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Offseason In Review: Milwaukee Brewers

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The Brewers are next in our Offseason In Review series.

Major League Signings

  • Randy Wolf, SP: three years, $29.75MM.  Includes $10MM club option for 2013 with a $1.5MM buyout.
  • Trevor Hoffman, RP: one year, $8MM.  Includes $7MM+ mutual option for 2011 with a $500K buyout.
  • LaTroy Hawkins, RP: two years, $7.5MM. 
  • Doug Davis, SP: one year, $5.25MM.  Includes $6.5MM mutual option for 2011 with a $1MM buyout.
  • Gregg Zaun, C: one year, $2.15MM.  Includes $2.25MM club option for 2011 with a $250K buyout.
  • Craig Counsell, IF: one year, $2.1MM.
  • Claudio Vargas, RP: one year, $900K.
  • Total spend: $55.65MM.

Notable Minor League Signings

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

Summary

Brewers GM Doug Melvin was active in free agency this offseason, adding seven players for over $55MM.  The focus was understandably on pitching, as the Brewers finished 15th in the NL with a 4.83 ERA in 2009.  $35MM was committed to the rotation for lefties Wolf and Davis, with a hefty $15.5MM going to the back end of the bullpen.

The Brewers' finances were limited in part by a pair of free agent pitching mistakes Melvin made previously, Jeff Suppan and David Riske.  Melvin was again aggressive in giving an extra year each to Wolf and Hawkins.  The latest additions at least come with better peripheral stats.  Bullpen-wise, the 37-year-old Hawkins and 42-year-old Hoffman received top of the market money.  Risky expenditures, but at least the Brewers weren't alone in making sizeable free agent reliever commitments.

The problem with the rotation upgrades is that the Brewers' rotation is still ugly after Yovani Gallardo and Wolf.  Playing around with CHONE's innings projections for the team's expected six starters (and limiting Suppan's impact) gives me a projected rotation ERA of 4.46.  That would've ranked ninth in the NL last year.

Given his desire to spend his available funds on pitching, Melvin swapped Hardy for Gomez and allowed Cameron to leave.  The Brewers had the best available shortstop in Hardy, but four years of Gomez is a solid return.  Even in 2010, Gomez might be Cameron's equal.

Can the 2010 Brewers bash their way to a division title?  They've got monsters in Braun and Fielder, but the keys might be a healthy season from Weeks and minimal regression from McGehee.

Indians Acquire Aguilar, Brewers Keep Lofgren

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The Indians acquired pitcher Omar Aguilar from the Brewers, allowing Milwaukee to retain Rule 5 lefty Chuck Lofgren and send him to Triple A, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  Lofgren cleared waivers.

Aguilar, 25 later this month, posted a 4.72 ERA, 11.4 K/9, and 4.4 BB/9 in 55.3 relief innings split between High A and Double A in 2009 (he was demoted in June).  He failed to crack Baseball America's top 30 Brewers prospects list this year, but ranked #21 heading into '09.  A Tommy John survivor, Aguilar is a power arm with a mid-90s fastball and a setup man projection.  Nice pickup by the Indians.

Lofgren, 24, last appeared in a Baseball America handbook when he ranked second among Indians prospects heading into '08.  The lefty projected as a #3 starter at the time.  Last year he posted a 4.15 ERA, 5.9 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9 in 141 innings split between Double A and Triple A.  He was left unprotected in the '08 Rule 5 and went unclaimed, but the Brewers snagged him in the '09 draft.

With Bobby Cassevah sent back to the Angels yesterday and Armando Zerpa returned to the Red Sox, 14 of the 17 Rule 5 picks from the Major League phase still face unresolved situations.

Execs Name Best, Worst Moves Of The Offseason

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Recently MLBTR spoke to several MLB executives to gather their nominations for the best and worst moves of the offseason.

Free agent signings that received mention for the best moves: Felipe Lopez, Adrian Beltre, Adam LaRoche, Chone Figgins, Hideki Matsui, and Aroldis Chapman.  Said one exec on Chapman: "He might truly live up to the hype."  It's hard not to praise the Cards for getting Lopez on a one-year, $1MM deal.

Three trades came up as choices for the best moves of the offseason: the Mariners' acquisition of Cliff Lee, the Royals' trade of Mark Teahen, and the Rangers' trade of Kevin Millwood.  One exec noted that the Mariners "didn't trade anyone that can hurt them in the next couple of years" for Lee, while another believed that "trading Lee and Kyle Drabek in the Roy Halladay deal will hurt [the Phillies] in the long run."  The Royals received props for "getting some value for Teahen," while the Rangers' increased payroll flexibility from the Millwood deal was noted.

Nominated for the worst moves: free agent deals for Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Brandon Lyon, Jason Kendall, Aubrey Huff, Jason Marquis, Randy Wolf, and Garrett Atkins.  All the execs polled mentioned Holliday's seven year, $120MM deal when choosing their worst deals of the winter.  Said one: "The fear that he would sign a one-year deal elsewhere and take his chances a year from now — that just doesn't make sense to me."

Aside from Kendall and Huff, there was a vibe of "like the player, hate the contract" with the panned free agent signings.  One exec felt the Royals downgraded behind the plate with Kendall.  Huff was nominated as a small-scale misstep, in that the exec felt that "Hank Blalock is better and he couldn't get half that salary on a non-roster deal."

Odds & Ends: Ortiz, Brewers, Salcedo, Miller

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Links for Saturday…

Rangers Claim Hernan Iribarren Off Waivers

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12:13pm: The Rangers have claimed Iribarren, tweets Haudricourt. Texas was on the lookout for a utility player after voiding Khalil Greene's contract. 

12:03pm: The Brewers have placed infielder Hernan Iribarren on waivers according to Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel, and they expire today. Iribarren is out of options, and needs to clear waivers to go to the minors.

The 25-year-old is a .185/.241/.296 hitter in 29 big league plate appearances, though he's a .314/.371/.418 hitter in the minor leagues. Iribarren has spent the majority of his time at second base, though he's also seen a little time at third and in the outfield. 

Pirates Notes: Vazquez, Tabata, Alvarez

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Let's check out some Pirates-related tidbits courtesy of MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch..

  • With Ramon Vazquez on the trading block, Langosch stresses that any talk of him being Texas-bound is merely conjecture at this point.  Furthermore, if they do move him, they are unlikely to get much back and may have to eat some of his $2MM salary.  However, Pittsburgh might be willing to move the 33-year-old for next to nothing.
  • One reader asks if the Pirates are considering locking up their young prospects, like Milwaukee did with Ryan Braun or like Tampa Bay did with Evan Longoria.  Langosch says that the Pirates will wait until players like Jose Tabata, Brad Lincoln, and Pedro Alvarez establish themselves in the majors to open up discussions.
  • Speaking of Alvarez, Langosch expects the Pirates to hold off on bringing him up to the big leagues.  Pittsburgh delayed Andrew McCutchen's promotion last season in order to give him more seasoning in the minors and, in all likelihood, to extend his time under team control.

Odds & Ends: Fielder, Wood, Stairs, Duncan

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A wrap-up of items from Wednesday…

  • We've heard that the Brewers have begun to explore the possibility of extending Prince Fielder's contract, but ESPN's Keith Law thinks "it makes no sense for the Brewers to keep Fielder" given that the team doesn't look like a contender this season or next.  Law also describes Fielder as, "the type of player who doesn't age well."
  • Kerry Wood isn't bothered by trade rumors linking him to Minnesota to fill the Joe Nathan void, reports Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.  Castrovince adds that it's "hard to imagine" the Twins acquiring Wood given the veteran closer's $10.5MM salary in 2010 (plus an $11MM option for 2011 that vests if Wood finishes 55 games this year).
  • Speaking of Wood, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer argues that the Tribe shouldn't deal Wood to a division rival until the Indians know what kind of a team they have this season.  If they contend, then they could keep Wood for a pennant race.  If they don't contend, Wood will still have trade value at midseason.
  • Tyler Kepner of the New York Times talks to Matt Stairs, who is enjoying his role in the Padres camp as "the grandfather of the team."  Stairs said he won't go to the minors if he doesn't make San Diego's opening day roster, and he might just return to his job as a hitting coach for the University of Maine's baseball team.
  • MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports that Chris Duncan doesn't blame the Cardinals for dealing him to Boston last summer.
  • Anthony Ranaudo, thought by some to be the top pitcher available in June's Amateur Draft, may fall down the draft board after battling elbow problems, reports ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told MLB.com's Bill Ladson that despite Stephen Strasburg's strong outing on Tuesday, "it's not going to change my plans" about how Strasburg will be brought along.  Strasburg may well start the season in the minors, but ESPN's Buster Olney thinks it could be a brief stay: "You get the feeling that his time in the minors may be as short as it was for Tim Lincecum."  Lincecum, for the record, has made only 13 lifetime appearances in the minors and made just four minor league starts in 2007 before being called up to San Francisco.

Odds & Ends: Fielder, Young, Pierzynski Dice-K

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Links for Tuesday…

Bowden Talks To Epstein, Zduriencik, Reagins, Wren

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Jim Bowden's weekly GM's Corner video pieces for FOX Sports make for good viewing.  This week he talked to Theo Epstein, Jack Zduriencik, Tony Reagins, and Frank Wren.  A few hot stove highlights:

  • Epstein admitted that new third baseman Adrian Beltre would "have to have a big year" to achieve Type A status after the season, but finds at least Type B likely.  Epstein noted that there's the possibility of signing Beltre long-term if he proves to be a good fit.
  • Zduriencik told Bowden he was aggressive in pursuing Chone Figgins, and got the deal done within 48 hours.  Also, Zduriencik mentioned that the Brewers were one pick away from taking Casey Kotchman in the first round in 2001; they instead took Mike Jones at #12 overall.  I wonder if the Brewers still would've drafted Prince Fielder in '02 if they had Kotchman.
  • Reagins is "not really concerned" about having a limited number of lefties in the bullpen, after the Halos lost Darren Oliver to the Rangers this offseason.
  • Wren believes the Braves have "improved quite a bit" offensively, and talked up Nate McLouth, Martin Prado, Jason Heyward, Melky Cabrera, and Troy Glaus.
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