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Brewers Sign Claudio Vargas

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The Brewers have signed right-hander Claudio Vargas to a minor league deal, according to his agency, Metis Sports Management. The eight-year MLB veteran will report to Triple-A Nashville, where he'll start. 

Vargas, 33, retired last summer then signed with the Vaqueros Laguna of the Mexican League in time for the 2012 season. He posted a 7.32 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 17 relief appearances for the Brewers in 2010, his most recent campaign in the Major Leagues. He has since pitched in the minor leagues for the Dodgers and Rockies. 

2013 Contract Issues: Milwaukee Brewers

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The Brewers are next in MLBTR’s 2013 Contract Issues series:

Eligible For Free Agency (4)

  • Zack Greinke - It looks like Greinke will be one of the offseason's top free agents. Assuming he spends the entire season in Milwaukee without signing an extension, I expect the Brewers will make him a one-year qualifying offer this fall to be eligible for draft pick compensation. Greinke will presumably decline the offer in search of a multiyear deal.
  • Shaun Marcum - It'll be interesting to see if the Brewers make Marcum a qualifying offer when he files for free agency. Qualifying offers project to be worth $12.5MM or so this offseason, a considerable jump from Marcum's current $7.725MM salary.
  • Cesar Izturis - While Izturis could be back in 2013, he doesn't appear to have a place in the Brewers' long-term plans.
  • Francisco Rodriguez - Rodriguez, 30, is off to a relatively slow start for the Brewers. He won't obtain a qualifying offer from the team this offseason.

Contract Options (2)

  • Randy Wolf: $10MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout. The 35-year-old left-hander hasn't looked like a $10MM pitcher so far this year, but the Brewers may pick up the option if he pitches 200-plus innings with an ERA around 4.00, as he did in 2010-11.
  • Alex Gonzalez: $4MM vesting option become guaranteed with 525 plate appearances. Gonzalez will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL, so there's no chance this option will vest.

Arbitration Eligible (12)

The Brewers will have a large class of arb eligible players this offseason. Axford's case might be the most interesting one facing Gord Ash, Teddy Werner and others in the Brewers front office. This class includes some non-tender candidates (Chulk, Ishikawa, Conrad, Veras and even Morgan), so there's a good chance the Brewers will have fewer than 12 cases to resolve next offseason.

2013 Payroll Obligation

The Brewers have committed approximately $52MM to next year's payroll, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. The team's payroll has risen to $98MM under Mark Attanasio's ownership, so GM Doug Melvin will have some money to spend this offseason. He'll need it, with two of his top starters hitting free agency and uncertainty on the infield.

Heyman On Myers, Lee, Wright, Rangers

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The latest notes and rumors from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com:

  • Astros people say they aren't thinking about trading their veteran players at this point, according to Heyman. One non-Astros executive likes Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers as midsummer trade candidates. 
  • However, the executive said it won't be easy to move Carlos Lee and his $18MM salary. Lee can block trades to 14 teams and badly wants to stay in Houston. A possible trade to the Brewers fell through months ago, Heyman reports.
  • High-level Mets people such as COO Jeff Wilpon generally support David Wright, Heyman reports. The Mets won't trade Wright this summer and will try to lock him up before long, Heyman writes. It would take something "extraordinary'' for Wright to be traded this year, GM Sandy Alderson confirmed to Heyman. If the Mets were to trade Wright this summer, he would obtain the right to void a $16MM club option for 2013 and become a free agent this offseason. Mets people view Wright as a more reliable player than Jose Reyes, Heyman writes.
  • Heyman also points out that Josh Hamilton's performance is going to make re-signing him that much more complex for the Rangers.

Quick Hits: Draft, Sizemore, Royals, CBA, Greinke

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Some links from around MLB…

  • ESPN's Keith Law posted a list of the top 100 prospects in this year's amateur draft. High school outfielder Byron Buxton and high school shortstop Carlos Correa top the list.
  • "I love this game and I don't see myself calling it quits anytime soon," said Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (Twitter link). Sizemore is currently on the DL with a back issue, the latest problem in a long line of injuries in recent years.
  • Royals owner David Glass says he hasn't spoken to anyone about selling his team despite rumors to the contrary, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. "I've not talked to anyone, nor has any of my family talked to anyone," he said.
  • Ben Badler of Baseball America explains how teams and player representatives are working to side-step the international spending restrictions imposed under baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement. MLB is aware of the loopholes and would object more strongly to some than others.
  • Recent extensions talks haven’t taken place for Zack Greinke, Cole Hamels or Tim Lincecum, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Greinke and Hamels are eligible for free agency this offseason, while Lincecum is under team control through 2013.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out that Edinson Volquez of the Padres looks like a trade candidate (Twitter link). However, six of the right-hander’s seven starts have been at Petco Park, a generally forgiving environment for pitchers.\

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Brewers Extend Melvin, Roenicke

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The Brewers announced that they have extended the contracts of their general manager and field manager. Doug Melvin, the club's GM since 2002, receives a promotion to president of baseball operations under his new contract, which runs through 2015. Manager Ron Roenicke obtains an extension runs through 2014 and includes a club option for 2015.

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio explained that the team's recent postseason berths give him confidence in Melvin, "one of the most respected leaders in the industry." Melvin said Roenicke's leadership has also been instrumental to the team's success. “He and his staff have worked tirelessly to put us in a great position to win, and he has been very supportive of everything we are looking to accomplish," Melvin said via press release.

MLBTR's Transaction Tracker offers a look back at the moves Melvin has made since joining the Brewers a decade ago. Melvin, Baseball America's 2011 Executive of the Year, became the Rangers' GM following the 1994 season and has been running teams ever since.

Roenicke led the Brewers to the NLCS last year, his first full season as an MLB manager. The club won 96 games in 2011, but is off to a 12-17 start this year. The club appeared to be nearing extensions with Melvin and Roenicke over the weekend.

Brewers Sign Tommy Manzella

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The Brewers have signed Tommy Manzella to a minor league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The move gives the club infield depth following Alex Gonzalez's season-ending torn ACL.

Manzella, 29, was the Astros' Opening Day shortstop in 2010. He hit just .225/.267/.264 in 282 plate appearances before spending last season in Triple-A. Houston designated the Sports One Athlete Management client for assignment last August. Manzella was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks before being removed from the 40-man roster in September.

Quick Hits: Lee, Brewers, Moyer, Bonderman

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Giants reliever Guillermo Mota is appealing his 100-game suspension due to a positive drug test, reports Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.  In a statement issued through Adam Katz, Mota's agent, the right-hander claims that children's cough medicine was responsible for the banned substance (clenbuterol) that was found in his system.  Since this is his second drug-related suspension, Mota will not be allowed to continue playing while waiting for an appeal.

Here's the latest from around the majors….

  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Trenni Kusnierek of WTMJ 620 radio in Milwaukee that the team "had a discussion" with free agent first baseman Derrek Lee but a signing is "not going to happen."  The team will look internally to fill its hole at first base with Mat Gamel out for the season.
  • Melvin also said that the Brewers have the financial resources and farm system depth to make trades if necessary, though the club will wait until about a week before the July trade deadline before deciding if any moves need to be made.  Melvin predicts less deadline activity in general around baseball this year due to both the Cardinals' late-season hot streak last year and the extra wild card that will have more teams unwilling to give up on their season.
  • Jamie Moyer thought he had a deal worked out with the Orioles last fall but Dan Duquette's hiring scuttled the move, reports Caleb Hannan of the Denver News.  "They said one thing one day and by the next it was completely different," Moyer said. "They pulled a complete 180."  One of the reasons may have been due to an incident between Moyer and Duquette in 1996 when both men were with the Red Sox. 
  • Jeremy Bonderman tells Chris Iott of MLive.com that he was "burnt out" and didn't expect to return to baseball when he sat out the 2011 season but he's now eager to pitch again.  Bonderman underwent Tommy John surgery last month and is hoping to catch on with a team in 2013.
  • Teams that write off several seasons in the name of a long rebuilding process run the risk of permanently alienating their fans, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.

Quick Hits: Gonzalez, Mota, Red Sox

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Brewers shortstop Alex Gonzalez has torn his right ACL and is expected to miss the rest of the season, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (Twitter links). It's another setback for the Brewers, who have also lost Mat Gamel and Chris Narveson to season-ending injuries. Gonzalez's vesting option for 2013 is no longer in play, as Haudricourt notes. Here are today's links…

NL Central Links: Brewers, Counsell, DeWitt

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Some links pertaining to the game's largest division…

Brewers Near Extensions With Melvin, Roenicke

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Brewers owner Mark Attanasio has indicated that he's nearing extensions with general manager Doug Melvin and and manager Ron Roenicke, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (on Twitter).

Melvin has been general manager of the Brewers since 2002. As MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows, he's made notable trades for C.C. Sabathia, Zack Greinke, and Shaun Marcum while also drafting the likes of Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and J.J. Hardy. Recently, Melvin has signed Aramis Ramirez and Randy Wolf to big-money free agent contracts.

Roenicke has been the Crew's manager since the beginning of the 2011 season. He led the Brewers to an NL Central Division title and an impressive 96-66 record in his first season at the helm. He now sports a 108-81 mark in his managerial career.

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