if out of contention by the trade deadline, would Brewer brass deal Sheets?

[Oldcity]

Sheets would be the best player available at the deadline and the best player in free agency if the Brewers don't sign him. They should try like hell to get an extension worked out right now IMO. If they find that Sheets wants to test FA and the Brewers are more than seven or eight games out, I imagine he'd be traded for a nice haul.

 

That Colon deal was brutal for Montreal. Was he in his walk year when that went down?

[dadofandrew]

An extension now? Ben has not had a healthy year for ages, heck, he missed a start in the first two months. Signing him to a 3y now is really signing him to a 3.7 year deal health wise.

 

We can't tell the future, but if they are going to spend $60M on an arm, I am pretty sure it will be on a guy who has consistently been off the DL and taking the ball 30+ times per.

[brewerinvegas]

He was in the last guaranteed year, with an option that was picked up by Montreal. They then traded him that off-season to the White Sox for Rocky Biddle, Orlando Hernandez and Jeff Liefer. So basically they traded Phillips, Lee and Sizemore for Biddle, Hernandez and Liefer. Talk about your bad trades.

 

I don't think Sheets should be expecting $20 mil a season, even if he were to win the Cy Young. If he has a normal, healthy year, he will probably get in the $14-16 million range. Someone might be willing to go four years, but I would think he would get a three-year deal. Three years, $42 million might be enough to resign him.

[crewcrazy]

Colon wasn't even in his walk year, but was going to be due a huge pay raise. Montreal traded Colon to the White Sox before the start of the 2003 season, when his salary jumped from just under $5 million to over $8 million. The fact that Colon wasn't in his walk year probably contributed to the haul that Cleveland got for him, because when he was traded to the White Sox the Expos got hosed again -- they got Rocky Biddle, El Duque, Jeff Liefer, and cash. Of course, you could argue that Omar Minaya just sucks at trades. I believe the Colon trade to Montreal is discussed a bit in Moneyball, because Billy Beane was trying to work a trade with the Expos and couldn't figure out what the heck Minaya was trying to do. (edit: looks like vegas beat me to it)

 

If Cleveland keeps scuffling, I wouldn't be surprised to see C.C. Sabathia's name hit the trade market, which could be a huge hit to Ben's trade value. Sabathia's younger, throws left handed, and is guaranteed to give you 200 innings. He'd be a much hotter commodity than Sheets would be, in my opinion.

 

Of course, you could also say that teams know they wouldn't be able to afford trading for Sabathia, and could turn to the Brewers for Sheets. I could see the Yankees panicking and making a deal for Sheets, especially if Joba Chamberlain can't get stretched out to start or if that experiment goes badly. The dream scenario would be suckering the Rays into believing they need Sheets to stay strong down the stretch and getting a couple of their nearly major league-ready talents, but that probably won't happen -- Tampa knows what they have, and they don't want to screw it up with a rental.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

I agree with Stevo...try and resign him now...we'll need a legit starting ace for 2009. I'd love having Yo as a number two instead of a big drop to a two like Parra or Soup. The options in the offseason won't be any better.

 

If he won't re-sign, they have to trade him. Rentals have gone down in value the last couple years...but this is a starting pitcher. Not a 3/4 starter...an ace starter. Ben could bring a pennant to a host of teams that are on the edge. Plus, if injury is a concern for the acquirer, it's only half a season...not a big financial commitment. The biggest commitment will be what will need to be traded for him. They should be able to get a number one prospect and 2 other top ten types out of a given organization IMO. If we can get some pitching, a catcher or a 3B...I'd do it. I'd rather give up on 2008 than go into 2009 with little hope.

[brewerinvegas]

Getting the Rays to give up some of their pitching prospects for Sheets would be a dream scenario.

 

The real dream scenario? The Brewers start winning and the discussions about trading Sheets end.

[endaround]

An extension now? Ben has not had a healthy year for ages, heck, he missed a start in the first two months. Signing him to a 3y now is really signing him to a 3.7 year deal health wise.

 

We can't tell the future, but if they are going to spend $60M on an arm, I am pretty sure it will be on a guy who has consistently been off the DL and taking the ball 30+ times per.

And who is this mythical pitcher? Sheets will easily get a 4 year deal and very likely a 5 year deal. He's a top 15 pitcher. They don't come available that often.

 

[dadofandrew]

Not from MIL he won't. Small market teams have yet to go anywhere near that with a pitcher...too fragile. The Twins had no desire to give Johan $17M to Johan, and the Crew won't with Ben.

[kramnoj]

The Twins had no desire to give Johan $17M to Johan, and the Crew won't with Ben.

 

I don't think that's true. I think the Twins were willing to match the money, but weren't willing to match the length (I imagine a similar scenario with Sheets and the Brewers). Plus, I don't think Johan wanted to re-sign.

[berniebrewer4life]

The Twins had no desire to give Johan $17M to Johan, and the Crew won't with Ben.

 

I don't think that's true. I think the Twins were willing to match the money, but weren't willing to match the length (I imagine a similar scenario with Sheets and the Brewers). Plus, I don't think Johan wanted to re-sign.

I wouldn't mind a slightly higher pay(12-14M a year) for 3 years. Of course the way he is pitching now, i doubt he would sign anything less than 15/yr.

[ILuvDaBush]

I am definitely of the opinion that a Chris Carpenter-type deal would be advantageous for our small ballclub, but getting his Herbie Hancock on the dotted line would probably be a bit of an adventure.

[KCBrewerfan34]

Inside Dish in a recent sporting news quotes 1 executive that Sabathia and Sheets WILL NOT be available this summer because both teams feel they can re-sign their respective pitchers. WOW, interesting interesting and more interesting. A healthy Sheets is key to Brewer success over the next 2-4 years or the guy they trade for (which will cost talent). Easier just to sign BS!!!