Ryan Braun Signs Extension With Brewers
10:50am: More details from Haudricourt. The deal includes a $2.3MM signing bonus that will be paid this year and added to the $455K Braun was already set to make. In addition, there is an escalator clause that would up the value of the deal to $51MM if Braun’s service time were to fall under "Super-2" status following the ’09 season. That is not likely to happen as Braun acumulated only 129 days of service time in ’07 and "Super-2" status usually requires 130-140 days. Also, the first 4 years of the deal include a complete no-trade clause.
10:06am: Haudricourt is now reporting that contract is 8 years in length and will include the ’08 season and will be worth $45MM. This seems to confirm that the Brewers are buying out Braun’s first two years of free agency.
9:08am: Continuing the trend of signing young stars to long-term deals long before arbitration-eligibility, Tom Haudricourt is reporting that the Brewers have inked Ryan Braun to a 7-year deal.
The amount of money is not known yet, but it is expected that the contract will be worth more than the $42MM deal signed by Jeff Suppan prior to the ’07 season. That deal is currently the largest ever given by the Brewers.
Braun, 24 and last year’s NL Rookie of the Year, was promoted last season in a manner that would have kept him just under Super-2 eligibility and he likely would not have been arbitration eligible until after the ’10 season and a free agent until the fall of 2013.
If we assume the 7-year deal begins this season and that one or two years are team options that are eventually picked up, the Brewers have only bought out one year of free agency. Although Haudricourt believes the deal is an extension tacked on to this year’s 1-year deal. That would mean the Brewers bought out two years of free agency.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Turnbow Heads To Nashville
Derrick Turnbow has accepted his assignment to Triple A Nashville, rather than forfeit his remaining salary. Four teams (the Mets not among them) had interest in trading for Turnbow. Brewers GM Doug Melvin was frank with MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy about the situation – teams wanted him to eat much of the $2.5MM Turnbow is owed, but weren’t offering decent prospects.
Turnbow passed through waivers because no team wanted to take on his salary while keeping him in the bigs.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Wells, Griffey, Olney, Tavarez, Edmonds
A lot of links today, so let’s get to what is being said about some trade and signing possibilities in the Blogosphere…
- The Darth Boss George Brigade wants Hank Steinbrenner to sign David Wells to prove that Hank is indeed his father’s son.
- River Ave. Blues says the Yankees are too smart to sign Wells and then goes on to list about 87 pitchers that should be given a shot in the Highlanders’ rotation before Wells.
- Redlegs Rant feels that Ken Griffey Jr. is behind the recent stories that speculate on him being traded.
- Mariners Central speculates on some of the names that it might take to land Ken Griffey Jr., noting that the M’s are not likely to part with either of their top two prospects, Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement.
- The Tribe Time Report sees plenty of holes in Buster Olney’s recent theory that Garret Atkins would be a good fit for the Indians.
- Brewers Nation agrees with Olney that the Brewers should trade Ben Sheets.
- Sox & Pinstripes doesn’t want to just give away Julian Tavarez but they also note that the bullpen needs help and Tavarez isn’t the answer.
- Batter’s Box says Brad Wilkerson should fit in well with the rest of the Jays lineup, which also lacks the ability to hit for average or power.
- One writer at Fanhouse doesn’t understand why Kevin Towers is so disappointed in the play of Jim Edmonds. They feel it was pretty obvious that the Pads were getting a player well past his prime.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Pirates Acquire Jason Michaels, Brewers Mull Turnbow
After being designated for assignment back on May 5, Jason Michaels has been traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for, what else, a player to be named later. As Tim noted on Monday, Michaels has been pretty terrible so far this year. Not that he was so hot during his tenure in Cleveland. He wasn’t able to get his OBP above .330 or his SLG above .400. Not so hot for a corner outfielder.
The Pirates options OF Nyjer Morgan to Triple A to make room for Michaels. The Bucs now have two open spots on the 40-man roster. Feel free to speculate.
In other recently-designated news, it is believed that the Brewers have placed reliever Derrick Turnbow on waivers. The former closer was DFA a week ago, so something needs to be done soon. Tom Haudricourt believes he could clear waivers by Friday.
If he clears, he could accept an assignment to Triple A with the Brewers. Otherwise he’d become a free agent and forfeit the remainder of this $3.2MM salary.
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.
Buster Olney Drops Uncommon Trade Thoughts
Buster Olney talks trade in his latest insider-only piece. Let’s have a look at the guys he names.
- Ryan Howard. This is a tough one. Philly is in second place right now, and they should be in contention throughout the year. Howard has started poorly, but you can figure a rebound. While the Phillies might not be eager to pay Howard $25 to $30MM over the next two years, some other team might. I figure they could get a decent haul from, say, the Angels. Still, it’s hard to justify trading away your best power hitter (at least in name) while you’re vying for a playoff berth. The odds are long, very long for this one.
- Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon. No way, no how. Then again, Phillies fans are probably saying the same about Howard. The Yanks stagnant offense figures to improve once A-Rod returns next week and Jorge Posada gets back behind the dish next month. But Matsui leads the team in average, OBP, and slugging, while Damon is second in OBP. Unless the Yanks fall out of contention, there’s no way they’re trading these guys. Even so, they’re a pair of 34-year-old outfielders making $13 million a season, with 2009 guaranteed. There’s no way a team will offer anything close to equal value.
- Ben Sheets. If the Brewers are going to contend this year, they’re going to need Sheets in the rotation. However, they’re 16-17 right now, and likely won’t see Yovani Gallardo for the rest of the season. The Brewers likely won’t keep Sheets after this year, anyway, so if they’re still in the middle of the pack, they can use the oft-injured ace to reload on players that can help them next year. Their lineup is still very young, with only two regulars over the age of 28. An influx of pitching could set them up well for next year.
Joe Pawlikowski writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Reds, Marlins, Turnbow
Ken Rosenthal has a new column; let’s take a look.
- Aside from Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr., Rosenthal suggests Walt Jocketty could look to trade veterans Paul Bako, Scott Hatteberg, David Weathers, Jeremy Affeldt, and Kent Mercker.
- Most of the Marlins’ best players will reach arbitration for the first time after this season, which could prompt a trade or two.
- Rosenthal expects collusion investigations to go nowhere.
- The Brewers don’t plan on paying any of the $2.5MM remaining on Derrick Turnbow‘s contract in order to trade him. They might end up losing him and paying it anyway, however.
Pie-Greene Rumor Denied
MAY 7th: Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald discussed the Pie-Greene rumor with Cubs officials, and it was "emphatically shot down."
APRIL 30th: Yesterday Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote of Kevin Towers’ pursuit of a long-term center field option. Jim Edmonds remains a question mark, and his contract is up after ’08 anyway.
Krasovic says the Cubs "have kept tabs" on shortstop Khalil Greene, while the Padres are still eyeing Felix Pie. The Cubs’ win-now approach could lead to that move, as Reed Johnson is doing fine in center field so far. Greene is signed through the ’09 season. Trading Greene would leave a gaping hole at the position for the Padres though. Another point is that the Cubs have gotten fine production at shortstop so far this year.
Krasovic notes past center field considerations for the Padres such as Jeremy Reed and Tony Gwynn Jr. Reed doesn’t seem to have a future in Seattle. As for Coco Crisp, Towers balked at Theo Epstein’s asking price of Chase Headley.
Mets Discussing Turnbow
TUESDAY: David Lennon adds that the Mets would only be willing to offer Turnbow a minor league deal. Meanwhile, Gordon Edes hasn’t heard anything about the Red Sox pursuing him.
MONDAY: According to John Delcos of The Journal News, the Mets are "discussing whether to sign Derrick Turnbow" (hat tip to MetsBlog). Turnbow seems like a reasonable gamble for the Mets. Most teams could stand to add relief depth.
Turnbow was designated on Friday; Ken Rosenthal recently suggested that four teams are interested. The Brewers would have to do something about his $3.2MM salary if they are to strike a deal.
The Brewers are having their own bullpen problems despite a pricey offseason makeover. Eric Gagne and David Riske, making a combined $14MM this year, have disappointed so far.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Hudson, Turnbow, Laird, Kershaw
Rumorland Ambassador Ken Rosenthal has posted yet another Full Count video. Let’s get sifting:
- Rosenthal thinks Orlando Hudson could be shown the money this offseason if he opts to explore free agency. Hudson most likely won’t be offered market value by the Dbacks. Rosenthal posits the Orioles, Cards, Dodgers, and Mariners as potential buyers.
- 4 unnamed teams are interested in Derrick Turnbow, who is making $3.2MM this year. According to KR, the Brewers would need to throw money in a deal or get a comparable salary in return – as the saying goes, you trade contracts, not players. Turnbow needs a fresh start and middle relief is always in demand; however, a lot of teams have better internal options and could see Turnbow as a project for better or worse.
- Gerald Laird update: Reds, Yankees, and Brewers all passed. But Rosenthal still expects Laird to end up somewhere and notes that whoever gets him has him through 2010.
- The Dodgers are planning on "integrating" Clayton Kershaw soon to throw a limit of 150 IP; however this doesn’t (yet) make Esteban Loaiza expendable as they would alternate the two in the rotation, Kershaw starting twice, and then Loaiza twice, and so on. I say "(yet)" because Rosenthal doesn’t mention that the rotation will get crowded if/when Jason Schmidt returns in early June. I would expect they’ll explore options, but be content using Loaiza out of the bullpen. By the way, Kershaw has a 1.40 ERA with 31 K in 25.2 IP for Double-A Jacksonville.
By Nat Boyle
Odds And Ends: Hamilton, Lowry, Brewers, Tejada
I’m not so happy about kicking off the day with an odds and ends post, but what can I say? I can’t go around making up rumors.
- Evan Grant talks about how well the Josh Hamilton acquisition has worked out. I say acquisition, because the trade worked out smashingly for the Reds, too.
- Looks like there won’t be a six-man rotation in San Fran anytime soon. Noah Lowry isn’t throwing anymore, as the pins and needles in his arm have returned. He could miss the entire first half of the season. So much for being a trade candidate.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin has said that the team will look for pitching, but not to expect anything. It’s a seller’s market right now. In the meantime, David Bush takes a spot in the rotation, and Jeff Weaver remains an option.
- Miguel Tejada promised a sick kid he’d hit a homer, and came through. I could never make such a promise. How could you live with yourself if you failed?
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog (though you already knew that, right?). Today is slooooow. Hit me with rumors.