Brewers Rumors

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Young, Kazmir

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 14, 2012 at 1:40pm CDT

The Brewers beat Jose Veras in arbitration, so he’ll earn $2MM in 2012, rather than the $2.375MM he had asked for. Here are the latest links from the NL Central…

Both the Brewers and agent Bryce Dixon used Kameron Loe's recent $2.175MM agreement to argue their respective cases in the Veras hearing, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports.
It's been 25 days since the arbitration hearing for Ryan Braun's appeal of a positive drug test began, but the soft deadline passed without a decision, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. A decision is expected within ten days.
The Pirates were impressed by Dmitri Young's workout yesterday, but they won't offer him a contract, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets. Manager Clint Hurdle said he got a good read on the the 38-year-old after yesterday’s workout.
The Astros have already seen Scott Kazmir throw, so they don't intend to watch him audition in front of scouts tomorrow, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com tweets.

Brewers Beat Jose Veras In Arbitration

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 14, 2012 at 10:36am CDT

The Brewers announced that they beat Jose Veras in yesterday's arbitration hearing. The right-hander will earn $2MM in 2012, instead of the $2.375MM his agent Bryce Dixon had requested.

Veras posted a 3.80 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 71 innings of relief for the 2011 Pirates. The 31-year-old will remain under team control through 2013. The Brewers have now signed all of their arbitration eligible players for 2012, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported the news on Twitter.

Jose Veras Had Arbitration Hearing

By Tim Dierkes | February 13, 2012 at 1:46pm CDT

Brewers reliever Jose Veras had his arbitration hearing today, according to the Associated Press. Veras submitted a $2.375MM figure, while the team went with $2MM. The decision from arbitrators Dan Brent, Marlene Gold, and John Sands is expected tomorrow.

Veras, 31, posted a 3.80 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 71 innings for the Pirates last year, and was traded to Milwaukee for Casey McGehee in December. McGehee appears headed for a hearing as well.

Central Links: Gordon, Molina, Astros, Braun

By Mike Axisa | February 9, 2012 at 8:55pm CDT

Seven years ago today, the Cubs traded Kyle Farnsworth to the Tigers for Scott Moore, Roberto Novoa, and Bo Flowers. Farnsworth spent half-a-season in Detroit before being traded to the Braves at the deadline. Here's the latest on baseball's two central divisions…

Alex Gordon told Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star that he and his agent wanted to work out a one-year deal for 2012 before discussing a longer contract (Twitter link). He also confirmed that the Royals have offered him a long-term deal. Gordon avoided arbitration with a one-year pact earlier today.
"I love the city. I love the fans, I love the park. But it's out of my hands," said Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch when asked about a new contract (Twitter links). "Whatever they like to do is how it is … They let Albert [Pujols] go. It's business for the team, too. It's out of my hands." Molina can become a free agent after the season.
"We're very active in terms of looking at transactions that are happening out there," said Astros GM Jeff Luhnow to Examiner.com's Stephen Goff. "Right now, most of the free agents have signed. Roy Oswalt is probably the last guy out there. We've got our fingers in everything. Are we actively looking to move a player or sign somebody at this point? No. We have got 61 guys coming to camp. From that group of 61, we believe we can get a real good 25-man roster to start the season."
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter) that the arbitrator in Ryan Braun's case won't be limited to the usual 25-day window, so a decision isn't necessarily expected by this Sunday. The Brewers slugger is appealing his failed banned substance test.

NL Central Notes: Greinke, Cardinals, Rodriguez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 8, 2012 at 10:30pm CDT

All three of the National League's unsigned arbitration eligible players play in the NL Central, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Here are the latest links from the division…

Brewers GM Doug Melvin joined Todd Hollandsworth and Jim Memolo on MLB Network Radio and said that he and Zack Greinke have had some conversations about the right-hander's future in Milwaukee. Greinke told Melvin that he likes pitching for the Brewers and wants them to remain competitive going forward. Greinke is one of the top starting pitchers scheduled to hit free agency after the 2012 season.
The Cardinals are waiting to see if Roy Oswalt will sign on their terms and at their price, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes.
Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said Wandy Rodriguez is "definitely an important part" of the team's plan at this point, Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner reports. Rodriguez has been involved his share of trade rumors in the past year, but Luhnow says the left-hander is an important part of Houston's roster.
Jose Veras of the Brewers and Casey McGehee and Garrett Jones of the Pirates are the NL's remaining unsigned arbitration eligible players.

Quick Hits: Mets, Phillips, Brewers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 7, 2012 at 10:53pm CDT

Here are some notes from around MLB to cap off a day that saw Billy Beane, Clayton Kershaw and Elvis Andrus agree to extensions with their respective clubs…

The Mets have “pretty much stopped pursuing” left-handed hitting outfielders, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. The Mets had been linked to free agents such as Raul Ibanez, Kosuke Fukudome and Johnny Damon, but it now appears that they’ll take a wait-and-see approach.
Reds GM Walt Jocketty told Mark Sheldon of MLB.com that the team isn’t any closer to an extension with Brandon Phillips. The GM said the sides haven’t had the chance to talk and hope to discuss a deal within a few weeks.
Brewers GM Doug Melvin told ESPN.com’s Buster Olney that he is committed to giving Mat Gamel a shot at developing into a Major League regular in 2012.
Assistant GM Thad Levine acknowledged the Rangers could go to a hearing with one or more of their arbitration eligible players, ESPNDallas’ Richard Durrett reports. Andrus recently agreed to terms on a three-year extension, but Mike Napoli and Nelson Cruz remain unsigned, as MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker shows.
Nationals media relations manager Bill Gluvna resigned and took a marketing and public relations job with the Boras Corporation, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs presented ten of the best offseason moves, and Hiroki Kuroda, Edwin Jackson and Carlos Beltran all made appearances on the list.
Dodgers assistant GM Logan White discussed Zach Lee, Kershaw, Nathan Eovaldi and drafting young pitchers with David Laurila of FanGraphs.

Quick Hits: Veras, Garza, Harper, Playoffs

By Mike Axisa | February 3, 2012 at 11:15pm CDT

Some links as Friday turns into Saturday…

There has been no progress in contract talks between the Brewers and reliever Jose Veras, reports MLB.com Adam McCalvy. As our Arbitration Tracker shows, the right-hander filed $2.375MM while the team countered with $2MM. Club negotiator Teddy Werner told McCalvy that he expects to return to Florida for a hearing.
Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com hears that the Cubs will continue to shop Matt Garza in Spring Training. The two sides avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $9.5MM today, and Knobler says the salary doesn't figure to hurt their chances of moving him.
"We'll be cautious yet open-minded," said Nationals GM Mike Rizzo to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com when asked about the possibility of Bryce Harper making the team out of Spring Training. "If he gives us the best chance to win, we'll keep an open mind and see where it takes us."
Talks continue between the union and management about expanded playoffs for 2012, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The deadline for resolution is March 1st.

Brewers, Marcum Avoid Arbitration

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 3, 2012 at 1:47pm CDT

The Brewers announced that they avoided arbitration with Shaun Marcum, agreeing to a one-year deal for 2012. The sides settled at the midpoint of $7.725MM, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports. Turner Gary Sports represents the right-hander.

Marcum had asked for $8.7MM, while the Brewers had countered with $6.75MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Marcum is set to hit free agency after the 2012 season along with a group of starters that currently seems deep. Right-handed reliever Jose Veras is Milwaukee's lone unsigned arbitration eligible player.

Now that Marcum has agreed to terms, Matt Garza has settled with the Cubs and Anibal Sanchez has had his hearing, discussions between the Orioles and Jeremy Guthrie are set to pick up. The sides have a hearing scheduled Monday, but these new settlements figure to re-shape discussions to an extent.

NL Central Notes: Garza, McGehee, Greinke, Cordero

By Mark Polishuk | February 2, 2012 at 6:17pm CDT

Cardinals legend Red Schoendienst was born on this day in 1923. Schoendienst spent 15 seasons in St. Louis as a player and 14 more as a manager, winning a World Series in both positions (as well as another Series win as a member of the Milwaukee Braves in 1957). Schoendienst's career was capped off when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989.

Here's some news from both St. Louis and elsewhere in the NL Central…

The Cubs' arbitration hearing with Matt Garza is scheduled to take place tomorrow, reports Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago. There is a sizable gap between the two sides; Garza is asking for a salary of $12.5MM, while the Cubs are offering $7.95MM. The result of this hearing could have an impact well beyond Chicago, as if the Cubs win the hearing, Garza's lower price tag could re-ignite trade interest in the right-hander.
The Cubs unveiled plans today for a new baseball academy in the Dominican Republic. MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez has the details.
The Pirates' arbitration hearing with Casey McGehee is set for February 16, reports Bill Brink of the PIttsburgh Post-Gazette. Brink's source says the two sides are still negotiating to see if the hearing can be avoided. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently looked at the arb cases for both McGehee and the other side of the Bucs' first base platoon, Garrett Jones.
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick looks at Zack Greinke's decision to act as his own agent and the history of other players who have handled their own contract negotiations. The Brewers right-hander is entering the last year of his four-year, $38MM contract but is open to the idea of signing an extension with Milwaukee.
The Reds "had an offer on the table" for Francisco Cordero since the end of the 2011 season, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon but the team wouldn't give Cordero more than a one-year contract with an option. Cordero was holding out for a multiyear deal so the Reds signed Ryan Madson instead. Cordero settled for a one-year, $4.5MM deal with the Blue Jays and Shelton opines that Cordero "can’t be thrilled with how his offseason turned out."
Beyond losing Albert Pujols, Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan, the Cardinals' quest to defend their World Series crown could be complicated by their reliance on several players with checkered injury histories, writes FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.

Brewers Sign Corey Patterson

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 30, 2012 at 4:23pm CDT

The Brewers signed outfielder Corey Patterson to a minor league contract, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. Patterson, a client of Jim Bronner and Bob Gilhooley, doesn't have an invitation to Major League Spring Training at the moment.

Patterson, 32, spent the 2011 season with the Blue Jays and Cardinals. He played all three outfield positions, posted a .239/.273/.359 line in 397 plate appearances, and stole 13 bases in 22 attempts. Patterson, who appeared in 11 games with the 2009 Brewers, has been an average defender since 2007, according to UZR.

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