Sabathia To Brewers Trade Official

The press conference is at 12:30 ET.

More specific: the Indians are holding a 12:30 ET press conference. The Brewers are holding one at 11:00 CT/12:00 ET.

Yeah, I'm sure he'll love Milwaukee

Who would have thought we would see a day where the Brewers make a big deadline deal to bring in an elite player, and then we hear that "surrisingly", the Yankees were involved.

surprisingly*

The Brewers can afford CC. They will offer him more dollars per year than anyone. It will just be a matter of 4 years or 5 years or 6. If CC accepts 4, the Brewers will lay the cash, at least 20mm/per.

Thanks Tim, a lot, for being the only person on earth that is giving milwaukee a shot to resign CC at the end of the year. i really think he will like milwaukee, the fans will give him every bit of support, and im going to the game tomorrow. I completley agree that the brewers have a shot, And look out. The brewers are dumping a ton of salary, sheets 12 million, gagne 10 million, and cameron 10 million. Thanks Tim.

sabathia may just be a visitor, but milwaukee has certainly had its share of visitors. the french missionaries and explorers began visiting there in the late 16th century.

Well, i have to say this is a nice break from the bebacle from this offseason about trade rumors....

Mil, LAD, Cubs, and the Phillies threw thier hats in the ring. 1 pulled out, and 1 had the best offer. Deal was finished. All in the space of a few weeks. Much better than the months it took dealing with McPhail in Balt.

Over/under on CC's 2012 weight if he somehow signs a multi year extension in Milwaukee? 310?

Well, I guess this means the Dodgers get Sabathia for draft picks and cash now ;-)

"The Brewers can afford CC. They will offer him more dollars per year than anyone."

Given the tact the Dodgers have taken with players lately, I wouldn't be surprised to see them trade 4 years and a couple options for a higher per year number.

MO Boiler, actually , it's pronounced "mill-e-wah-que" which is Algonquin for "the good land." :)

and in a "suprising" note, The Yankess just bought Milwaukee haha

“The Brewers' trade for ace pitcher C.C. Sabathia is official. As a reminder, the Indians will receive Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson, and maybe Taylor Green. Paul Hoynes says Michael Brantley could end up the player to be named later instead of Green. Ken Rosenthal suggests Lorenzo Cain may also still be possible.”

As a Tribe fan I’m stoked. LaPorta is exactly the type of player we not only needed, but knew they would be able to get (so much for all those trying to say he is a rental and wont command a true-stud).

And I’m guessing that the PTBNL is actually probably an Indians option between the three of Green/Cain/Brantley if different people have heard those names. We’ve seen it before when teams wanted to get a deal done fast, but didn’t want to make a choice too quickly. I’m actually thinking that it might be for Green but the Indians wanted to see if how he reacted to AA real fast before making him their choice ~ if he looks overmatched then maybe they take one of the others. That’s speculation though, and I guess we wont know for sure for a little while still…

Lastly,
“Rosenthal has details of other teams' attempts to acquire Sabathia. He says the Dodgers wanted the Indians to package Sabathia with Casey Blake.”
…I knew the Indians obsession with Blake would hinder things. I bet they’re hashing out a new 3-year contract with theChin right now… ***sigh***

Does anyone actually know what the full Dodgers offer was? Was it something like Kemp/DeWitt/McDonald for Sabathia and Blake? Or perhaps Ethier/LaRoche/McDonald/Hu?

I bet the Twins are kicking themselves for not holding onto Santana until this year's deadline.

AA, I don’t think we will ever know. But I think its probably safe to assume Kemp wasn’t included, if he was then the two probably would have talked quite a bit more. Besides, it doesn’t make sense for the Dodgers to trade Kemp at this specific moment in time; being down Jones and Pierre makes Kemp too important…

"But I think its probably safe to assume Kemp wasn’t included, if he was then the two probably would have talked quite a bit more. Besides, it doesn’t make sense for the Dodgers to trade Kemp at this specific moment in time; being down Jones and Pierre makes Kemp too important…"

I agree with you. Hell, I don't think Ethier should be traded either, especially given his recent surge, all around game and popularity with the fans. Other than Martin and the injured Furcal, Ethier is the most heavily cheered Dodger and his jerseys are everywhere at the stadium. Even considering Jones is back, he hasn't hit well at all in the small sample size we have since he came off the DL, and Kemp's all around contribution makes him too valuable to trade anyway.

This non-deal was really the best thing the Dodgers could have done. The pitching has come around as have the bats and they are but a half game behind the D'backs. They can sign C.C. next year without giving up any players and still have a formidable pitching staff.

Darkstar:

I would be shocked if Brantley or Cain were on the list of potential PTBNLs.

The agent referenced above has proven to be a rock-solid source for info re: his players in the past and he has stated repeatedly that Brantley and Cain are not involved in this deal (he represents both).

His silence on Green has been deafening, however, so I think Green is definitely in play (unfortunately).

I believe the list to include Green, Jonathan LuCroy and other A-ballers NOT including Jeremy Jeffress.

IMO, both Green and LuCroy are ML players. Not sure if they're impact types, but I think both will play in the majors.

"the Brewers aren't done - they want to add a late-inning reliever as well."

And therin lies the key. Good thing is the Brewers minor league system is still stacked despite the loss of LaPorta

If it were not about the money, CC would already have taken the Indians best offer. By all accounts, he likes it in Cleveland and likes playing for the organization. The only way it ends up not being about the money is if he ends up signing for less than the best offer in California to be close to home. Anyone who thinks it won't take New York-level money for CC to play in Milwaukee, or that realistically Milwaukee has a chance to sign CC has already had way too much of Milwaukee's finest.

“Darkstar: I would be shocked if Brantley or Cain were on the list of potential PTBNLs.”

Actually, to recap what he said:
~ “Lorenzo Cain, who I thought was going to get traded ended up getting promoted”
~ “The next client I thought could get dealt was Michael Brantley, but I was told by good sources that I trust that he was not ever up for discussion so problem solved there.”
~ “Taylor Green. An absolutely special baseball player and even better person has been the focal point of almost 99 percent of the trade rumors”
~ “Nothing, because if the Brewers drop the PTBNL bomb anyone can go including Taylor.”

…So, I take that its unlikely to be Brantley since he hasn’t been talked about, but Cain or Green could very well be the guy because with “the PTBNL bomb anyone can go” and he thought both those guys were included at one point or another.

Did want to slightly alter my first post though as I had the promotion to AA confused for a moment. Since Cain was the one who was promoted, then its possible its Cain that the Indians are looking at on the AA level and will take Green if they don’t like what they see as far as the adjustments against the higher level of competition. Considering he thought Cain was in the deal until he was promoted, and said promotion could have been on the behest of the Indians ~ well… Like I said, speculation; but I think you have to admit it makes so sense…

“Hell, I don't think Ethier should be traded either, especially given his recent surge, all around game and popularity with the fans. Other than Martin and the injured Furcal, Ethier is the most heavily cheered Dodger and his jerseys are everywhere at the stadium.”

…Yes, the fans love him ~ but do remember that his jerseys being all over the place has more to do with the fact that you could get them at 50-75% off at the Team-Store late last year. I myself even have a #16 jersey; think it cost something like $60-$70 instead of the ticketed $180… ;)

“If it were not about the money, CC would already have taken the Indians best offer. By all accounts, he likes it in Cleveland and likes playing for the organization”

…He didn’t take the CC offer because their offer was only 4-5 years in length and he wants 6 or 7.

Mark Shapiro just said following his press conference that the PTBNL is the main piece of the deal besides LaPorta, and there were 2 players on the PTBNL list.

My guess, the 2 players are Cain and Green.

"The Brewers need a late-inning reliever"

What would they give up for Billy Wagner? He'd fit right in with their bullpen...

“Mark Shapiro just said following his press conference that the PTBNL is the main piece of the deal besides LaPorta, and there were 2 players on the PTBNL list.”

Figured as much…

That said ~ as an Indians fan, I really, really, really BrewTown is right; think I would be much happier with Green than Cain from what I have read… But those two are most likely the names on the list, all the rumors and the agents comments pretty much ensure that I think…

"…Yes, the fans love him ~ but do remember that his jerseys being all over the place has more to do with the fact that you could get them at 50-75% off at the Team-Store late last year."

Too bad I missed that deal ;-). Still, the fan support is something the Dodgers don't take lightly, because they have a very big park to fill and do a very good job of it, despite not having a bunch of the ancillary junk a lot of places do to attract people. I am sure the A's have been trying to find a way to get Ethier back since they traded him to the Dodgers.

"We've read repeatedly that Sabathia does not intend to chase every last dollar."

Other that A-Rod, isn't that said about every impending free agent. Thome wasn't going to chase every last dollar until he chased every last nickel, dime and quarter. Folks who think C.C. is not looking for the most money he can get knows nothing about how agents influence player decisions. If an agent is getting a percentage of the total then a higher total means more for the agent and that is the only thing any agent cares about.

Darkstar:

In re my earlier comments about the agent's comment:

I was basing my statement of Brantley not being in on his comments in the trade thread at Brewerfan.net moreso than his blog post.

He said on at least 4 occasions (including once today around noon) unequivocally that Brantley will not be in nor will Cain.

I'd put the odds like this:

Green: 90%
Somebody Else: 5%
Cain: 4.99999%
Brantley: .000001%

Hope I'm wrong.

I really hope it's Cain (even though I like him). The Brewers' farm depth is significantly better in the OF than 2b-3b, even though Lawrie is a 3b regardless of what our FO might say. He's also a minimum of 3 years away.

Well, I guess I should've checked out his blog before I made the previous post. He updated it at 6:00 Central, and stated that it's either Green or Brantley.

I still hope it's not Green. Brantley is the higher-rated prospect, but once again, due to organizational depth, Green is more valuable to the Brewers IMO.

Both these guys show good plate discipline (Brantley's is absolutely ridiculous) but Green is definitely showing more power potential. Brantley also doesn't really have a position. He projects as a corner outfielder and has played some first, but has basically no power. He's really an odd player (in a good way, mostly).

He has a 2-1 BB/K ratio as a 21 year old in double A with zero power. That is quite an achievement.

Either way, I won't be happy, and I really think Indian fans will be either way.

Despite the fact that I really hate to see CC go, I like that Shapiro managed to get 2 good prospects for him (trusting him on the PTBNL) and addressed the organization's most pressing need: power.

CC ain't signing with the Indians. The DiaTribe (great indians blog had an analysis of pitchers with 5+ year mega contracts, and none of them worked out (Johan being an exception as its too early to tell how that will end up). The Tribe is a smart front office, they know this, and that's why they offered 4 years.

CC's agents are smart, they know some sucker will give them 6. He'll get his Zito money, and will probably be great for at least 3 or 4 years of the contract. But those last 2 years, at 20+ mil per... Cleveland won't do that, and that's why CC won't be in Cleveland.

Don't forget--this is a business, its always about the money.

Just wanted to clarify my earlier comment.

When I said I wasn't happy, I meant that I was just sad to see Green/Brantley go. I accepted long ago that LaPorta was going in this deal.

I am thrilled with the trade though.

I really think this could be a deal that is good for both teams.

“Well, I guess I should've checked out his blog before I made the previous post. He updated it at 6:00 Central, and stated that it's either Green or Brantley.”

…hehehe…

Anyway, actually dawned on me that the Tribe might be waiting to see who they bring in otherwise before making a decision. If they trade for a 3B then they might not want Green. Maybe this holding off is an indication that another deal is possibly going down… Ahh, whatever ~ we’ll see…

Otherwise, the Brewers were a great team to trade with ~ we said we were going to trade him and within a week it seems we did. No complications, no "he's untouchable" crap, or dragging their feet to try to lowball the other team. Brewers seem like a pretty cool organization, they see what they want and go get it without all the BS...

"Maybe this holding off is an indication that another deal is possibly going down… Ahh, whatever ~ we’ll see…"

I had heard from somewhere the Tribe wanted to see if Green would be able to play 2nd, and that was one of the reasons for the PTBNL.

All Shapiro said about it was that the PTBNL was down to 2 players and they would use the rest of the season to evaluate them and make the right decision.

Its not C.C. anymore now its CC