '09, hitting .296 with 16 HR and an OBP of .400. Looks like he will be competing for a bench position. 40 man roster currently stands at 37, can be down to 34 if/when Craig Counsell, Claudio Vargas, and David Weathers apply for free agency.

Some more tidbits for you now-
Tom Hardicourt sees Counsell back again next season, saying that the Brewers paid for Craig's knee surgery, suggesting a return.

Related to above, Hardicourt sees the 'Crew offering arbitration to Vargas as well.

Buster Olney describes the Brewers as one of the teams ready and willing to go after John Lackey... interesting to see a few days after Lackey's name came up in a call with GM Doug Melvin.

The team has until Saturday to make a decision regarding Braden Looper's 6.5 million dollar option. More and more signs point towards no, I agree.



It for now. Hopefully this week I can put another feature up, maybe finish up minor league awards. Brew Up.

Power to Speed Shift?

Hey everyone, just a quick topic to think about.

A few years ago it was thought that among the Brewers there were 7 players who could hit 20+ home runs, and two years ago the Brewers were the only team in baseball to have 8 different players hit 10 or more (Fielder, Braun, Cameron, Hart, Weeks, Hardy Hall, Branyan). The odd man out being Kendall of course.

This has changed now. While we will still get some power, and have plenty of guys who can hit them far, the Brewers are now repping 5 guys who could steal 20+ bases. Braun did it this year, Hart has done it twice, Escobar stole over 30 in AA and 40 in AAA, Gomez has already had a 30+ year, and of course Rickie Weeks (who has stole 25 in just 118 games)

So seeing that Manager Ken Macha isn't much of a runner, how will this team adapt? Maybe really trying to stack the power up front so people can run at the bottom of the line up?

Real quick, and without knowing who our catcher will be, my speedy version of a lineup:
1. Weeks
2. McGehee
3. Braun
4. Fielder
5. Hart
6. C?
7. Escobar
8. Gomez

That is kind of assuming a catcher who can hit. Looking at it like that, Brewers catching prospects may need another year, or maybe a season as a backup. If the money is there maybe the Crew should try and grab a decent hitting catcher on a one year deal. Like a Ramon Hernandez or Miguel Olivo.

Just some musings, I'll keep my ear to the rumor mill. Brew Up.

Some tidbits

Thanks to Adam McCalvy for some of these notes.

Carlos Gomez believes he is a starter, saying, "I'm too young to be a backup. If Milwaukee wanted me they know I can play everyday."

GM Doug Melvin has stated that Rickie Weeks remains the Brewers' lead off hitter. This would make me believe that Gomez would hit 8th, as he lacks the pop to be in a run producing spot like 7. This can lead to further conjecture that Kendall will not be back, as it would be awful to have two .245, sub 5 hr hitters at 7 and 8 spots... not to mention the power drop going from Hardy to Escobar.

Melvin also admitted that Gomez means Cameron will not be pursued.

It appears as people have speculated before that the Brewers will be players for lefty Mark Mulder as a reclamation project. Melvin mentioned he has been in contact with Mulder's agent.

Side note, when asked about free agent pitching Melvin mentioned the name John Lackey, the off seasons biggest name free agent pitcher. He didn't say he was pursuing Lackey, but why bring him up at all then?

Option on Weathers Declined

Brewers declined the 3.7 million dollar option on right handed reliever David Weathers. The Brewers acquired Weathers from the Reds in exchange for cash. Dave made 3.4 million in 2009, on his way to 3.92 ERA. Projected to be a Type B free agent, it seems unlikely that the Brewers would offer arbitration

This would seemingly open up a hole in the Brewers bullpen, perhaps strengthening the likelihood that Claudio Vargas is resigned. Vargas was acquired from the Dodgers and put up a 1.74 ERA in 41.1 innings last season with a WHIP under 1.

Hardy to Twins for CF Gomez

J.J. Hardy has been traded to the Twins. However, it was not for the starting pitching that many thought it would be for (Glen Perkins' name was mentioned). Instead, it came for the speedy center fielder Carlos Gomez.

Apparently this move does two things: Shows that Mike Cameron will not be back in center, and will allow Rickie Weeks to hit lower in the order.

Gomez is great in the outfield, and has stolen 59 of 80 bases in two seasons. He is arbitration eligible this year after qualifying with Super Two status, thus he will be under team control for another 4 years. Offense production has been another story. Gomez is a .246 career hitter with a .292 obp and a slugging of around .350. In Gomez's only full season ('08) he stuck out 147 times while walking only 25.

Hitting coach Dale Sveum apparently helped hitters to higher averages this past season, with marked increases from guys like Fielder, Braun, and Craig Counsell. Hopefully he can pump Carlos at least into the .260-.270 range.

So that's that. Escobar takes over at short. A young speedy center fielder (I wonder what this will do to the rise of CF prospect Lorenzo Cain). About 14 million dollars off the books (10 for Cam, Hardy was making over 4 with a raise coming) with which to spend on pitching. Interesting to see now who will be traded for pitching help (Gamel, Cain, Parra?) or if Melvin feels like he can free up the payroll enough to sign the needed help. Also on a side note it seems more and more likely that Looper will not be a Brewer next year after strong speculation that he would return. Brewers have 10 days to decide on his and Weathers' options.

Off Season Begins!

Unfortunately the Yankees had to go and win another World Series, but oh well, it's finally over. The off season has begun. Now players may file for free agency and teams now have 15 days and counting of exclusive negotiating rights with free agents to be. The GM meetings start on Monday, they aren't quite the hotbed of rumors like the Winter Meetings but something should come out of it.

Six Months Until Opening Day.

Brew Up.

Mark Rodgers on TV tonight

My bad, it's actually on Nov. 7. Sorry about that.

Boy I bet you're glad you constantly check my blog... Former 1st rounder Mark Rodgers will play tonight in the Rising Stars game in the Arizona Fall League which will be broadcast on the MLB network tonight. Rodgers is pretty much sucking in the AFL after a nice season in A ball (after missing the previous two years to shoulder problems), ERA way north of 9. Catcher Lucroy is raking, hitting .385 with 2HR in a part time gig. Lefty Zack Braddock is doing well with 7 games out of the 'pen.

It for now. Looking like another Yankees year. Have fun watching some awesome Minor Leaguers tonight. Brew Up.