Brewers Rumors

Odds & Ends: Ortiz, Brewers, Rasmus

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | October 6, 2010 at 12:46pm CDT

Links for Wednesday, as the playoffs finally begin…

Stop by at 2pm CDT for this week's chat.
Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald says David Ortiz doesn't deserve a new contract, since "aging, one-dimensional players" are risky investments.
Meanwhile, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told Scott Lauber of the Herald that he hopes to mix "guys who have great track records" with low-risk investments as he attempts to improve the team's 'pen.
Brewers GM Doug Melvin says the Brewers are likely to "go outside" the organization as they search for a new manager, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It doesn't sound like Willie Randolph and Dale Sveum are serious candidates, then.
It wasn't long ago that some Giants fans were calling for Brian Sabean's dismissal, but as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle shows, Sabean has built a winner with a number of shrewd moves.
Colby Rasmus, who reportedly requested a trade this year, told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he may have regrets about the season, but he doesn't have hard feelings towards anybody.

Brewers Decline Option On Macha

By Tim Dierkes | October 4, 2010 at 11:08am CDT

MONDAY: The Brewers announced today via press release that they declined Macha's 2011 option.

SUNDAY: Ken Macha informed the Associated Press tonight that the Brewers told him they will not be exercising his club option for 2011. Earlier today, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported the same through a source, saying an official announcement should come tomorrow. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported two weeks ago that Macha was "almost certain" to be let go.

Macha posted a 157-167 record in two seasons as the Brewers' manager. Haudricourt notes in his blog post that Macha had limited interaction with his players, partially due to the generation gap.

Odds & Ends: Gross, Cubs, Dunn, Ellis, Pujols

By Mike Axisa | October 3, 2010 at 4:21pm CDT

Links for the final day of the 2010 regular season…

Despite seeing limited action, Gabe Gross told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he would return to the A's "with bells on".
Carrie Muskat of MLB.com writes that Cubs interim manager Mike Quade expects to return.
Adam Dunn won't be getting a four-year deal from the Nats, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
Oakland hasn't decided what to do with Mark Ellis' $6MM option for 2011 but the A's do want the 33-year-old back one way or another, says Buster Olney of ESPN.
A final announcement on the Brewers field staff is expected Monday, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.
The Bucs may retain pitching coach Ray Searage, Pirates GM Neal Huntington told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
GM John Mozeliak told Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he plans to engage Albert Pujols and his camp in contract negotiations this winter, but they "have a number of other issues [they] need to get to first." Pujols' ten-and-five no-trade rights kick in today, and he has maintained that he will consider the club's long-term competitiveness when discussing a new deal.
Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that Orioles' president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail has no plans to approach owner Peter Angelos about a contract extension. His deal expires after next season.
Carlos Zambrano wants to see the Cubs sign Adam Dunn this winter, writes Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report that the Yankees signed lefthander Naoya Okamoto to a minor league contract.
The Detroit Free Press lists some of the Tigers' dead weight salary obligations. They owe Gary Sheffield between $1MM and $2.5MM annually until 2019.
Meanwhile, Jim Leyland told Tom Gage of The Detroit News (Twitter link) that an "RBI bat" is one of the team's biggest needs this offseason, in addition to bullpen help.

Hoffman Not Expecting To Return To Brewers

By Luke Adams 2 | October 1, 2010 at 6:12pm CDT

Earlier in the week, we heard that if Trevor Hoffman plays in 2011, he'd likely look for a situation where he has a chance to close, meaning his time in Milwaukee could be nearing an end. Hoffman said as much to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today, when asked about the possibility of the Brewers retaining him for next season.

"[John Axford] is their future," said Hoffman. "That’s just the way it is. It’s nothing bad, no ill feelings or anything. They have their future and it’s time for me to move on if I’m going to continue doing this at a certain capacity. If I’m going to continue playing, I don’t want to continue in this capacity. I’d like to see what’s out there, if there’s option to close somewhere."

The one-year contract that the 42-year-old signed with Milwaukee last October includes a $7MM mutual option ($750K buyout) for 2011. Even Hoffman knows that the Brewers won't exercise the option though, asking rhetorically: "Why would they pay $7 million for me to pitch in this role?"

After an extremely successful first year with the Brewers in 2009 (1.83 ERA, 37 saves), Hoffman struggled this season, losing the closer's job to Axford and recording a 5.89 ERA. However, most of the right-hander's disastrous outings came in the season's first two months; since June 3rd, he has posted a 2.67 ERA in 32 appearances. Those numbers could be enough for a team to take a flier on Hoffman next year, but even if he receives offers, the all-time saves leader doesn't know whether he'll be back.

"I might not get to that stage (of fielding offers)," Hoffman said. "I might make my decision before I ever get to that. It would have to be a fit like this. I don’t know how many fits are out there like this."

Odds & Ends: Brewers, Buehrle, Francis, Vazquez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 30, 2010 at 4:26pm CDT

Miguel Olivo never played a major league game for the A's, but he signed with Oakland as an amateur free agent 14 years ago today. Here are some afternoon links, including an update on Olivo…

Steve Foster of Inside the Rockies breaks down some of Colorado's offseason decisions and says Olivo wants to stay in Denver next year.
Brewers owner Mark Attanasio gave GM Doug Melvin a strong vote of confidence, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Mark Buehrle repeated to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he'll consider retiring after the 2011 season.
Rockies manager Jim Tracy told Troy E. Renck and Jim Armstrong of The Denver Post that he'd "absolutely" like to see Jeff Francis on next year's team. Colorado will likely decline its $7.5MM option for the lefty's services, but could re-sign him nonetheless.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Yankees are not going to offer Javier Vazquez arbitration this winter and predicts that the right-hander will sign a one-year deal with a base salary of $4MM or so.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports explains why he considers Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston "a proud and often outspoken man who carried himself with dignity in a business that isn’t always fair."

Odds & Ends: Hart, Cox, Giambi, Pierzynski

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 28, 2010 at 8:55pm CDT

Links for Tuesday night, as the Rays, Yankees and Reds clinch playoff berths…

Former Rangers and Indians GM John Hart has prepared in case he becomes a candidate for the Mets GM job, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark profiles Braves manager Bobby Cox, whose storied managerial career is coming to an end after the season.
The Blue Jays, who were once managed by Cox, are looking for a new manager, but GM Alex Anthopoulos says the organization's search cannot be rushed, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
Brewers bench coach Willie Randolph would like to manage in the big leagues again, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
MLB president and chief operating officer Bob DuPuy will resign after the season, according to this MLB press release.
Jason Giambi told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that there's "no chance" he's retiring after the season (Twitter link).
A.J. Pierzynski would like to return to the White Sox next year, according to Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald. His teammate, Omar Vizquel, told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he'd like to return, too.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Marlins, Rangers

By Tim Dierkes | September 27, 2010 at 12:52pm CDT

Six years ago today, the Rockies signed righty Jhoulys Chacin as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela. This year as a rookie, Chacin has a 3.26 ERA in 132.3 innings. Links for Monday…

Pirates GM Neal Huntington indicated a preference to sign a free agent pitcher to a multiyear deal, in comments made to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Marlins are considering a slight payroll bump for 2011 to the $48-50MM range, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
The Rangers signed a 20-year extension with Fox Sports Southwest worth $3 billion, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
The Brewers' trade return on a one-year rental of Prince Fielder may be disappointing, suggests Dave Cameron of FanGraphs. In a U.S.S. Mariner post, Cameron explains why he doesn't find Fielder a good fit in Seattle.

Odds & Ends: Brewers, Dodgers, Fielder, Konerko

By Zachary Links | September 26, 2010 at 8:55pm CDT

Links for Sunday as Phil Hughes takes the mound against Boston..

Brewers manager Ken Macha will have to wait to learn about his future, GM Doug Melvin told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com writes that even a turnaround in playoff fortunes wouldn't have changed Dodgers skipper Joe Torre's mind about retiring.
Mark Kotsay told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that he does not anticipate returning to the White Sox next season.
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy writes that Prince Fielder may have played his last home game in a Brewers uniform today.
Whether or not manager Ozzie Guillen returns to the White Sox will be one of the many factors that play into Paul Konerko's decision, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets that Trevor Hoffman earned an extra $250K today when he closed out the Brewers' home finale.
Reliever Takashi Saito's career could be in jeopardy as he is hampered by shoulder tendinitis, writes Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson will have a say in whether soon-to-be free agent Brandon Webb returns to action this year, writes MLB.com's Andrew Pentis.
Thomas Harding and Joey Nowak of MLB.com spoke to Rockies outfielder Jay Payton, who is happy to still be playing baseball at the age of 37.
Cubs owner Tom Ricketts says the future looks bright in Chicago, writes Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.

Brewers Sign Mark DiFelice

By Mike Axisa | September 25, 2010 at 7:21pm CDT

The Brewers have signed righthander Mark DiFelice to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training next season according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. He is already pitching in the team's instructional league program in Arizona.

The 34-year-old DiFelice has not pitched at all this season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder. He proved to be a valuable setup man for the Brew Crew in 2009, turning in 51.2 innings of 3.66 ERA ball with an 8.4 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. DiFelice did that largely on the strength of a cut fastball, which FanGraphs says he threw a whopping 81.6% of the time.

The Brewers have had some success bringing back injured pitchers, most notably Chris Capuano this season.

Odds & Ends: Miller, Laird, Fielder, V-Mart

By Mark Polishuk | September 24, 2010 at 10:35pm CDT

As the Giants pick up a major win over the Rockies tonight, here are some news items….

The Marlins face a tough decision with the out-of-options Andrew Miller, writes Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.
Gerald Laird is looking for regular playing time next season, so it could mean the end for his time in Detroit what with Alex Avila having locked down a regular catching job, reports MLB.com's Jason Beck.
"I think there’s probably a better chance that [Prince Fielder]’s not with us than he is [next season]," Ryan Braun said to Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel before what could be Fielder's last home series as a Brewer.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post (via Twitter) predicts that Miguel Olivo will return to Colorado next season even if he doesn't reach his vesting option.
C.C. Sabathia doesn't think his friend and former Indians teammate Victor Martinez will re-sign with Boston this winter, tweets Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman.
Matt Cerrone of the MetsBlog would like to see Bobby Valentine managing the Mets next season, with Wally Backman (who's been rumored as another managerial candidate) as the team's bench coach.
Now that we know Stan Kasten won't be back as Washington's president next season, MASNSports.com's Phil Wood thinks Kasten would be a prime candidate to be baseball's next commissioner. Wood also thinks the Nationals will promote their next president from within the organization.
With Yadier Molina shut down for the rest of the season with a knee injury, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch thinks the Cardinals should look for a veteran backup for the workhorse catcher over the winter.
A number of Padres coaches are being interviewed for open managerial jobs, writes MLB.com's Corey Brock.

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