Free Agent Pitcher Thread

[brewerfan82]

With CC gone to the Yanks, the Brewers will have to look elsewhere to bolster their rotation. I really hope we can acquire two dependable arms via trade or free agency. Here are the free agent arms available according to mlbtraderumors.com (with their stats over the past two seasons for type A and B free agents):

Type A (offered arbitration)

A.J. Burnett (32) - 3.93 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 387.0 IP (to Yankees)

Derek Lowe (36) - 3.55 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 6.5 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 410.1 IP

Oliver Perez (27) - 3.91 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 371.0 IP

C.C. Sabathia (28) - 2.95 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 8.4 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, 494.0 IP (to Yankees)

Ben Sheets (30) - 3.39 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 339.2 IP

 

Type A (not offered arbitration)

Jamie Moyer (46) - 4.37 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 5.8 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 395.2 IP (to Phillies)

Andy Pettitte (37) - 4.29 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 419.1 IP

 

Type B

Paul Byrd (38) - 4.59 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 4.1 K/9, 1.5 BB/9, 372.1 IP

Jon Garland (29) - 4.56 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 4.2 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 405.0 IP

Randy Johnson (45) - 3.89 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 240.2 IP

Braden Looper (34) - 4.52 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 4.7 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 374.0 IP

Brad Penny (31) - 4.04 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 5.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 302.2 IP

John Smoltz (42) - 3.04 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 233.2 IP

Randy Wolf (32) - 4.45 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 293.0 IP

 

The Rest

Kris Benson (33)

Roger Clemens (46)

Matt Clement (33)

Bartolo Colon (36)

Shawn Estes (36)

Josh Fogg (32)

Freddy Garcia (33)

Tom Glavine (43)

Mark Hendrickson (35)

Livan Hernandez (34)

Orlando Hernandez (43)

Jason Jennings (30)

Kenshin Kawakami (34)

Jon Lieber (39)

Rodrigo Lopez (33)

Pedro Martinez (37)

Mark Mulder (31)

John Parrish (31)

Carl Pavano (33)

Odalis Perez (32)

Sidney Ponson (32)

Mark Prior (27)

Kenny Rogers (44)

Glendon Rusch (34)

Curt Schilling (42)

Koji Uehara (34)

Kip Wells (32)

[brewerfan82]

I'd love it if we could snag one of Sheets, Lowe or Johnson and make a trade for a younger starter with potential (i.e. a Hughes type) to fill out a rotation of Sheets/Lowe/Johnson, Gallardo, Hughes-type, Parra, Bush/Suppan.

 

• Sheets has the best potential, but is a bit of an injury risk and costs 2 compensation draft picks
• Lowe is probably the most reliable and actually surprisingly comparable to Sheets, but would also cost a pick
• Johnson is still pretty good while he's out there, but is a huge injury risk. But he also doesn't cost a pick and would be a nice addition to the rotation at the right price.

[NievesNoNO]

I'd really like Sheets back. Hopefully there were no bridges burned. I'd also take Johnson. I think both could be had for short-term deals and are the best options available. I also like Lowe, but his price seems to be escalating. I'll take who we have over everyone else on that list considering the money and/or picks that would be involved.

[JoeHova]

I'd try to get Moyer and Johnson, just because they hopefully wouldn't cost as much as younger guys, possibly allowing the Brewers flexibility to make a move during the season if some other team regrets a recent FA signing.

 

Lowe would obviously be a nice pickup, but I can't see the Brewers being in that mix when better, more glamorous teams are also interested.

 

So, Randy was rumored to want about $3 million from AZ. I would offer him $6-7 million to see if they could get him on a one year deal, probably stopping if the bidding got past $8 million. 2 years/12 million or so seems fair for Moyer, maybe up to $15 million. Penny would probably be next on my list, assuming he was willing to take a one year, "make-good" contract (like what Millwood did with Cleveland a few years back).

 

A rotation of Gallardo, Johnson, Bush, Moyer and Suppan would be OK. Certainly not great, but it would be serviceable and also allow future flexibility. I prefer that over betting $80 million on Perez becoming consistent or trying to outbid 10 teams for Lowe.

[JohnBriggs12]

Brad Penny is the one guy on that list (other than Sheets) that has this combination:

 

1. He's been a top of the rotation guy at times and as recently as 2007.

 

2. He's still in what should be his prime years.

 

3. He's coming off an off/injury year that makes him likely to be discounted some in dollars and years.

 

If they can be assured he's healthy, I'd be working on him.

[Tbadder]

I'd take a flier on Kip Wells if he came cheaply enough. I wouldn't want to give up a single pick under any circumstance. Maybe Colon would be a fit as well. How many years has it been since his major blow-out? His arm might be ready to come back.

[Oldcity]

Does anyone know the latest on Smoltz? Last I remember he was contemplating retirement because he didn't know if he'd recover from his injuries.

[PilprinBuddha]

Put me down for Penny and Garland

[trwi7]

Put me down for Penny and Garland

No Garland please. That's another Suppan waiting to happen. Sheets is obviously my first choice to sign. If not him, then Johnson. After that I'd probably go with Paul Byrd. Not a flashy signing, but I don't trust Gallardo for 200 innings after he pitched about 40 last year. He could probably be had for a one year deal which would be fine.

[PaulRigdon]

I'd like to see the brewers try to catch lightning in a bottle with someone like...

 

 

Kris Benson Matt Clement Freddy Garcia Jason Jennings Pedro Martinez Mark Mulder Carl Pavano Mark Prior Kip Wells

[bjkrautk]

Melvin had said all along that Sabathia was a "special case" and losing him didn't mean he'd roll the $100 million over into an offer for another free agent pitcher. The Brewers were willing to have a higher payroll with Sabathia and stretch their budget.

"There's not a lot of starting pitching that I think we'll bid on," said Melvin.

Brewers Blog, J-S Online.

[endaround]

Let's hope Melvin is lying because this is an incredibly deep FA pitching class. Any pitcher the Brewers trade for is likely to cost $10m in salary (Bedard is like $9m) plus talent. Yeah if you can get Millwood from the Rangers for squat that's great, but I doubt its going to happen.

[Hate those Rodents]

I hate the use many have on calling about half of the starting pitchers in MLB "Suppan-like" and here comes another one. This is an update from rotoworld.com on a guy I like, Jon Garland, where I expect similar quotes.

 

Jon Garland is looking for a two- or three-year deal, and his agent says the Orioles are among the teams interested.

Baltimore makes plenty of sense as a destination for Garland. The Orioles don't want to pay top dollar for starters, but they do need an innings eater or two. Garland has quickly gone from overvalued to undervalued after a disappointing 2009 season. He's not great, but he's just 29 and he's never been hurt. He might be better off going the Kyle

Lohse route and taking a one-year contract this winter.

 

Pluses. He'll sign for three years, he's undervalued, he's never been hurt in his career, he'd be coming to the NL for the first time, he'd only be 32 when his contract were up, he's a workhorse, and he is a legitimate #3 starter that we need.

 

Now throw me your Suppan comments!

[brettac1]

I would love to get Bedard, whom end brought up, and make a run at Penny if Sheets is absolutely gone (I think he is).

[nate82]

Let's hope Melvin is lying because this is an incredibly deep FA pitching class. Any pitcher the Brewers trade for is likely to cost $10m in salary (Bedard is like $9m) plus talent. Yeah if you can get Millwood from the Rangers for squat that's great, but I doubt its going to happen.

Millwood would be interesting and he does have a rather high contract. If the Brewers take on all of Millwood's contract (highly doubtful) they could get him cheap. I'm not sure who the Rangers would want back in return for Millwood though and I don't believe the Brewers and Rangers match up very well in a trade.

 

I would rather go after Penny and trade Hart for Sonnanstine/Niemann type of pitchers. Having a rotation of Gallardo, Parra, Sonnanstine, Bush, Penny/Suppan. It isn't the best rotation in baseball but it should be enough to net at least the Wild Card. With signing Penny and trading for a Sonnanstine/Niemann type of a pitcher you have some flexibility if someone gets injured by having Suppan or Bush available.

 

If the Brewers could sign someone like Adam Dunn the offense would be an improvement over last years and maybe even better than the 2007 offense.

[TooLiveBrew]

The reason people say 'Suppan' when Garland is mentioned is that it's a good comparison. FIP of 4.76 in 2008 (career 4.74; Soup career 4.79) would look pretty ugly in front of the Brewers' defense. Not sure why people think Garland is such an attractive option. Heck even for ERA people, his was 4.90 last year, in the AL West (not exactly a tough division in 2008)

[dpapo]

Looks like the Brewers are considering "secondary" type of starters.

 

"The Brewers have had internal discussions about secondary starting options, including Carl Pavano and Randy Wolf, among many others. Players in this range often carry question marks; Pavano's health history, for example, and Wolf's relatively high asking price, according to one Brewers official."

 

"If the free agent market yields no one of interest, the Brewers will have to consider trading one of their young hitters. First baseman Prince Fielder and shortstop J.J. Hardy are the most often mentioned, Fielder in particular because he is entering his arbitration years and his price is about to go up. Melvin conceded that he gets asked about both players, but has nothing currently on the table with any other teams for Fielder and/or Hardy."

 

http://hotstove.mlblogs.c...st_refocus_on_pitchi.html

[colbyjack]

I'd go Sheets, Johnson, Penny in that order. All three have serious risk involved, but all three also have ace potential (or at least had ace potential).

[JohnBriggs12]

Garland really isn't Suppan. Their numbers are somewhat comparable though I'd give the edge to Garland for pitching exclusively in the AL, but they aren't the same pitchers. Suppan is all guile and control and doesn't exceed 88 on his fastball. Garland is quite the opposite. He's always had a nasty low 90's sinker and some good breaking pitches and he challanges hitters. In fact the knock on him is that he challanges hitters a little too much and gets too much of the plate too often.

 

Actually Garland might learn a few things from Suppan on setting up hitters better.

[Thurston Fluff]

Wolf intrigues me. At one time he looked to be a very good pitcher then got derailed by injuries. At this point his injuries are old enough to alleviate some worry but not so far away as to drive his price up too much. I think guys like Penny and Wolf are the value guys right now though their value is tied to risk.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

I'd go the trade route. Either the pitchers are too expensive or just plain not that good.

[jjfanec]

In his blog Haudicourt talking about relievers he says the Brewers have Randy Johnson on their radar at the right price. Johnson would be a nice fit for the Brewers like many have said.

[yoshii8]

I would like to see Braden Looper added, in his second year as a starter he had a respectable 4.16 ERA. I think he would be a lot cheaper, and if we traded for another starter he could be used in the bullpen.

[dpapo]

Jesus Colome was cut by the Nationals today. He seems to be the type of reliever Melvin likes, a hard thrower.

[EbbaStClaire]

Kip Wells has better numbers as a reliever than a starter through 2007 even though his opportunities to relieve have been rather limited.