The Brewers have acquired Sergio Mitre from the Yankees for Chris Dickerson. The move provides the Brewers with the pitching depth they coveted and opens up a spot in the Yankees bullpen, possibly for Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon.
The Brewers have been considering adding pitching since they learned that Zack Greinke will miss some time to recover from a cracked rib. Their need for depth became more pronounced when Mark Rogers (shoulder) and Manny Parra (back) also encountered health issues.
It's not clear whether the Brewers will use Mitre as a long man, as the Yankees did, or insert him into the rotation over internal starting candidates such as Marco Estrada. Mitre has started games in every one of his seven major league seasons, but has only been a full-time starter once, for the 2007 Marlins. Last year, the 30-year-old right-hander posted a 3.33 ERA with 4.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 54 innings as a swingman. Mitre, a veteran of Tommy John surgery, missed 49 days with an oblique strain in 2010.
The Yankees appear set to open the season with a rotation of C.C. Sabathia, Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett, Ivan Nova and Colon or Garcia. If the Yankees, who just signed Kevin Millwood, insert Colon into the rotation, they could take Garcia up on his offer to become a long reliever and use him to replace Mitre.
The Brewers acquired Dickerson last summer in the trade that sent Jim Edmonds to Cincinnati. Dickerson hit .206/.250/.268 for the Brewers and Reds last year, but he showed more pop in 2009 when he posted a .743 OPS. The 28-year-old has played all three outfield positions in the majors and will provide the Yankees with some welcome depth.
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick first reported the move (on Twitter) and both teams have since confirmed it.
does this mean Marcum will start the season on the DL?
I hadn’t heard that. Grienke will, though. That left them one starter short. Mitre may do better in the NL anyway so I see it as a why not move.
I agree why not since Chris wasn’t going to make the team anyway
No.
YES. the tyranny of the groundball machine who still somehow manages to give up too many homeruns is over!
best news in the history of forever. peace out meat tray, i’m sure our opponents will miss you
I’ll miss him and I wasn’t even an opponent (just a fan of one).
Good Riddance.
mitre traded to brewers for a diet coke and a high five
from Shelly Duncan
How about a beer and a hamburger?
Bratwurst instead of the hamburger. It’s Milwaukee, after all.
A Brat and a Beer for Mitre? Wow… the Brew Crew really over paid.
It was a non-alcoholic beer.
O’DOUL RULES
But the high five is what Girardi asked for in the deal he’s lonely now that Mitre is gone.
Get anyone worth for him?
They agreed to buy dinner for Colon for a night.
So the yanks won the deal…
Why would the Brewers bankrupt themselves like that?
Are you nuts dinner for Colon we are a small market after all
as long as the brewers included at least a bag of balls and some wooden bats we are good.
Brewers could have had another bad pitcher in Rodrigo Lopez, and gave up just as much. And, he’s cheaper. And, better.
Lopez could have worked, but fly ball pitchers have a very tough time in Miller Park. Balls in the air fly out of there with alarming regularity. But good luck to Mitre with that fairly crappy infield defense. He’s going to need it.
This is, without a doubt, Brian Cashman’s best move of the offseason.
No, signing Millwood is Cashman’s best move. A 5.00 washed up pitcher.
I wonder if the Yankees will ever learn how to construct a roster.
they do ok
Yeah I know, they only won a World Series more recently than 28 other teams from constructing a paper airplane
WHAT!?!?
Waste of money to fly him to Arizona
you assume a plane ticket is involved
I think I read somewhere that the Brewers hired him a burro for the ride out to Arizona. Could be wrong though…
Mitre for Dickerson. Wonder if that means Granderson will go on the DL and Jones will start. And Dickerson to the bench?
dickerson? wow. hat-tip to cashman for this one
You won’t be toasting Cashman when you watch Dickerson hit.
Nor will Brewer fans be toasting Melvin when they watch Mitre pitch.
because he blew for 100 PA last year?
in 2009 in three times as many PA he hit .275/.370/.373 with plus defense. and those numbers are not a surprise in light of his production in the minors
that kind of player for sergio freakin’ mitre? tip of the cap indeed
Dickerson’s biggest issue is staying healthy. If he manages to do that, he will be more than serviceable for them.
Brewers had (still “have” probably) some pitching depth issues and a few bench / backup OF decisions. Solution = Mitre? Unlikely. Get well soon Greinke.
Rosenthal tweeted Brewers now in on Nyjer Morgan so we will see where this goes.
The Brewers acquired Dickerson last year from the Reds for two months of gimpy legged Jim Edmonds. Dickerson did nothing of note in a Brewer uniform. He doesn’t hit with power or average and strikes out a lot. He’s fine defensively but that’s about it. The guy is vastly overrated and would have been optioned as soon as Corey Hart returned. For gosh sakes, Jeremy Reed and Brandon Boggs beat him out this spring.
Mitre fits the bill for what they needed, a spot starter who can then serve as long man in the pen.
Lol justifying a trade for Mitre.
that is a ridiculous review of chris dickerson. you are talking about 105 plate appearances
to give you an idea of how foolish it is, in 2008 i could look at this 122 plate appearances in cincinatti during which he hit .304/.413/.608 and crown him one of the best hitters in baseball
a more realistic view accounts for both of those small sample outliers and his 300 PA from 2009 of .275/.370/.373 ball in light of his performance in the minors, which was very good (average wOBA of .375 in 800 AAA plate appearances)
the guy can hit. the guy is a good defender. the guy can steal a few bases. he’s a good 4th OF and a very good pickup when the cost was sergio mitre
He was probably going to get cut soon anyway. Good move on Cashman’s end!
So was Dickerson.
Cash obviously got sick of Girardi’s man-crush on Mitre.
Decided the team would be better off without him.
hell no. Cashman pulled them apart kicking and screaming. Girardi is in tears
Dickerson can be start and Jones of the Bench.
Can you fix that sentence up? From the looks of it it seems you’re saying Dickerson can start and Jones can be on the bench. Uhh, both of them will be on the bench unless Granderson’s injury keeps him out. And if he is out, Jones would start, not Dickerson.
Good luck with that
Inexpensive filler for the Brewers. Mitre has talent, was even a good looking prospect with the Cubs but has never turned it into much big league success. He’s an average pitcher at best at this point.
Still, the Brewers didn’t give up much to get him and they needed another warm body.
You know who else was a good-looking prospect, that even turned it into success? Mark Prior.
Anytime you get a living breathing human being or a sack of fresh “fruit of your liking” for Mitre, you declare it a win.
Overall, I find this to be an even deal. Yes, a lot of people are bashing on Mitre but I always felt comfortable with as being a spot starter. 54 IP, 1.09 WHIP, 223 BAA? Sounds pretty good to me. Yeah, he totally sucked in 09 but that was 09.
The same thing for Dickerson, the dude totally sucked last year and was awesome the year before that with a 745 OPS, 275 average, and 11 SB in only 255 ABs. One inconsistent guy for another, the difference is we don’t really have a spot for Mitre but we DO have a need for another outfielder. Mitre will benefit from being in the national league and Dickerson needed a change of scenery.
I am not sure why everyone is getting so dang upset/exciting over this trade. It is a trade of 2 guys who would not make there old teams anyway.
Yeah, great “White Flag” trade by the Yanks…
Not get the major sarcasm behind that?
Are you kidding @BravesRed? You obviously didn’t get mine, sorry.