Fresh off wins over Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, the Brewers, who have occupied first place for a club-record 135 days, will look to sweep the NL West-leading Dodgers for just the second time in franchise history. Here’s the latest news and notes out of Milwaukee, courtesy of Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
- The front office is very worried about the chronic nerve injury to Ryan Braun’s right thumb, which has sapped his power and threatens to make the five-year, $105MM extension signed in 2011 an albatross. “I don’t think the financial part of it matters because he’s going to get it whether he has a good thumb or a bad thumb,” Assistant GM Gord Ash told Haudricourt. “It’s guaranteed money. From a comfort and playing point of view, you want to find a solution. The money is the money. You can’t change it now. So, what you’re trying to do is put him in the best physical condition you can to succeed.“
- The Brewers and Aramis Ramirez hold a $14MM mutual option (with a $4MM buyout, if the team declines its half) for 2015. Haudricourt envisions a scenario where Ramirez and his agent, Paul Kinzer, could leverage a weak crop of free agent third basemen and seek a second year or, at the very least, a vesting option in return for exercising the player’s half of the mutual option. If a deal cannot be worked out and Ramirez does decline his option, Haudricourt notes he could receive a qualifying offer dampening the market for the 36-year-old, but also leaving the Brewers on the hook for approximately $15MM.
- The Brewers tabled extension talks with shortstop Jean Segura in March over an inability to gauge the 24-year-old’s worth in light of Andrelton Simmons’ seven-year, $58MM deal. Segura has struggled offensively this year (.234/.268/.318), which Haudricourt attributes to a combination of pressing to show he is deserving of such a rich contract, bad luck (.261 BABIP compared to .325 in 2013), and the tragic death of his infant son. Haudricourt opines the best course of action for both sides is to let Segura establish his future value in 2015, since he isn’t eligible for salary arbitration until after that season.
- In a recent online chat, Haudricourt sees the Brewers tendering a contract to Gerardo Parra, who is eligible for arbitration for the final time this offseason. The 27-year-old outfielder, acquired by the Brewers at the Trade Deadline, is earning $4.85MM this season.
The QO does make Ramirez’ case rather interesting. He’ll be pretty hard pressed to find a taker for his services if there’s a draft pick attached.
it’s kind of an interesting problem. If Ramirez says yes, and Milwaukee says no, they have to pay him $4M, and he get to go look for a bigger/longer contract. If both say yes, then it’s $14M. If Ramirez says no, Milwaukee is off the hook for the $4M, so you could say the price for the QO is closer to $11M, since the $4M would be a sunk cost. Of course, there’s the possibility that Milwaukee could see a way to just get out of the obligation if they don’t want to pay $14/15M, which is say yes and wait for Ramierez to say no, and don’t offer the QO
I think a lot depends on alternatives the Brewers see out there. Could they be a player for Sandoval who hits well in Miller Park? Is Jason Rogers the next in the line of underrated Milwaukee prospects to emerge like Khris Davis and Scooter Gennett have? Will they go after a guy like Adam LaRoche at 1B, and then re-sign Reynolds to play 3B?
Beltran got a nice deal.
I am sure the power loss is tied solely to the thumb injury
He had the second best ISO of his career after he tested positive.
Yeah because Jesus Montero and Jordany Valdespin were mashing dingers before they got busted.