A Contender Brewin?
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by Mike Ketchen
From www.thebaseballfix.blogspot.com
A contender Brewing?
When I woke up this morning and saw that the Milwaukee Brewers were about to sign Eric Gagne to a 10 million guaranteed one year deal, I figured I was still sleeping and having a nightmare of Gm’s going crazy again (yr 2000 redux). I then thought more about it, and came to the realization of the genius Doug Melvin has been displaying this off season. You see, every off season GM’s are usually graded on the upgrades they make to a team. Most of the time though, the dollars they don’t spend foolishly are more important. First off they didn’t bring back Francisco Cordero on his terms. Despite the pressure from fan base. Rather they will receive the two first round picks, which in this writer’s opinion will probably be more valuable down the road. The logic behind skipping this signing is pretty simple. As good as Cordero was last year, and probably will be next year, it is doubtful he will still be pitching well in years 3 and 4 of the deal he signed with the Reds. The other reliever Melvin let walk was Scott Linebrink, who despite having a climbing opponents OPS three consecutive years, managed to land a four year 20 million dollar deal (god bless Kenny Williams lol).
What Melvin has done is spend incredibly wisely this off season in terms of Risk vs. Reward. He signed David Riske to a three year deal worth 13 million, with a fourth yr option for 4.75 mil. And while Riske is not exactly a shut down reliever, his last seasons compare very well with both Linebrink and Cordero. Also keep in mind he has spent all 3 years in the AL. He has also traded for Salomon Torres of the Pittsburgh Pirates who was hurt last season, but has managed an avg season 2.83 era and a 1.275 whip over the last three years. Not to mention that if Melvin had traded for a quick short term fix (Joe Nathan, Huston Street) he would have had to give up a boat load of prospects. Something this trade did not cost him. Lastly there is the Gagne signing. Sure, 10 million is a lot for a guy who seemed to crumble in the spotlight of Boston and who has also been injury prone. However it is only a one year deal and given the inflated price of today’s market (see Cordero deal with reds) and Gagne’s successes, it is fair. Also keep in mind if Gagne succeeds and walks at the end of the season, he will be considered a type A free agent and Melvin will receive two more compensation picks for him.
Overall I think Doug Melvin is having a great off season. He has improved his bullpen without giving up much, which is truly impressive considering every team is looking for relief help and the market this year is very thin. He has also avoided get locked into any back loaded bad deals. And perhaps most importantly he has not given up any top prospects.
With that wrapped up here are some other Sunday quick hits around Baseball:
- Word is Mark Prior is expected to turn down a proposed deal with Chicago Cubs. Will be interesting to see 1) where he lands and 2) what he nets in return for a trade.
- Keith Law of scouts Inc. on ESPN thinks Jose Guillen will make a solid impact for the Royal. Read more here http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=law_keith
Word is the Indians may go hard for Danny Haren if he becomes available. If this move happens, I think they would leap frog back over Detroit and maybe even the Red Sox
