According to Tom Haudricourt, the Brewers avoided arbitration with starter Dave Bush, signing him for 2009. Troy Renck says it’s for $4MM, with a clause that Bush’s contract will be guaranteed if any other Brewers’ arb-eligible player gets a guaranteed deal.
Dave Bush
Odds and Ends: Bonds, Zito, Bush
Today’s link compilation.
- Dusty Baker spoke to Barry Bonds on the phone a few weeks ago, and came away feeling that Bonds does not miss baseball.
- A mere ten million bucks, a team can eat that. But, as Andrew Baggarly says, "They don’t make mouths big enough to eat the roughly $112.5 million that Barry Zito is guaranteed." Zito could be exiled to the bullpen.
- Dave Bush went unclaimed by the other 29 teams because with option waivers, the team can pull the player back if claimed.
- Jim Callis tosses out some options for the Astros with the 10th pick, noting that the team is likely to adhere to slotting guidelines.
- Peter Abraham runs through the available catcher options for the Yankees now that Jorge Posada is DL-bound.
Dave Bush Could Be Available
Tom Haudricourt outlines the Brewers’ roster crunch – something has to give this weekend to make room for Yovani Gallardo. The best solution may be to risk losing Seth McClung on waivers while moving Dave Bush to the bullpen. But trading Bush has to be considered.
Bush, 28, has been knocked around in two starts this year. He doesn’t even have his customary strong K/BB (last year his ratio was an impressive 3.0 despite a 5.12 ERA). If nothing else, Bush is an innings eater with strong command. He earns $2.55MM this year and is under team control through 2010. I previously mentioned the Braves and Tigers as teams in need of starting pitching. The Marlins could also use help.
Brewers Not Interested In Feliz
The Brewers have no interest in Pedro Feliz, according to Tom Haudricourt. Not a big surprise; why would they trade Bill Hall to sign Feliz? Hall seems likely to stay put, though it’d be surprising if Dave Bush, Claudio Vargas, and Chris Capuano all do.
Speaking of which, let’s bust out an MLBTR survey! Choose which of those three Brewer starters is most likely to be traded before the season begins. You can see the results of the poll here.
Mailbag: Roberts, Teixeira, Johan, Nathan, And More
Time for this week’s mailbag. You can hit it up at mlbtrmailbag@gmail.com to get in your question for next week.
Do you see the Twins signing a big name middle of the order bopper or trading for one before the opening of the new stadium in 2010? – Jordan
Funny you ask this. I recently asked LEN3 whether the Twins would have a $100MM payroll for the 2010 season, and he said, "I don’t see it." So I’ll go with his wisdom and say business as usual for the Twins despite the stadium.
Why are the White Sox not aggressively pursuing any pitching? Do they realistically think that Gavin Floyd and John Danks can hold down the #4 and #5 spots in the rotation on a contender? I believe we need to fill the holes with some veteran pitching such as Livan Hernandez who can eat up innings and possibly add Corey Patterson at center field. – Joel
I was just discussing this with a former coworker of mine. I can’t see the White Sox sneaking into a Wild Card berth with this rotation, but what’s the alternative? I don’t like the Livan idea. I would consider signing a couple of swingmen/injury risk types such as Brett Tomko or Bartolo Colon if he looks decent. Just a few low risk/OK reward guys with good stuff who could pay off. There’s no place for Patterson in the current Chicago outfield, I wouldn’t do that.
Were the Cubs holding off on the Brian Roberts trade until they got Lieber? – Bryant
The Cubs/Roberts thing still seems possible, and trading both Sean Marshall and Sean Gallagher is slightly easier to stomach with Lieber on board. If I were Jim Hendry I would let the whole Roberts idea go though.
What is the likelihood of the Braves signing Mark Teixeira long-term? – Matthew
I’ll put it at a 10% chance. This is a $100MM+ contract and he’s represented by Scott Boras. He’ll probably want to test the open market, and there could be some ridiculous bids.
When, just when will this Santana situation be over?! It’s just killing me! – Dan
We all feel your pain Dan. Most folks seem sick of reading similar rehashed rumors about this. I would be surprised if we don’t know Santana’s fate one month from now. Of course if his fate is to start the season with the Twins, then the rumors will restart in June.
Are there any trade rumors involving Joe Nathan? – Justin
C’mon Justin, you know I’d never hold out rumors on you. If Bill Smith is shopping Nathan around or getting inquiries, all parties are running very tight ships. Desperation for closers seems to kick in midseason, when certain bullpens are established as clearly crappy. So guys like Nathan and Huston Street may be more likely to be moved in June or July.
Why did the Josh Beckett/Mike Lowell for Hank Blalock/John Danks deal fall through back in November of ’05? – Oliver
The Rangers believed the deal was done, and hoped to avoid any leaks before it was official. However, a source tipped off the Palm Beach Post. The Post and a Texas newspaper ran with it. It was at that point the Boston front office found out, swooped in, and beat the Rangers’ offer. Those reporters altered history.
What do you see the Milwaukee Brewers doing with their pitching surplus? Do you see them maybe using some of their excess pitchers like Capuano and Bush to acquire a young catcher with some upside? – Tyler
We’ve seen it a million times – these winter pitching surpluses turn into deficits by May. There is certainly a case to be made for the Brewers to just stand pat, though all those arms would be tough to squeeze in given the bullpen acquisitions. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy expects some of the surplus to be traded before Spring Training. I like the catcher idea – Jeff Clement (Mariners), Bryan Anderson (Cardinals), or Taylor Teagarden/Gerald Laird (Rangers) seem like possible matches.
Do the Yankees sign Bobby Abreu after the 2008 season? – Andrew
Andrew notes that the Yanks have some money coming off the books after the ’08 season. The right field alternatives are weak, so Abreu could make sense. If he’d take a two or three-year extension midseason I could see Cashman doing it.
Did you ever sell your place in Lombard? – Steve
Thankfully I did. I tried selling by owner for a month and barely got any bites. Then I hired an agent and she sold it in three days.
Brewers Rumors: Rolen, Andruw, Mench
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy posted a Brewers article yesterday that’s worthy of discussion.
- One reliever Doug Melvin has considered that I hadn’t heard before: Eddie Guardado. Hey, at least he’d come cheap.
- Players like Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy, and Corey Hart won’t be moved. No surprise there.
- McCalvy says Melvin confirmed having internal discussions about Scott Rolen. Would John Mozeliak trade him within the division? More importantly, would the Brewers take on the money and injury risk? The obvious match would be to send a starter over to St. Louis for Rolen.
- Which starters are available? Though you can never have too much pitching, Dave Bush, Chris Capuano, or Claudio Vargas might be considered expendable. Their salaries will all be rising as they are arbitration-eligible. None will be non-tendered.
- Aside from Rolen, another unlikely possibility is Andruw Jones. Melvin did at least speak to Scott Boras about him. Moves for Rolen or Jones would of course involve moving Ryan Braun and/or Bill Hall to other positions, something Melvin prefers not to do.
- If Melvin can’t trade Kevin Mench at the Winter Meetings, he’ll probably be non-tendered.
- By the way, Tom Haudricourt echoes the Rolen and Jones rumors in his blog this afternoon.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Andruw, Rowand, Castillo
Ken Rosenthal has cranked out another rumor-filled column. A summary is below.
- The Marlins are insisting on Howie Kendrick in a Miguel Cabrera deal. The Angels are understandably reluctant.
- The Nationals could sign Andruw Jones long-term if they felt it was a bargain – say, $13MM a year. The Giants, White Sox, and Padres may be in the mix as well. Hmmm, White Sox and Boras? And if Scott Boras changes his tune and hunts for a one-year "rebuild value" contract for Jones, the Red Sox could get involved.
- The Phillies think Aaron Rowand will end up getting a 4/52 contract, though Rosenthal expects him to get the fifth guaranteed year. It’s previously been reported that Rowand is looking for a six-year, $84MM deal. Yikes.
- Aside from the Astros and Mets, the Indians, Padres, and Dodgers could get in on Luis Castillo. In the Tribe’s case, it would involve a scenario where Jhonny Peralta was dealt.
- Interesting note on Curt Schilling’s $2MM in weight incentives – the target weights are aggressively low, and the weigh-ins will be done randomly. So, no cheating the system. By the way, isn’t it ridiculous that one Cy vote gets him $1MM? Sportswriters have given out single votes on a whim for much dumber reasons.
- The Red Sox are apparently asking a lot for Coco Crisp, more than the Twins are ready to give up.
- The Indians and Brewers have an excess of starters. Names that could hit the market include Cliff Lee, Dave Bush, and Chris Capuano. The Nationals have their eye on Lee. He came up as an Expo through Double A.
- The Nationals might be able to get something good for outfielder Ryan Church. In general, Jim Bowden desires a young MLB-ready starter like Kevin Mulvey or Kevin Slowey.
