SI.com's Top 50 Free Agents (Fuentes/Byrd Content)

[MillerParkSouth]

Ranking the top 50 free agents

 

They have the Dodgers signing Manny AND CC and much to my surprise, they have the Brewers signing Paul Byrd and Brian Fuentes. I'm not really sure I would want Fuentes for what he'll cost and i'm not sure Byrd would be an upgrade over what we have now. What kind of contracts would it even take to get these guys? I'm sure Fuentes will be looking at upwards of $10mm a year and i'm just not sure it's worth it for a guy who lost his job last year.

[bklynbrewcrew]

I wouldnt pay a closer 10 mil per yr for the 3 or 4 yrs that it will take so I would pass on Fuentes. As far as Byrd is concerned he is another Suppan so no thanks there. My theory with free agents is this; either sign an elite guy like Sabathia or focus on sleepers like a Juan Cruz. We should never ever sign mediocre free agents like Suppan or in this case Byrd for big money.

[Ennder]

Fuentes lost his job because he got hurt, that really should have absolutely nothing to do with any decisions made about him.

 

If Macha is smart enough to use a closer in high leverage situations that are not save situations then a shut down closer would be worth $10M a year. I'm not sure he is that type of guy though so I'd rather not spend it.

[bjkrautk]

The name that sticks out on that list is Pedro Martinez....not because I think he'll be a Brewer, but because he may be the most difficult guy to project. You could get fifty starts out of him in the next two years, or you may only get 5. I'd put in an offer for 2 yrs, 10 mil (total), but wouldn't be surprised if he gets double (or at least 1.5x) that.

 

Byrd is Suppan Lite; not great, but not horrible, and more of an innings eater than a power / strikeout guy.

[giffted1]

I don't see either of those moves happening. I can't see Doug spending a lot of money on a closer again anytime soon. And why would we want Paul Byrd? If Ben and CC leave and no trades are made for starting pitching, I think McClung or Villanueva would be better options than Byrd. If we needed some old, mediocre starter to fill out the rotation I'm sure Zduriencik would love to send us Jarrod Washburn for almost nothing.

[Ennder]

Bradley apparently is a type B free agent so he might not be the worst guy to go with if we end up trading Hart or not picking up Cameron's option.

[trwi7]

Since when is Miller Park a pitchers park?

 

Edit: Also like the guy saying we need a 4/5 starter. No, we have plenty of those guys (Suppan, McClung, Bush, Villanueva) what we need is a 1/2 starter to replace Sheets and Sabathia (assuming they leave.)

[Ennder]

Miller park played as a pitchers park in 2008 but a hitters park in 2007 according to ESPN's factors. Generally it ends up right around average though, every system rates it a little differently.

[TooLiveBrew]

Bradley apparently is a type B free agent so he might not be the worst guy to go with if we end up trading Hart or not picking up Cameron's option.

 

I would love to see Bradley brought in. Would his injury concerns make a one-year deal plausible? And yes, I hate that he's a big stinky jerkface too... but he's exactly the kind of bat we could use. Now if he could just play 3B...

[bklynbrewcrew]

Bradley would be perfect if he wasnt always hurt and always a jerk. Then again if he wasnt a bad guy he would be out of our price range.

[homer]

I wouldn't mind having Baldelli off the bench.

[rluzinski]

Park factors jump around from year to year, in large part because of statistical noise. You need to use mutliyear, regressed ones, like Patriot supplies. Miller Park plays as a slight hitters park brcause of the extra HRs it gives up.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Would park factors have anything to do with who the home team has for a pitching staff? I would think it would play as a pitcher's park when two out of every 5 starts made by the home team had Sheets or Sabathia taking the ball.

 

Miller Park probably plays about as neutral a park as any in baseball, since wind and weather rarely affect games there. The dimensions are relatively standard, too. If the Brewers have a decent pitching staff (which they did last year), Miller Park's a pitcher's park. If they have a poor pitching staff (as they did in 2007, especially once Sheets went down and Turnbow imploded), Miller Park's a hitter's park.

[Ennder]

Good park factors at least attempt to neutralize things so the home teams players don't matter. I don't think any good park factors are out for 2008 yet though which is why I used ESPN's.

 

Miller park is somewhere near neutral overall though, sometimes they come out with it as a slight pitcher park and sometimes as a slight hitter park.

[jwill535]

If the Dodgers are already scrambling to figure out where they are going to get the money for Manny, how does this writer expect them to get CC too?

[joepepsi]

Why can't the Brewers have Raul Ibanez?

[Hate those Rodents]

While I know next to nothing about Byrd beyond his career record, I don't really like how often people say "he's just another Suppan". It seems as though everyone that isn't a number one or top notch number two starter that is on the market gets labeled "just another Suppan" by us on the board here.

 

I'll tell you what. Doug is going to need to find out which of these "another Suppan's" is actually much better than Jeffrey if we are going to be contenders in the coming years. I can guarantee you there are starters beyond CC, Sheets, Lowe, Burnett, Demspter that are out there in free agency and will have a very nice next three years or so. It's up to Doug to find out which couple/few those are.

 

I really think we are labeling too many pitchers "just another Suppan". I am not happy with his performance on the mound. But I also don't want us to say "we are never going to go after another starter in free agency unless it's a 100 million a year type." That is kinda what we are saying when we label everyone as another Suppan. That just seems like an unwise plan for the brewers to have.

[craigharmann]

Why can't the Brewers have Raul Ibanez?

Because the wealth has to be shared between all the teams.

[yoshii8]

A guy that I would like to sign to be our backup 1b/3b/Corner Outfield would be Doug Mientkewicz he quietly put up some good numbers in 285 ab's w/ the Pirates last year 277/.374/.379 w/ a 44 walks and 28 K's. He also batted .326 as a pinch hitter, and played pretty good defense at all three positions.

[Ennder]

Ibanez is a pretty bad fielder(somewhere in the range of -7 to -13 runs) which offsets a chunk of his offense, add in the age factor and I'm not so sure we really want him for the price he'll likely be asking.

 

If we trade Hart it could make some sense but if the suggestion is to sign Ibanez and move Hart to CF the net loss in defense probably makes the team worse than just keeping Cameron does and we probably end up paying more for the privilege.

[endaround]

Ibanez only makes sense if Hart is traded moving Braun to right (and even there its iffy) or as a replacement for Fielder if he's traded. But $12m for 3 years and a 1st round pick is a high cost for a guy who has a good chance of dropping off a cliff.

[Crewin06]

The two players I wouldn't mind seeing are Felipe Lopez and Juan Cruz.

 

To bad Juan Cruz is a type A Free Agent and would cost us a first round pick to sign him. Other wise I would easily do a 5 million a year offer for 3 years. Maybe we should still do it.

 

Felipe Lopez would be a nice addition as a Super Sub and Juan Cruz could take over our closer role freeing up Torres for longer relief and shut down spots

[JJHardy7]

I guess this place is as good as any to ask this question. If CC and Sheets leave via free agency and we get draft picks, can those picks be used to sign a Type A free agent? I'm not saying this will or won't happen I'm just curious.

[bamberger]

IMO the Brewers should take a flyer on Sabathia because he's a Brewer FA and would cost no draft picks. Beyond that they should tread water in 2009.

 

In 2010 they should have a number of AAA-seasoned position prospects on the cusp and hopefully two pitchers from among Jeffress, Aguilar, Periard, and Pena. That influx should free them up to do something major with trades. Depending on availability it would also be a good time to seriously consider a major free agent to fill a need.

[trwi7]

I guess this place is as good as any to ask this question. If CC and Sheets leave via free agency and we get draft picks, can those picks be used to sign a Type A free agent? I'm not saying this will or won't happen I'm just curious.

No, those picks are ours. Say Sabathia signs with the Dodgers, we get the Dodgers first round pick. Then if we go out and sign Juan Cruz, the D'Backs would get our first round pick.