Brewers Rumors

Arbitration Filing Numbers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 17, 2012 at 6:55pm CDT

Many players avoided arbitration today, but dozens of others exchanged figures with their teams in anticipation of hearings. Most cases won't go to arbitration hearings, but teams such as the Rays, Nationals, Marlins, White Sox, Blue Jays and Braves have stuck to 'file and trial' policies in the past.

MLBTR's arbitration tracker will keep you up to date on every one of the filing numbers from around the game, but here are the highlights — players who filed for $4MM or more. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com had most of the info with MLBTR and others also contributing:

Tim Lincecum filed at $21.5MM, while the Giants filed at $17MM, as noted earlier.
David Ortiz filed for $16.5MM, while the Red Sox offered $12.65MM, Heyman tweets.
Hunter Pence filed for $11.8MM, while the Phillies countered at $9MM, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweets.
Mike Napoli filed for $11.5MM while the Rangers countered at $8.3MM, Heyman tweets.
Jeremy Guthrie filed for $10.25MM, while the Orioles filed at $7.25MM Heyman tweets.
Matt Garza filed for $12.5MM, while the Cubs countered at $7.95MM, Heyman tweets.
Clayton Kershaw filed for $10MM, while the Dodgers countered at $6.5MM, Heyman tweets.
Shaun Marcum filed for $8.7MM and the Brewers countered with $6.75MM, according to the Associated Press via MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
Russell Martin filed for $8.2MM, while the Yankees offered $7MM, MLBTR has learned.
Nelson Cruz filed at $7.5MM, while the Rangers countered at $5.5MM, Heyman tweets.
Adam Jones filed for $7.4MM, while the Orioles offered $5MM, Heyman tweets.
Miguel Montero filed at $6.8MM, while the Diamondbacks filed $5.4MM according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic (on Twitter).
John Lannan filed for $5.7MM, while the Nationals countered at $5MM, Heyman tweets.
Alex Gordon filed at $5.45MM, while the Royals countered at $4.15MM, Heyman tweets.
Asdrubal Cabrera filed for $5.2MM, while the Indians countered at $3.75MM, Heyman tweets.
Michael Morse filed at $5MM, while the Nationals countered with $3.5MM, Heyman tweets.
Andrew Bailey filed for $4.7MM, while the Red Sox filed for $3.35MM, Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com tweets.
Brandon Morrow filed for $4.2MM, while the Blue Jays countered at $3.9MM, MLBTR has learned.

Brewers Close To Multiyear Deal With Aoki

By Tim Dierkes | January 17, 2012 at 2:16pm CDT

The Brewers are "just finalizing things" on a multiyear deal with Norichika Aoki, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Earlier, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy wrote of a consensus at Miller Park that a deal gets done before today's 4pm central time deadline.

The Brewers won the rights to negotiate with Aoki with a $2.5MM bid in December. The 30-year-old outfielder hit .292/.358/.360 for the Yakult Swallows last year and would assume a bench role for Milwaukee.

Brewers Avoid Arbitration With Francisco Rodriguez

By Tim Dierkes | January 17, 2012 at 11:26am CDT

The Brewers announced they've avoided arbitration with reliever Francisco Rodriguez, signing the Scott Boras client to a one-year deal. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports the value at $8MM, well below my expectation after he earned $11.5MM in 2011. K-Rod had accepted the team's arbitration offer rather than continue as a free agent.

Craig Counsell To Join Brewers’ Front Office

By Tim Dierkes | January 17, 2012 at 8:49am CDT

Infielder Craig Counsell will retire as a ballplayer and join the Brewers' front office, tweets Scott Miller of CBS Sports. The Wisconsin native is known for his quirky stance and involvement in the winning scoring plays of the 1997 and 2001 World Series.

Counsell spent most of his 16-year big league career at second base, third base, and shortstop, hitting .255/.342/.344 for the Rockies, Marlins, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Brewers. According to Baseball-Reference, he earned almost $21MM along the way.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Monday

By Tim Dierkes | January 16, 2012 at 10:54pm CDT

In advance of tomorrow's 11am central time deadline to exchange arbitration figures, settlements will be rolling in today. Follow all of the action with MLBTR's arbitration tracker. The latest for players under $4MM:

The Braves and Eric O'Flaherty avoided arbitration, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. O'Flaherty will earn $2.49MM, just shy of his projected $2.6MM salary.
The Orioles and Jim Johnson have avoided arbitration, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets. The right-hander will earn $2.625MM in 2012, just north of his projected $2.5MM salary.
The Red Sox avoided arbitration with Franklin Morales, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets. The left-hander had a projected salary of $1MM and agreed to an $850K deal.
The Rays avoided arbitration with J.P. Howell, agreeing to a $1.35MM deal for 2012, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets. Matt Swartz had projected a $1.4MM salary for the left-hander.
The Royals avoided arbitration with Chris Getz, agreeing to a $967,500 deal for 2012, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets. Matt Swartz had projected a $1.2MM salary for the infielder.
The Nationals announced they've avoided arbitration with catcher Jesus Flores. Flores, who is represented by Praver/Shapiro, received $815K, MLBTR has learned.
The Brewers avoided arbitration with outfielder Nyjer Morgan, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The ACES client received $2.35MM, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
The Royals announced they've avoided arbitration with catcher Brayan Pena, a client of Wasserman Media Group. Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star says the deal is worth $875K; Matt Swartz had him at $900K.
Orioles pitcher Darren O'Day avoided arbitration for a deal worth $1.35MM, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Matt Swartz had projected the same for the Beverly Hills Sports Council client.
Yankees righty Phil Hughes agreed to a deal worth $3.2MM plus performance bonuses, tweets his agency CAA. The 25-year-old gets a $500K raise after a lost 2011 season.
The Tigers announced they've avoided arbitration with lefty Phil Coke. Coke, a client of Full Circle Sports Management, gets a $1.1MM base salary with $50K in incentives for appearances or starts, MLBTR has learned.
The Angels avoided arbitration with infielder Alberto Callaspo, signing him to a one-year deal worth $3.15MM, tweets ESPN's Keith Law. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz nailed this one, projecting a $3.1MM salary. Callaspo, a client of Eric Goldschmidt, received a $1.15MM raise for his second time through arbitration.

NL Central Notes: Pujols, Beltran, Cubs, Aoki

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 16, 2012 at 3:39pm CDT

The Reds signed a catcher today and the Pirates avoided arbitration with a pair of pitchers. Here are some more notes from the NL Central…

Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said this weekend that his team must stay within certain financial limitations to put a competitive team on the field year after year, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The Cardinals would have liked to retain Albert Pujols, but keeping him wasn’t necessarily realistic. “It's how much can I afford to pay one player and put together a team that's going to be competitive? That's the whole jigsaw puzzle that all teams have,” DeWitt said.
Carlos Beltran said the Indians, Rays and Giants were among the finalists for his services this offseason, MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports. Beltran said another team offered a three-year deal worth less money, B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com tweets.
Cubs director of scouting and player development Jason McLeod said he's looking forward to meeting with his scouts this week to find ways of drafting more effectively under the new collective bargaining agreement, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
Tom Haudricourt on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets that there's an expectation that the Brewers will sign outfielder Norichika Aoki. They have until 4pm CDT tomorrow to sign Aoki, or else he’ll be returned to the Yakult Swallows and the Brewers will get their $2.5MM posting fee back.

Brewers Sign Cesar Izturis

By Luke Adams 2 | January 14, 2012 at 9:56pm CDT

JAN. 14: MLB.com's Adam McCalvy has a breakdown of the contract, reporting that Izturis can earn $875K in the big leagues with another $375K in incentives. He'll get $25K for appearing in 90 games, $50K for appearing in 100 and 115 games, $50K for 75 starts, and $100K for 90 and 115 starts. The contract also allows Izturis to request his release if he's not added to the 40-man roster by March 30th.

DEC. 21: The Brewers have signed Cesar Izturis to a minor league contract, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. In a team release, the Brewers announced they've also signed left-hander Juan Perez to a minor league deal. Both players will receive invitations to Spring Training.

Izturis spent the last three seasons in Baltimore, hitting .240/.283/.292 in 958 plate appearances for the Orioles. Although the 31-year-old didn't provide much pop at the plate, his defense continues to be rated favorably by advanced metrics — Fangraphs puts his career UZR/150 at +7.6 or better at shortstop, third base, and second base. If he makes the Brewers' big league club, Izturis figures to provide depth behind Rickie Weeks, Alex Gonzalez, and Aramis Ramirez.

The 33-year-old Perez, meanwhile, has seen limited Major League action with the Pirates and Phillies. With the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate at Lehigh Valley in 2011, Perez recorded a 5.70 ERA with 13.1 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9 in 36 1/3 innings.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Brewers Exchange Proposals With Aoki’s Agent

By Zachary Links | January 14, 2012 at 4:17pm CDT

Brewers GM Doug Melvin says that he has exchanged proposals with Norichika Aoki's agent but isn't sure how it will go, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Melvin added that the club is looking at other outfield options.

Aoki worked out for the Brewers on Sunday for a little over an hour with Melvin, manager Ron Roenicke, and owner Mark Attanasio present. The Brewers have until 4pm central time on Tuesday to sign Aoki. If they do not reach agreement with the outfielder, the Yakult Swallows must refund the $2.5MM posting fee. The 30-year-old hit .292/.358/.360 for the Swallows in 2011.

Brewers, Parra Avoid Arbitration

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 13, 2012 at 4:31pm CDT

The Brewers announced that they avoided arbitration with left-hander Manny Parra. The sides agreed to a $1.2MM salary for 2012, MLBTR has learned. The CAA sports client had a projected salary of $1.2MM, according to MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the Brewers have five remaining arbitration eligible players: Kameron Loe, Shaun Marcum, Nyjer Morgan, Francisco Rodriguez and Jose Veras. They've already locked up Carlos Gomez and George Kottaras.

Parra, 29, missed the 2011 season with back and elbow injuries, but he has a 5.13 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in four seasons with the Brewers. He earned $1.2MM in 2011 and was arbitration eligible for the second time this offseason.

Prince Fielder Rumors: Thursday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 12, 2012 at 9:22pm CDT

While there's no guarantee that Prince Fielder will sign soon, he will be off of the market by Spring Training. Agent Scott Boras told Barry Bloom of MLB.com that he intends to complete a deal for the powerful 27-year-old before March.

"Certainly we're going to have him signed well in advance of Spring Training," Boras said. "I can't give you the exact date. These things take some time. That's why we have January and early February. Spring Training doesn't start until late February."

Boras is in Phoenix, where owners have gathered for their quarterly meetings, to discuss Fielder and other clients, such as Edwin Jackson. Here are the latest rumors on Fielder:

There are more teams involved than the ones that have been reported and most of the unnamed teams are from the National League, a source close to the situation told Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle. At present, it appears that the Mariners are lying in the weeds and aren't at the front of the pack.
The Blue Jays are not a serious suitor for Fielder, multiple people in the industry told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Fielder's price and years would need to come way down for Toronto to get involved.
The Brewers invited Fielder back on a one-year contract that would have set him up for a mega-deal with the Dodgers next winter, once the team has a new owner in place, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times tweets. However, Boras showed no interest in the Brewers' proposal. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt says he's "not going to talk about" Fielder, Shaikin tweets.
The Dodgers aren’t currently involved in the Fielder sweepstakes, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets.
There are strong indications that the Marlins aren’t pursuing Fielder aggressively, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports. Boras touched base with owners including Jeffrey Loria of the Marlins yesterday, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reported.
The Nationals are “patiently and aggressively” pursuing Fielder, Kilgore reported.
Exchanging information with Fielder’s suitors takes time because “he's going to be there a long time, wherever he's going,” Boras told Bloom.

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