Vargas, Counsell, McClung, Rule 5

Hey everyone,

Just quickly, while it hasn't been finished yet it is generally accepted the reliever Claudio Vargas will be back with the Brewers on a one year deal.

There has been a lot of back and forth between GM Doug Melvin and the agent for Craig Counsell, and a deal with some team (most probably the Brewers) is expected to be completed on Monday. It seems as if most people think it will be around two million dollars, and probably not with a second year, and option is likely.

The day to offer contracts to players under team control is Saturday night, but the story has been broke that the Brewers will not extend an offer to righty Seth McClung. Seth wrote a very nice goodbye note via his twitter page. He thanks almost every coach by name, except interestingly enough for Ken Macha... I guess hypothetically McClung could be back, but with the resigning of Vargas and the addition of LaTroy Hawkins and the depth of guys like Halama, Narveson, and Burns he really has become expendable. He was due a raise and likely would've landed in the $2 million range.

The Brewers made a selection in the major league phase of the rule 5 draft. They did not have any of their players selected in any phase. They took lefty Chuck Lofgren from the Indians in exchange for $50k. The Brewers must keep Lofgren on their 25 man roster for the season or offer him back to Cleveland for $25k. The Brewers also took a pitcher last year but did not keep him past Spring Training... I think he was from Tampa. Lofgren was once a top prospect, but has fallen off lately. He has pitched mostly as a starter, with decent K and BB numbers. Last season he was great at AA, but struggled at AAA. He will probably looked at an early inning lefty option to ease the work load on Mitch Stetter. A nice project for Rick Henderson.

That's it for now, way too busy. Brew Up.