Brewers Rumors

Quick Hits: Blue Jays, Pena, Padres, White Sox, Braun

By Zachary Links | January 1, 2012 at 4:32pm CDT

Presenting the first edition of Quick Hits for 2012..

An interesting fact courtesy of Yahoo's Jeff Passan (via Twitter): Of the 23 teams to have spent money on free agents this offseason, the Red Sox rank 18th and the Yankees are tied for 19th. Each team has spent $4.35MM and $4MM, respectively.
Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Jason Frasor shortly after the trade that he's now satisfied with the look of his bullpen, writes Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. Frasor will join the recently-signed Darren Oliver and Sergio Santos, who Anthopoulos traded for in December.
The Blue Jays now have 40 men on the 40-man roster after acquiring Frasor, which means that the club will need to make another move in the coming days to create space for Oliver, Chisholm tweets. The veteran agreed to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013 on Friday.
It's possible that Carlos Pena could be an option for the Indians, but the market for first baseman won't truly shake loose until Prince Fielder finds his new home, writes Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. Yesterday, just over 7% of MLBTR readers polled picked the Tribe as Pena's most likely destination while the Brewers won out with almost 20% of the vote.
The Padres shook things up yesterday when they traded for Carlos Quentin, but you can expect them to open the season with Orlando Hudson and Jason Bartlett in the middle infield, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com.
Speaking of the Quentin deal, Dayan Viciedo is now expected to take over in right field for the White Sox, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin. The 22-year-old is entering the final season of the four-year, $10MM deal he signed in December of 2008.
An official familiar with the appeals process for banned substances told Tom Haudricourt of the Journal-Sentinel that he doesn't anticipate Ryan Braun winning his case against a 50-game suspension. The source said that Braun's only options are to prove an error in the testing or say that the Brewers signed off on a treatment. However, there are provisions in place to ensure accurate testing and the club never gave Braun the go-ahead to use any substance.
Fielder liked the idea of playing in Chicago because it's a reasonable distance from his Florida home and he has had success at Wrigley Field, writes Ken Davidoff of Newsday. However, that no longer appears to be a possibility for the slugger as the Cubs are looking to rebuild.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/insider-albert-pujols-showed-he-s-human-1.3421208

Quick Hits: Theriot, Aoki, Nakajima, Orioles

By Zachary Links | December 31, 2011 at 9:31pm CDT

Links for Saturday night..

Congratulations to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith on being named among the 100 most influential Canadians in baseball by Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun. Luke Adams and Mark Polishuk picked up honorable mentions.
The Rays' interest in Ryan Theriot, presumably as a backup, has been preliminary to this point, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Mets and Braves are also said to be interested in the infielder's services.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker breaks down the pros and cons of Japanese import Norichika Aoki. Earlier this month, the Brewers won the negotiating rights to the speedy outfielder and have until mid-January to work out a deal. Milwaukee reportedly started negotiations with an offer in the $1-1.5MM range.
Meanwhile, the Yankees and Hiroyuki Nakajima are said to remain far apart in their talks, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The Bombers won the exclusive right to negotiate with the shortstop with a bid around $2MM earlier this month. The deadline to reach a deal is on Tuesday.
Just as they were at the beginning of 2011, the Marlins will begin 2012 on the prowl for a starter, writes Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel.
Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com wonders if a new year will mean a new DH for the Orioles. For the time being, it seems like the O's will look for an in-house solution to fill the gap.

Quick Hits: Rays, Brewers, Whitesell, Pinto

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 28, 2011 at 11:13pm CDT

On this date in 1998, the Tigers traded Luis Gonzalez to the Diamondbacks for Karim Garcia. Gonzalez would hit 224 home runs in eight seasons with Arizona, including 57 homers during the team's 2001 Championship season. Here are tonight’s links…

Jim Bowden ranks the top ten contracts in baseball (from a team perspective) at ESPN.com and Rays players (Matt Moore, David Price and Evan Longoria) occupy three of the top four spots.
The Brewers started negotiations with Norichika Aoki in the $1-1.5MM range, according to a Sanspo report relayed by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Milwaukee won the bidding for the Japanese outfielder with a bid of $2.5MM earlier this month.
The Chiba Lotte Marines announced that they signed former big league first baseman Josh Whitesell, according to a Sponichi report passed along by Newman.
Newman also relays a Sponichi report indicating that Softbank is working to acquire former big league lefty Renyel Pinto. The Orioles had some interest in Pinto this offseason.
Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus lists ten prospects who will look to turn their careers around in 2012 after disappointing 2011 campaigns. Wilmer Flores of the Mets, Aaron Hicks of the Twins and Jose Iglesias of the Red Sox appear on the list.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs attempts to determine which active players are future Hall of Famers and considers Major Leaguers such as Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Carlos Beltran and Joey Votto along the way.

Morosi On Blue Jays, First Base, Starters, Cespedes

By Mike Axisa | December 25, 2011 at 7:43pm CDT

The baseball world figures to remain relatively quietly until after the New Year, but as Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports writes, there is still a lot of work to be done before the season begins. Let's round up Morosi's rumors…

The Blue Jays are saying they will not give a hitter a contract of more than five guaranteed years, though they'll likely have to violate that policy if they want to sign Prince Fielder.
The Brewers, Cubs, Nationals, Indians, Mariners, Orioles, Rangers, Rays, and Pirates are all considering non-Fielder upgrades at first base. Carlos Pena, Casey Kotchman, and Derrek Lee remain unsigned, among others.
Some within the game believe that Joakim Soria and Carlos Marmol could be had at the right price. The Cubbies are said to be planning a "complete and total rebuild."
Both Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook remain available, and the Rangers may be willing to trade Matt Harrison for a more established starter.
Most believe Yoenis Cespedes will sign for more than the $30.25MM Aroldis Chapman received because as a position player, he carried less risk. A larger number of interested teams and the new collective bargaining agreement will also help his cause.

Brewers Win Rights To Norichika Aoki

By Mike Axisa | December 19, 2011 at 9:29am CDT

MONDAY: MLB officially announced the Brewers won the bid for Aoki. They now have 30 days to negotiate a contract with him. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Brewers plan to work him out in Arizona before deciding whether to sign him.

SATURDAY: The Yakult Swallows have announced that the Brewers won the negotiating rights to Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki, reports Yasuko Yanagita of Hochi Shimbun (on Twitter). We heard that Yakult accepted the $2.5MM bid yesterday.

Aoki, 30 in January, is a three-time Central League batting champion and posted a career line of .336/.411/.472 in his first seven seasons in Japan. His numbers fell to 292/.358/.360 in 2011, which explains the modest size of the posting fee. NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman (writing for Fangraphs) said in August 2010 that Aoki was "the best pure hitter Japan has produced since Ichiro" and has good defensive range, though a weak throwing arm will probably limit Aoki to left field in the majors.

The Brewers seem to have plenty of outfield depth with Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, Nyjer Morgan, and Carlos Gomez, but there's a chance they could lose Braun for the first 50 games of the season after his failed drug test. GM Doug Melvin recently said he is proceeding with his offseason under the assumption that Braun will be in the lineup all season, however. As a left-handed hitter, Aoki could serve as a bat off the bench or give the team depth to make a trade.

Quick Hits: Tigers, Bailey, Braun

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 14, 2011 at 11:45pm CDT

Links for Wednesday night, as we wonder which team won the rights to negotiate a contract with Yu Darvish…

The chances of Jimmy Rollins signing with the Tigers seem incredibly thin, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
GM Dave Dombrowski said the Tigers had "minimal" discussions with Aramis Ramirez’s representatives, Chris Iott MLive.com reports. The Tigers did not make the third baseman a formal offer before the Brewers signed him.
Athletics closer Andrew Bailey admits that he doesn't know where he'll be pitching next year, but the trade candidate sounds prepared for the possibility that he'll be dealt before Opening Day, as Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald writes. Bailey grew up on the East Coast and says he has an understanding of what it would be like to pitch for a team like the Red Sox.
Brewers GM Doug Melvin says he's moving forward under the assumption that Ryan Braun will be in the lineup next year, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports. The Brewers are doing "business as normal," though Braun tested positive for a banned substance and faces a possible 50-game suspension.

Brewers Sign Aramis Ramirez

By Tim Dierkes | December 14, 2011 at 9:24am CDT

The Brewers have secured a much-needed power bat, as they've announced a three-year deal with third baseman Aramis Ramirez. The $36MM contract includes a mutual option for 2015. With first baseman Prince Fielder expected to leave via free agency and MVP Ryan Braun facing a potential 50-game suspension for a banned substance, the Brewers were motivated to add a middle-of-the-order hitter. Ramirez is represented by Paul Kinzer of Wasserman Media Group.

Ramirez, 33, bounced back to hit .306/.361/.510 with 26 home runs in 626 plate appearances for the Cubs in 2011. Former Cubs GM Jim Hendry stole Ramirez from the Pirates in a 2003 trade, and the right-handed slugger solidified the position for Chicago by hitting .294/.356/.531 with 239 home runs over eight-plus seasons. His defense is below-average, based on UZR. Aramis, MLBTR's eighth-ranked free agent, finished a five-year, $75MM deal when he declined his side of a mutual option in October. The Cubs will receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss.

The Brewers had a need at the hot corner after Casey McGehee disappointed in 2011. The arbitration-eligible McGehee was traded to Pittsburgh shortly after the Ramirez agreement was reached.

After Francisco Rodriguez accepted arbitration from the Brewers last week, it wasn't clear whether the Brewers would still be in the mix for another expensive player like Ramirez. The Brewers have revamped the left side of their infield, announcing a deal with shortstop Alex Gonzalez Monday.

Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago first reported the agreement, with Ken Rosenthal adding details. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Brewers Sign Alex Gonzalez

By Tim Dierkes | December 13, 2011 at 7:23pm CDT

TUESDAY, 7:23pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter) that the deal is worth $4.25MM. A $4MM option for 2013 will vest with 525 plate appearances, a level Gonzalez has reached in each of the last two seasons.

MONDAY, 11:18am: The Brewers announced the signing of shortstop Alex Gonzalez today. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first tweeted news of the agreement last week, noting that it's a one-year deal with a vesting option for 2013. Gonzalez will take over as Milwaukee's starting shortstop, a position occupied by Yuniesky Betancourt this year. Gonzalez is represented by Eric Goldschmidt.

Gonzalez, 34, hit .241/.270/.372 with 15 home runs in 593 plate appearances for the Braves in 2011. UZR suggests Gonzalez was average defensively this year and above-average from 2006-10. Gonzalez seems to represent an upgrade over Betancourt, but not by much. In November, the Braves elected not to offer arbitration to Gonzalez, so they won't be receiving a supplemental draft pick for the loss. The Cardinals and Giants had also been linked to Gonzalez.

As our free agent tracker shows, the list of available shortstops includes Betancourt, Ronny Cedeno,Nick Punto, and Jimmy Rollins. Most of the clubs that lost or need shortstops, such as the Giants, Braves, Rays, Mets, Phillies, and Astros, say they have acceptable internal candidates. It doesn't seem like Rollins has much leverage to extract a big five-year deal out of the Phillies.

Brewers Notes: Rollins, Ramirez, Fielder

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 13, 2011 at 2:07pm CDT

The Brewers grabbed headlines on the trade and free agent market yesterday. Here’s more news from Milwaukee…

Before signing Aramis Ramirez, the Brewers pursued Jimmy Rollins and told agent Dan Lozano that they'd be willing to offer a four-year deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. "We can’t and sit and wait like other clubs," GM Doug Melvin told Rosenthal.
Ramirez will earn just $6MM in 2012, according to Rosenthal. He'll earn $10MM in 2013 and $16MM in 2014 with a $4MM buyout on a mutual option for 2015, Rosenthal reports. The 2014 salary includes $6MM in deferred money.
Melvin explained to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that a small market team such as Milwaukee doesn’t generally sign top free agents such as Prince Fielder (Twitter link). "We have to face the reality of the smallest market and the best young player in free agency and how does it work," the GM said.
The Boras Corporation put together a 73-page binder detailing Fielder's accomplishments and ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick explains how it ended up in the slugger's 'man cave' beside his Sliver Slugger awards. One unnamed GM admits to looking forward to annual books on Boras clients: "I think they're a curiosity," the GM said. "It's kind of like the Sports Illustrated swimsuit calendar," the GM told Crasnick. "You look forward to it coming out each year. But you're not really going to do anything about it."

Brewers Notes: Ramirez, Gamel, Green, Braun

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 13, 2011 at 12:52am CDT

GM Doug Melvin confirmed this evening that the Brewers won’t bid on free agent first baseman Prince Fielder. Here are more details on the Brewers, who agreed to terms with Aramis Ramirez and obtained Jose Veras for Casey McGehee today…

The Brewers have already committed more than expected to the 2012 payroll, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links). "We've stretched it well beyond where we wanted to go," Melvin said.
The Brewers will proceed with Mat Gamel at first base and they also intend to give infield prospect Taylor Green a chance to make a contribution in the Major Leagues in 2012, Haudricourt reports (Twitter links). The Brewers won’t sign a prominent free agent first baseman this offseason.
Melvin declined to comment on the possibility that Ryan Braun will miss 50 games in 2012, Haudricourt notes. The 2011 NL MVP tested positive for a banned substance and may face a lengthy suspension.
Ramirez is a reasonable solution for the Brewers, but they'll likely need more to repeat as division champions in 2012, ESPN.com's Keith Law writes.

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