 |
|
|
| |
« Rangers Won't Pursue Top Free Agents, Will Deal | Main | Cubs Rumors: Marmol, Payroll, Theriot »
Brewers Unlikely To Be Major Players For Lackey
In their roundup of the talk at the GM meetings, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi at FOX Sports report that the Milwaukee Brewers aren't likely to land John Lackey.
While the report notes that the Brewers need starting pitching, it suggests they're much more likely to pursue lesser free agents such as Jarrod Washburn and Doug Davis.
Milwaukee was in the hunt for C.C. Sabathia last offseason, making him a $100MM offer, and could potentially have the money to go after Lackey. Brewers officials, however, think that the top starting pitching prize in this year's free agent class will want to play in a larger market.
Comments
Verify your Comment
Previewing your Comment
This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.
As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.
Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.
Top Stories
Search MLBTR
MLBTR Features
Recent Posts
Rumors By Team
Monthly Archives
Live Chats
Tuesdays at 2 p.m. CST
Why dont the brewers fess up money for some pitching they have all this hitting but barely an pitching
Posted by: Chicagostat21 | November 10, 2009 at 11:42 AM
Signing depth of quality starting pitching and trading Gamel for a starter seems like a better idea than going top heavy with Lackey.
Wasburn
Davis
Gamel starter
would really make that rotation good enough to pair with their offense.
Posted by: bbxxj | November 10, 2009 at 11:52 AM
Washburn: The poor mans Jeff Suppan. And that would be saying a lot.
Posted by: start_wearing_purple | November 10, 2009 at 11:57 AM
Seriously if they just sign mid-tier guys like washburn, davis or mulder then i will be severely disappointed. Melvin needs to grow a pair and go after someone big. That way even if it blows up in his face, at least he will go down as a risk taker.
Posted by: TheCrewOfBrew | November 10, 2009 at 12:05 PM
A 5+ Year for Lackey is a bad idea.
As an M's fan, I hope they steer clear of anything over 3+ Option for Lackey.
Let the Yanks have him on a 7 year deal.
Posted by: TheAntiRecruiter | November 10, 2009 at 12:10 PM
"Why dont the brewers fess up money for some pitching they have all this hitting but barely an pitching"
Isn't that what they're trying to do? If you haven't noticed, the market on starting pitchers isn't great. Plus, the Brewers have limited resources. Last, you have to convince a player to come to Milwaukee..
You make it sound so easy. I guess it is if you're the Yankees.
Posted by: jpre223 | November 10, 2009 at 12:19 PM
soooo... in other words...
the sun rises in the east and sets in the west?
Posted by: withpower | November 10, 2009 at 12:20 PM
There arent any worthwhile "top tier" starters available. Lackey is NOT worth the money hes going to command. If mulder can come back strong, and we sign another cardinal, NOT braden looper, joel pineiro, this rotation is looking okay.
Gallardo
Mulder
Pineiro
Washburn/Davis
Parra/Narveson
Gallardo will continue to improve his control and his walks will drop, mulder has the potential to be a #2, more realistically a 3. Pineiro a solid 3. Washburn and davis are easily #3 pitchers, with parra given one last shot to show some control, if not we can give narveson a shot..
With bush and suppan in the bullpen for mop up. Id consider non-tendering bush.
Posted by: jmag043 | November 10, 2009 at 12:21 PM
I never thought the Brewers would go after/ sign Lackey, but if they think Washburn is the answer they are in real trouble...Clearly they feel 3 million fans will continue to show up whether they improve the team or not.
Posted by: deedublu | November 10, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Good point jmag but the brewers are not going to put suppan in the bullpen simply because hes being paid to much. I feel Parra and Gallardo both have potential to be aces in the near future, for parra he just has to get his mind in the game.
In other news...Mike Rivera should be the starting catcher, i'd love to see him with a chance to start, he handles the pitchers much better than kendall did.
Posted by: brewsers | November 10, 2009 at 12:27 PM
I just dont know if Rivera can catch 120 games a year. Its still yet to be seen when Lucroy will get into the bigs, his bat is ready, but can he manage the pitching staff? I wouldnt mind giving Rivera a shot at it starting opening day, but if he starts to tire, maybe grab gregg zaun or something and specialize one of the pitchers with him, giving rivera a day off every 5th start.
Posted by: jmag043 | November 10, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Smart move by the Brewers, in my opinion. While they likely have the money it would take to sign Lackey at this point, it's much riskier for them to do so than it would be for a big-market club with greater financial flexibility.
If the Brewers committed the kind of money to Lackey that it would take to sign him, it would only benefit them for the next year or two. Once he begins to decline, they'd have massive payroll tied up in an average pitcher in his mid-30s, and they wouldn't have extra money around to help out elsewhere. They are better off signing veteran inning-eaters to shorter deals and concentrating on their offense, while perhaps seeking one high-upside signing...one of those Bedard or Harden types.
Posted by: parrothead8 | November 10, 2009 at 12:47 PM
Yeah I definitely dont think it would be a good move by the Brewers to sign Lackey. If he were to be a bust after signing a big, long term contract, it would just kill a team like the Brewers. Its much easier for a bigger market team to sign him and if he is a bust, oh well, they can just move on to the next guy. The Brewers just couldn't afford to have another Jeff Suppan out there. I'm not saying Lackey is anywhere near Suppan but you just never know..With that said, I think the Brewers should target Ben Sheets and Rich Harden. They are both coming off injuries which makes it riskier but it could also turn out very well. This is if, of course, Sheets is done rehabbing and will be able to pitch in 2010. If one of those wouldn't work out, I'd say make a trade for Brandon Morrow. He has some sick stuff if he can stay healthy and he is still very young. I could see him as a solid #2 in the near future.
Posted by: konzie | November 10, 2009 at 02:21 PM
I'm thinking the brewers will add an inng eater. (Doug Davis or Washburn)
Mulder on a minor deal
Then add a high risk guy. Probably will aim at Bedard, Harden, or Sheets, but will settle for Brett Myers. Keep Gamel as a trading chip for the mid-season deadline.
Posted by: AndyVanSlyke | November 10, 2009 at 02:49 PM
It seems inevitable that the Brewers will sign Mark Mulder. I'm okay with that. Just don't make him be the big signing. I don't think signing Lackey would be a good idea. He really isn't as good a pitcher as some are coveting him as. I think the Brewers will be looking at Erik Bedard and Brett Myers. Personally, I actually hope we sign Erik Bedard. Looking at his stats, he is consistently a #2 type of pitcher, and would help this team tremendously.
If Doug Melvin thinks that Jarrod Washburn is the answer for this team, he deserves to be fired. He simply isn't close to the answer. He's just a left-handed Jeff Suppan.
Now, here's my ideal rotation for next season:
Gallardo
Bedard
Mulder
Bush
Parra
With Suppan, Narveson, and Villanueva in the bullpen as spot starters/long relievers.
Also, I think Jonathon Lucroy is ready to catch at the big league level.
Posted by: Sage | November 10, 2009 at 03:19 PM
I think Lackey would be a good signing for the brewers but the contract needed to bring him in will be at least one year and twenty million more than the brewers are willing to risk.
The brewers will not sign both Washburn and Davis. They will almost certainly sign Mulder. With Narveson, Parra and Mulder, 3 of the 7 potential starters will be lefties. Throw in Washburn or Davis and that's half the potential starters.
I think they would prefer to sign Davis over Washburn. He has different pitches than the other lefties that the brewers and would be a better fit if there's two lefties starting back to back.
I think the Brewers will try to get a right handed innings eater like Garland or Pavano in addition to a lefty and the Mulder rehab project.
Gallardo
Davis
Mulder/Bush
Garland
Parra
Narveson
Suppan
Posted by: JoeI | November 10, 2009 at 04:55 PM
Gamel is not a good enough player to be traded for a starting pitcher. He might be able to fetch a rental at the trade deadline but he'll spend spring training with the Brewers.
Posted by: JoeI | November 10, 2009 at 05:32 PM
How about the Brewers sign some players with a little higher ceiling than Davis and Washburn? They lost offense from Cameron to Gomez. They need to seriously improve their starting pitching. How about Bedard? Give him a two year worth 15 plus incentives. Mulder is a nice low risk contract. Garland would be nice on a two year.
Gallardo, Bedard, Garland, Mulder, Bush, Parra, Suppan.
Posted by: joemorgan=#1 | November 11, 2009 at 12:13 AM
Needs and wants,the brewers always have to be playing worst case senario. as it's been said we can't afford another Suppan type deal! On paper nobody stands a chance with NY Yanks, but that's the beauty of this game, when guys play over their head and group together and pull off the seemingly impossible. It's always about potential. What do you think you can get out of a player IF they do their best, IF they don't get hurt. The Brew Crew missed out on the playoffs by 10 games! Not alot. Hopefully, whomever we get, our new pitching coach will get them to perform at their optimum. The piece we lost that I think hurt the most, in my opinion, is Mike Maddux. He was magic at getting the most from the least. He made alot of Ifs into reality. He salvaged a set-up guy or closer every year. Hope the new man, IS the man!
Posted by: Morgan | November 11, 2009 at 12:15 AM
I hope the brewers sign washburn, he may be a Boras client but he has said many times over the past few years that he wants to play for the brewers so he could give a hometown discount for the team he grew up rooting for.I think adding Washburn and maybe a Harden type pitcher would be exceleent.
ps. this new pitching coach is a master of mechanics. He made Scott Kazmir and maybe he can fix Parra's problem, Parra has soo much potential it hurts to see it all getting wasted because of head games.
Posted by: brewsers | November 12, 2009 at 01:24 AM