Non Tenders, Contracts, Roster

So the non tender deadline for players has come and gone, with the Brewers not offering contracts to three players.

The first is right handed reliever Mark DeFelice. Mark was not eligible for arbitration yet, however after recently undergoing surgery that will cost him the 2010 season, this move was seen coming. It seems fairly likely that the Brewers will resign him to a minor league contract so they can oversee his rehab, as the did with lefty Chris Capuano. Mark hopes to make a comeback in the future.

Secondly as I mentioned before is righty swing man Seth McClung, who had earned 1.6625 mil in '09. I noticed that in his farewell address he did not mention manager Ken Macha. It more recent reports now it says that their relationship had soured after McClung came back from the DL. Apparently the team has completely cut ties with him, and said they would not be interested in a non roster contract. After the signing of LaTroy Hawkins the return of McClung was put in jeopardy.

Thirdly is one that I predicted, Mike Rivera. Mike has been the backup catcher the last two seasons and was set to get a decent raise from $415k, as this was his first time arbitration eligible. Because he didn't play much, it wouldn't have been a huge raise, I'm not sure what I said back when I made my predictions on this, but I would say not that his new salary would have likely been around $750k. If that is so the Brewers will save over three hundred thousand by using either waiver claim Kottaras, or one of a pair or rookies, Angel Salome or Jonathan Lucroy. GM Doug Melvin said that this was not a money or talent issue, but that Mike was likely to not play much, and wanted to give him the chance with another team.

Arbitration eligible players who were tendered contracts included: RF Corey Hart, OF Jody Garut, RHP Carlos Villanueva, RHP Todd Cofey, and RHP Dave Bush. Bush was unclear after making $4 million last year in which he had the worst season of his career. The raise should not be too much, and if another pitcher is acquired it could see Bush traded or released. The other question mark was Jody Gerut. Jody was acquired last season for OF Tony Gwynn Jr. and also had a down year after making $1.775, but he plays decent defense at all 3 outfield spots, and hits lefty with a little bit of pop.


So some contract updates. Randy Wolf is due for his physical and a press conference Monday. Hawkins is due for the same on Tuesday. A Claudio Vargas also appears imminent, and is expected some time next week. Craig Cousell resigning is also on the horizon, and is expected around Monday, and maybe he'll even piggy back press conferences.

With the removal of the three non tenders from the 40 man roster, and the addition of these 4 (who won't actually be added until the deals are official) the roster will stand full at 40. Some interesting issues being faced now include: Back up cather, as Lucroy has been named as some one who will fight for the job, but is not on the 40 man, if added I would guess it would cause the release of Kottaras. Also, is the presence of only 1 real back up outfielder, Gerut. Lorenzo Cain is also present but he is still seen as the CF of the future and likely wouldn't be put into a bench role. Maybe somebody else will not be required, as utility man Adam Heether was added recently and has spent some time in left field. I would say Hernan Iribarren could be the odd man out. Hernan is a 2b and CF who only has one option left. He has hit .185 in 27 career Big League at bats. Also, reliever David Riske will likely be added to the 60 day disable list, which would remove him from the 40 man, though I'm not sure at what point this could be done.


There, a lot of updates for you. There were a lot of interesting names released at the deadline, including pitchers like Chien-Ming Wang and Matt Capps. I'm kind of doubt the Brewers will pursue any of these guys, as the bullpen seems to be filling out and I'm not sure the depth of starters released behind Wang who is likely to be resigned by the Yankees after an injury filled '09. Looking at the list of 29 players, Bush would have likely been one of the best players out there, and as this is his last year under team control, nobody cringes too hard at a one year deal.

That'll do'er for now. Brew Up.