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Fielder Not Happy With Renewal

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3:28pm: Fielder gets $670K, to be exact.  Doug Melvin was surprised at Prince’s public displeasure.

1:46pm: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Prince Fielder is not pleased with his contract renewal, executed this morning.

Rumored to be in the $650,000 range, Fielder’s agent, Scott Boras, indicated his client’s displeasure. Ryan Howard’s $900,000 contract for 2007 was cited as the figure the first baseman hoped to fetch for the season.  Fielder made $415,000 last season.

According to Haudricourt, the Brewers used a formula they go by for players with zero to three years experience, a formula which they also used to renew the 2008 contracts for Ryan Braun and Corey Hart.  While the amount of Hart’s renewal is unknown, Braun’s contract was renewed at $455,000. Haudricourt goes on to conjecture that this morning’s renewal has hurt the Brewers’ chance of negotiating a multi-year deal with Fielder before he is arbitration-eligible next winter.

Haudricourt has predicted that Fielder will pull roughly $10MM if his case goes to arbitration, in light of Howard’s recent arbitration victory.

Upsetting the youngest player to reach 50 HRs seems like an unwise decision on the Brewers’ part.  It would be nice to lock up a player of Fielder’s talent long-term, but it seems the Brewers have made that prospect less likely.

Posted by Matt Birt

Ben Sheets’ Last Year in Milwaukee?

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We’re well-overdue for a Ben Sheets rumor. I like Michael Hunt’s point on what could be the inevitable departure of Sheets: 

"Chances are this is Big Ben’s last season with the Brewers, unless another medical anomaly throws a fat one over the heart of the team’s checkbook. But that’s the catch: The Brewers need him to be so good and healthy that he’ll be out of their economic grasp. Such is their balancing act… Absent the miraculous – the union agreeing to a salary drag – the Brewers can’t keep everyone. Maybe there’s your Sheets decision."

If Hunt is right and Sheets has to leave, with Yovani Gallardo in the wings and a youthful studly lineup locked up the Brewers should be just fine.  Sheets is due $11MM this year, the final year of his contract, with a limited no-trade clause (can be dealt to only 8 teams).  There’s a long list of starting pitching in the 2009 MLB free agent pool and if Sheets can remain healthy then he could even be up for a pay raise.   

By Nat Boyle

Managers On The Hot Seat

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It is a slow news day, so we are going to venture a bit off the beaten path…As spring training is now in full swing, a number of managers may have their jobs on the line during the ’08 season. Three managers are in the final year of their deals and another 12 managers have two years left on their contracts. This second group will be due either an extension or a pink slip next winter as few teams are willing to play out a season with a lame-duck manager. Therefore, any manager with two years remaining on their contracts (including options) will likely have their fate determined prior to the ’09 season.

Ignoring managers that may be on the hot seat for other reasons (i.e. Willie Randolph), here is a list of managers that could potentially have their jobs on the line in ’08 based on their current contract situations. (Numbers in parentheses represent the number of years remaining on current contract)

  • Cecil Cooper, HOU (2)
  • Bob Geren, OAK (1+1 team option)
  • John Gibbons, TOR (1)
  • Bobby Cox, ATL (1)
  • Ned Yost, MIL (1+1 team option)
  • Tony LaRussa (2)
  • Bruce Bochy (2)
  • John McLaren, SEA (1)
  • Fredi Gonzalez, FLA (2)
  • Dave Trembley, BAL (1+1 team option)
  • Bud Black, SD (1+1 team option)
  • Joe Maddon, TB (2)
  • Clint Hurdle, COL (2)
  • Jim Leyland, DET (2)
  • Ron Gardenhire, MIN (2)

Taking a closer look at the list…Of the managers in the final year of their deal, Cox will be back if he chooses. LaRussa and Leyland may very well enter ’09 without new deals considering their ages. Yost, Gardenhire, Hurdle and Black look like locks for extensions prior to ’09. However, the remaining eight names on the list (Cooper, Geren, Bochy, Gonzalez, Trembley, Maddon, Gibbons, McLaren) may very well be managing for their jobs in ’08.

By Cork Gaines

Hairston Key To Pads’ OF Dealings

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The Padres still may need more outfield help. Centerfielder Jim Edmonds and rightfielder Brian Giles both are well into the brittle phases of their careers.

Sean Devaney of the Sporting News has Kevin Towers casting his left field lot with Scott Hairston – for the time being. Look for more chatter about Jason Bay, Matt Murton and any other available outfielder if Hairston fails to lock the job down within three weeks.  It’s unclear whether Gabe Gross (who is out of options) is currently of interest.  Kenny Lofton could be a free agent possibility.

Would Towers be willing to part with relievers Wilfredo Ledezma (LH) or Clay Hensley (RH) alone or part of a package to fill an outfield hole?

Hairston put in a nice month’s-worth of games with the Pads last year, slugging .644. That spurt was uncharacteristic of the 27-year-old’s major league career, though.

By Big Mike Glab

Rosenthal’s Latest: Lohse, Furcal, Lofton

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FOX’s Ken Rosenthal checks in with the latest buzz from Spring Training.

  • The Mets, Cardinals, and Orioles are listed as possibilities for Kyle Lohse.  However, the Mets may deem him unnecessary, reports are conflicting on the Cards’ interest, and the Orioles are wary of the price.
  • Rosenthal says Rafael Furcal’s agent met with Ned Colletti a few days ago, but the Dodgers would likely want to see Furcal return to form before entertaining an extension.  Click here to see the other shortstops eligible for free agency after the ’08 season.  The Dodgers may have a viable replacement for Furcal in defensive whiz Chin-Lung Hu.
  • Rosenthal notes that the Yankees, in search of a right-handed outfielder, considered Shannon Stewart and Mike Cameron this winter.
  • Kenny Lofton’s chances of a getting the big league deal he wants with the Reds or Twins look slim. 
  • The rumor going around for Corey Patterson is the Marlins, if the price is right.
  • Rosenthal confirms two additions for our 2008 Out Of Options list – Gabe Gross and Clint Barmes.
  • Rosenthal says the Mets need a right-handed hitter who can play left field and first base.  Here are some names I came up with: Ryan Ludwick, Xavier Nady, Matt Murton, Franklin Gutierrez, and Kevin Millar.  Granted, not all those guys know their way around first base.

Odds and Ends: Spiezio, Pavano, Gross, Jackson

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Links, rumors…

Brewers Talk Extension With Braun

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According to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy,  Ryan Braun’s agent had preliminary contract extension talks with Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash recently.  Troy Tulowitzki’s recent deal may serve as a framework.

Tulo received $31MM over six years with a seventh year option.  For their cases to be comparable in terms of service time, Braun will have to qualify as a Super Two player.  I spoke to ESPN’s Keith Law on the topic.  He said:

Right now, given his service time and where the cutoff for super-twos has been for the last ~ten years, I don’t believe he’ll have enough service time after 2009 to qualify as a super-two. That has to be a $5 million savings for Milwaukee, easily, if Braun does anything like what he did last year.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Gross, Weaver, Encarnacion

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Ken Rosenthal is on the scene with some new rumors.

  • Astros president Tal Smith arguing other teams’ arbitration cases.   Rosenthal finds it a bit awkward, while Keith Law finds it to be a hilarious conflict of interest.
  • Possible trades of Matt Murton to the Padres or Rangers seem to have fizzled.  The Padres may turn to the Brewers’ Gabe Gross, a player who previously caught the eye of the A’s, Indians, and Braves.  Our good friend PECOTA sees a .267/.366/.467 line from Gross this year.  With Gross and various veteran starters, the Brewers have some surpluses to work with.
  • Rosenthal believes the Cardinals’ interest in Jeff Weaver to be not especially serious.  They’ve got in-house candidates to start, and Matt Clement needing some time is not a revelation.
  • We’ve read about extension possibilities for Matt Capps and Alex Rios.  To that mix, Rosenthal adds Edwin Encarnacion.  The Reds might want to do it now; he seems primed for a big year.

Brewers Talk Extension With Braun

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According to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy,  Ryan Braun’s agent had preliminary contract extension talks with Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash recently.  Troy Tulowitzki’s recent deal may serve as a framework.

Tulo received $31MM over six years with a seventh year option.  For their cases to be comparable in terms of service time, Braun will have to qualify as a Super Two player.  I spoke to ESPN’s Keith Law on the topic.  He said:

Right now, given his service time and where the cutoff for super-twos has been for the last ~ten years, I don’t believe he’ll have enough service time after 2009 to qualify as a super-two. That has to be a $5 million savings for Milwaukee, easily, if Braun does anything like what he did last year.

Ryan Howard Fallout

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Ryan Howard winning a $10MM salary yesterday was kind of a big deal.  Let’s examine this first-year arbitration record.

  • A source of Jayson Stark’s thinks the Phillies would’ve won had they submitted above Miguel Cabrera’s $7.4MM.  Seems that even slightly above would’ve done it, because then Howard losing would’ve still set a record.
  • Tom Haudricourt talks about how Prince Fielder is now in line for the same $10MM for his ’09 salary.  And he doesn’t see Scott Boras relenting and doing a multiyear deal.  Stark adds Ryan Braun, Ryan Zimmerman, and Hanley Ramirez as other young stars who will be affected.  Zimmerman, arbitration-eligible after ’08, will be renewed for ’07.
  • It doesn’t sound like the Phillies will sign Howard long-term, in part because there is no precedent.  There is talk of $200MM, something no one expects of the Phils.  On the plus side, Howard is theirs for the 2008-11 seasons.  They may have to keep giving him record-breaking salaries though.  A trade is a strong option before he hits free agency, but that’s a ways off.
  • Jim Salisbury thinks Howard’s win might result in another monster year.  He expects the Phils to eventually at least talk about a multiyear deal with Howard (maybe once the sting wears off).
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