Claudio Vargas released

[endaround]

This was a cost cutting move. I guess the hope will be that Yo will back by the time they really need a 5th starter so they can cover a weather delay in Chicago without running McClung out there.

[brewers4eric]

I've got two things against Vargas. First, he was released by the Washington Nationals before he signed with the D-Backs and was traded to the Brewers. How good can you really be if you were released by the Nationals? Second, he once mocked Brewer fans that were doing the "O" chant during a Lyle Overbay hitting streak when he was with the D-backs. The image is still burned in my mind.

I think we'll forget about this move in April when Yovanni Gallardo makes his debut and Seth McClung is designated for assignment. There are likely to be plenty of similar pitchers on the waiver wire in the next week. Plus, we need McClung to remind us of the glory days of red haired fireballers like Ron Robinson.

[brewcrew00]

I think that WAS determined, by management, which is what matters as of now.

[Teatoe993]

Who is gonna pound that meat now?

[GormanHarvey]

I just meant we will have to see how Villy and Parra hold up over the course of a full season. Vargas had done that - they haven't been tested like that yet. I sincerely hope they do well and we won't have to regret releasing Vargas.

[joepepsi]

If the get to the point of needing a 7th starter I suspect ZachJack could do just as well (or poorly) as Claudio.

[TooLiveBrew]

Check around the league and see how many teams are paying $3 million for their 7th best starter.

Well that's kind of irrelevant since he's better than many #5s out there. In today's marketplace, $3 mil for a MLB SP is a good deal. Though I agree for the Brewers, not spending this money may be a wise move. The bigger joke of a contract, though, is Mota's.

[rluzinski]

Melvin keeps getting his spring training bluffs called and it keeps costing the team money. Melvin may be waiting to pick up another Dave Burba off waivers, releasing McClung when he does. I can't imagine counting on McClung in that role.

 

And the notion that Mota is apparently worth more than Vargas hurts my brain. If you look at it all as a whole, none of it makes sense.

[Glennron]

I guess the upside of this is not going to games and having to wait 2 hours for the 4th inning to start.

[BrewCrewRising]

Suddenly that Doug Davis trade last year doesn't seem as good. Aquino tanked right away, and a year later we had to essentially let go of two of the pieces of the trade. You could argue that Estrada did get us the inside track on Mota, but that doesn't excite me. I can't help but feel that DM is losing his touch.

[Roscoe Chill]

Well obviously Vargas was at best the #7 starter, so I don't know how you can figure that he is worth $3 million. What's that you say? He'd be worth $3 million for someone that needs a starter? Apparently not. I'll say it again....Claudio Vargas at $3.6 million and whatever you have to give up is not worth it for good teams, who will get someone better when they need to. And he's not worth it to bad teams even if he's better than 3 of those teams starters, because he wouldn't get your team closer to the playoffs, and is not a building block.

[GAME05]

wow, this is the most support Vargas has ever recieved here.

 

i don't see what the big deal really is. depth is nice, but it also leaves a lot of players really upset. and to save a couple million dollars i'd take the risk on ZJ starting over Vargas, too. plus maybe every so often ZJ will make it past the 6th inning and not wreck the bullpen.

[GormanHarvey]

24 W's out the #5 spot in the rotation for two teams playing .500 ball at best over the course of 2 years definitely doesn't hurt your chances of making the playoffs

[Fatter than Joey]

You could argue that Estrada did get us the inside track on Mota

 

No, I don't think you could -- I am pretty sure we could have traded that Maxim St. Pierre guy for Mota if we would have picked up Mota's salary.

 

I can't imagine counting on McClung in that role.

 

Yeah. The only role McClung should be counted on for is Frankenstein.

 

And the notion that Mota is apparently worth more than Vargas hurts my brain. If you look at it all as a whole, none of it makes sense.

 

We are married to Mota for awhile. We wasted $3M on Mota and another $900K on Vargas.

[TheCrew07]

The big question that I have is how is Manny Parra going to pitch into October if we are blessed with playing that long? I wonder if they have a plan for that?

The answer is simply that Parra would not pitch out of the starting rotation in October, rotations normally shorten to the top 3 pitchers, which I'm guessing would be Sheets, Suppan, and Yo as Suppan is the only starting pitcher on the team who's pitched in the playoffs. Whomever the 4th and 5th starters are would likely pitch out of the bullpen at that time ( 2 of MP, DB, CV).

[SoCalBrewfan]

Suddenly that Doug Davis trade last year doesn't seem as good.

 

There's nothing sudden about it. Ennder may appear to say that Davis and Vargas are the same guy, but I think most everyone else would agree that the Brewers came out behind in the deal...releasing Vargas doesn't really change the analysis much, though it does eliminate any further chances of him saving the deal.

[TooLiveBrew]

What's that you say? He'd be worth $3 million for someone that needs a starter? Apparently not.

The rub of it was that teams weren't interested since he doesn't have options left. He's easily worth $3 mil. as a SP.

[PKBadger]

24 W's out the #5 spot in the rotation for two teams playing .500 ball at best over the course of 2 years definitely doesn't hurt your chances of making the playoffs

 

I was told there would be no math on this portion of the test. My brain hurts.

 

I'll go the sabermatrician's route and say that I'm not all that concerned about prior year win totals, or wins in general.

[Big Reed]

I'm not sad we allowed Vargus to leave. We all knew he was not one of our 5th best starting pitchers. What I'm most sad about is that melvin didn't trade his #3,4 or 5 starter for some quality player when we had the starting pitching depth to do so. Parra and Villenueva and possibly bush would have actually brought us back a nice , decent posion player two months ago. . Now we cannot afford to trade our #3-5 starters for anybody because we no longer have the pitching depth to do so.

 

I' m sure glad we got Mota and McClung or else, we'd be lost on a subway to duluth.

[Fatter than Joey]

I think most everyone else would agree that the Brewers came out behind in the deal...

 

I was happy the Brewers moved Davis. The only thing that troubles me is if DM saw any value in Estrada/Aquino/Vargas.

 

Im ok with Davis being in AZ making $7M+ per year, however this reminds me of the Linebrink deal -- I was not against trading Inman, but I feel like DM whiffed on Thatcher and overvalued Linebrink.

[naivin]

The answer is simply that Parra would not pitch out of the starting rotation in October, rotations normally shorten to the top 3 pitchers, which I'm guessing would be Sheets, Suppan, and Yo ...

Actually, if we are still playing in October, the answer is probably that one of those 3 starters is probably not on the team yet, and won't be until sometime in July.

[craigharmann]

I'm stunned by the fact that there was (or apparently was) no trade market for Vargas. No one wants this guy, so the Brewers just have to release him? I thought he might have a shot to do well this year, especially with the fact that he seemed to do well in ST. In Doug I trust, but I'm befuddled right now. Please Dougie, pull a rabbit out of your hat!

[giffted1]

I've got no problem with this move. Yeah, keeping Vargas would be good for depth in the rotation, but depth is not worth that much money. I don't think Zack Jack or Narveson would be that much worse than Vargas. I'm not sure that Mota or McClung have more value than Claudio, but Melvin must have felt bullpen depth was more important than rotation depth.

[Scooter1027]

Maybe this means that the team really liked what they saw out of Chris Narveson this spring. I remember watching him while I was down at spring training and thinking that he couldn't be any worse than Vargas. It's possible they view Narveson as a low-cost equivalent (or at least near-equivalent) to Vargas.

[TooLiveBrew]

I'm stunned by the fact that there was (or apparently was) no trade market for Vargas. No one wants this guy, so the Brewers just have to release him?

 

Other teams wanted to do what the Brewers wanted with Vargas - have him spend a portion of the year at AAA. Since he has no options left, there weren't any takers.

 

It's possible they view Narveson as a low-cost equivalent (or at least near-equivalent) to Vargas.

 

Yes, and as others mentioned, ZachJack is there too.