Numbers Exchanged

Hey Everyone,

So first and foremost is the Carlos Gomez deal, which in his first (of what will be four) year of arbitration. The young right handed hitting center fielder will receive $1.1 million after making a shade under $5ook last year..

Now there are 4 players left that have exchanged figures.

First up is Corey Hart. Hart had the largest differences of all Brew Crew players last season and has another big one this year. My old timey guess put his number at $4m, and my new one saw it a bit higher, and higher it will be with the team submitting $4.15m and Corey coming in at $4.8m, putting the middle point at $4.475. That would be a pretty fine raise from his salary of $3.25 last year.

Next is righty reliever Carlos Villanueva, also up for the first time. My guess which I stuck by was an even $1 m, and it's looking like I may be very close on this one. The Brewers are offering $800k with Carlos looking for $1.075m. That's a middle point of $937,500. If Villa' can put together a good season out of the 'pen (where he does a much better job than when he's starting) this should be a pretty good deal.

We'll head over now to the only starter on the list, righty Dave Bush. Last year was Bush's worst, and pitched only 114.1 innings, his fewest since he broke into the Bigs. Dave made $4 million last year and after a stint on the DL and an ERA over 6 I predicted a raise to $4.25 m, then upped it more recently to $4.5. Both are pretty darn good, though the lighter choice may have been the better one. The team threw out $4.125 with Bushy going for $4.45, middle point of $4.2875. Though last season was awful I think people generally accept some kind of return to form. Prior to '09 Bush had a 4.56 ERA in 3 seasons spanning 581.1 innings for the Brewers.

Last but certainly not least is another righty Todd Coffey. Coffey has the position of being that largest gap in numbers this season coming in at three quarters of a million dollars. Coffey has requested $2.45 m with the Brewers at $1.7 m. My original prediction was a measly $1.6, but my new one was much closer at $1.9. The middle point between the two would be $2.075 m. Todd will be trying to cash in on a great last season in which he lead the League in relief innings (83.2) and had a 2.90 ERA. However history must be taken into account as well, that helps someone like Dave Bush, but could hurt Todd, as this was his break out year. This was to me a surprisingly good off-season for relievers with guys like Brandon Lyon getting a 3 year $15 m deal, so that could help, but overall I think the Brewers are in the right, and they should settle south of the $2.1 mil mark.

Well that's it for now. The team should be working on this pretty solid for the next while, though Doug Melvin actually doesn't handle this so he should be able to keep an eye out for that pitcher. Something to keep in mind is that these numbers have nothing to do with available payroll, as the organization has it's budget set up with these estimated in advance. There won't be any long term talk until these are finished, then maybe a deal for Prince Fielder or Gallardo may be visited, but I wouldn't expect that yet. Take it easy.

Brew Up.