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Brewers Sign Wil Nieves

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The Brewers officially added depth behind the plate today, signing catcher Wil Nieves to a non-guaranteed deal worth $775K. In addition to the base salary, Nieves can earn $45K in incentives.

The Nationals non-tendered Nieves last week, making him a free agent. Milwaukee has been looking for a backstop to pair with Jonathan Lucroy, though George Kottaras and Mike Rivera may also be in the mix.

Nieves, 33, has spent parts of seven seasons in the majors, posting a .227/.273/.297 line overall. He hit .203/.244/.310 in 172 plate appearances for the Nationals last year and threw out 24% of would-be base stealers, matching his career mark.  If the Brewers are thrilled with his performance, they can control Nieves for 2012 as an arbitration eligible player.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first tweeted the Brewers were close to a deal with Nieves, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported (on Twitter) that the sides had an agreement and MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reported the financial details (on Twitter).

Brewers To Have Extension Talks With Marcum

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1:10pm: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel clarifies: the Brewers agreed to check back in with Marcum's agent, but extension talks have not begun (Twitter link).

12:59pm: The Brewers have had preliminary extension talks with new acquisition Shaun Marcum, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The righty is clearly open to the idea, since he was also discussing the possibility with the Blue Jays.  But it's interesting to hear the Brewers having talks before Marcum even throws a pitch for them.

Historically, young pitcher extensions have been signed in January, February, or March.  Marcum is already under team control through 2012 as an arbitration eligible player.  He shouldn't earn a ton in 2011, partially because he's only operating from an $850K salary.

Odds & Ends: Young, Francis, Twins, Fielder, Nady

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A handful of links to start the final day of the Winter Meetings….

  • The Mets prefer Chris Young to Jeff Francis, and are still trying to sign one of the two veteran starters, says Mike Puma of the New York Post. However, both pitchers are looking for upwards of $4MM for 2011, which is more than the Mets are willing to pay.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Twins are seeking front-end rotation help, such as Carl Pavano. They're also considering moving arms from their back-end surplus, such as Kevin Slowey.
  • The amount of money being spent on free agents this offseason might be making it more obvious to the Brewers that they have little chance of retaining Prince Fielder past next year. As Danny Knobler of CBS Sports writes, that could make Milwaukee more inclined to deal Fielder sooner rather than later.
  • The Diamondbacks are talking to Xavier Nady, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports initially linked the D'Backs to Nady on Tuesday.
  • With Jason Varitek and Jarrod Saltalamacchia under contract, the Red Sox are still pursuing another catcher, according to GordonEdes of ESPNBoston.
  • Astros GM Ed Wade says he doesn't intend to acquire a left fielder, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. If the Astros added an outfielder, it would move Carlos Lee to first base and leave Brett Wallace out of the picture, and the club wants to give Wallace a chance to earn the first base job.

Cliff Lee Rumors: Wednesday

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SI.com's Jon Heyman reported yesterday that two teams may have offered Cliff Lee seven-year deals, and the rumor mill will be flying again today. Remember, the Yankees, Rangers, Angels, and Nationals all deny such an offer. Here's a look at all of yesterday's rumors, and here are today's:

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports identifies the Red Sox as one of the "mystery teams" who made a seven-year bid for Lee. However, they didn't offer enough money for Lee to realistically consider accepting. Rather, the proposal was about increasing Lee's leverage with other teams and trying to force the Yankees to add an extra year.
  • Boston's agreement with Carl Crawford is good news for Lee, who is now the clear top free agent left on the market. Sherman speculates (via Twitter) that the Angels and Rangers, who were in on Crawford, could make a stronger push for Lee now. Brian Cashman, however, says the move won't affect the Yankees' approach on the lefty (Twitter link).
  • Rangers president Nolan Ryan told MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan that the Rangers have asked Braunecker to tell them what it will take to sign Lee. The Rangers have not made an offer, but they're considering a six-year deal, since they expect it will take a long-term commitment to sign Lee.
  • Lee will decide on his next team by the end of the weekend, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • The Yankees offered Lee a six-year deal worth $140MM, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). George A. King III of the New York Post hears that the team is comfortable offering between $137.5MM and $150MM.
  • Cashman confirmed to reporters that the Yankees have made an offer, according to Marc Carig of the Star Ledger (on Twitter).
  • GM Mike Rizzo told Ben Goessling of MASNSports that the Nationals did not meet with Lee's agent today (Twitter link).
  • The Brewers are not the mystery team interested in Lee, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel confirms (on Twitter).
  • Though it appeared that the Yankees were about to make a strong offer, they have yet to propose a deal formally, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter).
  • Braunecker has left the building!  He wouldn't reveal where he's going, reports CBS Sports' Danny Knobler.
  • The Rangers met with Braunecker again this morning, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  • Lee's agent Darek Braunecker told ESPN's Richard Durrett that one club has been eliminated.
  • The Yankees are going to make a very strong six-year offer in the $140-150MM range to Lee today, tweets Heyman.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if Lee really has received seven-year offers, and if he'd go to a non-contender that offered seven years. He spoke with two executives who had Lee in their organization once, and both feel he would.
  • Sherman also checked around and ruled out the Cubs as a seven-year team. He says there was some buzz about the Brewers, but that the finances are beyond their means.  ESPN's Buster Olney rules out the Orioles.
  • MLB.com's Bill Ladson has a source who says the Nationals aren't out of the Lee sweepstakes "by any means," despite GM Mike Rizzo's comments. Ladson's source feels Jayson Werth's seven-year deal actually increased Washington's chances for Lee.

Carl Pavano Rumors: Wednesday

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Carl Pavano met with four teams yesterday; here's the latest…

  • The Brewers are discussing a three-year deal with Pavano, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com.
  • Top Brewers executives dined with Pavano and his agent on Tuesday, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The Twins and a mystery team are also involved.
  • Brewers owner Mark Attanasio would increase payroll to accomodate the right pitcher, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
  • Pavano's agent told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that his meetings with the Brewers were "very productive" (Twitter link).
  • Milwaukee is serious about Pavano, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, who says the Twins are still frontrunners (Twitter link). Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Brewers do intend to add another starter, but aren't optimistic about trading for Zack Greinke or Matt Garza (Twitter links).
  • The Brewers were one of the teams that met with Pavano yesterday, GM Doug Melvin told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
  • Pavano's camp is telling people not to expect a deal before the end of the Winter Meetings, tweets Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse.
  • The Twins are making a serious push to get something done with Pavano, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  Crasnick's colleague Buster Olney tweets that the Twins "continue to have a very good shot" to re-sign the righty.  Pavano was impressed by the presence of Bill Smith, Rob Antony, and Terry Ryan at yesterday's meeting, tweets La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
  • The Nationals are still in the mix for Pavano, his agent Tom O'Connell tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.

Cubs Interested In Matt Garza

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9:54pm: The Cubs and Rays met again to talk about a potential trade that would send Garza to Chicago for prospects, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. The Brewers and Rangers have also met with the Rays about Garza, but the Cubs have the strongest current bid, according to Levine. However, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel hears that talks between the Rays and Brewers did not progress (Twitter link).

5:17pm: The Rays have been uninspired by the offers for Garza and may hold on to the right-hander until next summer, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter).

10:40am: The Cubs are one of four teams in the mix for Rays righty Matt Garza, reports ESPN's Bruce Levine.  The Rays are interested in receiving prospects in return.

Garza, 27, would be the best available pitcher aside from Cliff Lee and Zack Greinke.  He posted a 3.91 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, and 35.8% groundball rate in 204 2/3 innings this year.  Garza could earn $6MM+ in arbitration for 2011 and is under team control through '13.  As a Super Two, he'll go to arbitration four times.  Garza probably has a touch more trade value than Shaun Marcum did despite the higher salary, given the extra year of control.  We learned yesterday that Garza may also interest the Rangers and Brewers.

Levine also feels that the Cubs could still be a match for Chris Davis after the Carlos Pena signing, with the Rangers eyeing minor league catcher Robinson Chirinos.

Scott Boras Holds Court

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Agent Scott Boras is holding court at the Winter Meetings; here's the latest.

Braves, Brewers Still Talking Trade

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The Braves and Brewers continue to discuss trades that would send an outfielder to Atlanta for a young pitcher, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman.  However, the Brewers are more inclined to move Carlos Gomez than Lorenzo Cain.  The Brewers requested Mike Minor for Cain, and the Braves balked at trading him or their other top young arms.

Overnight Links: Lee, Brewers, Tigers, Varitek, Parra

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Here's some late night odds and ends for the night owls who are still up and running, or early birds who are just rising:

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