Kevin Mench for Rodrigo Lopez?

Rodrigo Lopez has been on the trading block for what seems like years.  And anyone who has taken the time to count the Brewers outfielders know that some of them–including Kevin Mench and Geoff Jenkins–will be on the block this offseason.  So, it’s only logical that the Brewers and Orioles have chatted about Lopez for Mench.

I wrote about Lopez in a post on my blog when it was first reported that the Brewers had inquired after him–he had a disastrous year last year, posting a 5.90 ERA, but he’s not too old, he’s been a reliable innings eater, and he has had a couple of decent years pitching in the brutal AL East.  A switch to the NL Central, with a steady diet of the Pirates and Astros, could do wonders for his fantasy value.

Contract-wise, the deal makes sense: both are entering their final year of arbitration, and both are coming off of years that could make a case for non-tenders.  Rosenthal points out in the article that having Lopez would free up the Brewers to trade Doug Davis, another innings eater coming off a so-so year.  Their contract situations are the same, but Davis probably has more trade value than Lopez (if only because Davis’s ERA wasn’t near 6 last year).

Posted by Jeff Sackmann