What about Bedard

[Madmullhern]

Everyone keeps talking about Jake Peavy, but I hate the fact that he has years remaining on his deals. Each day the Brewers fall further out of contention the less likely they are buyers period, but I think Bedard could be had for cheap and acquiring him could be a real possibility. I am sure Jack Z has plenty of guys that he likes in the Brewers system. The question being what would it take to get a rental out of Bedard? My guess would be four prospects with at least one being a top 10 guy. Would a package of Green, Brewer, Anundsen, and Errecart get it done? I am not sure but will Bedard be a type A free agent after the season?

[cwolf2012]

I think the fact that Bedard has been quite effective for Seattle so far, and that Seattle is leading the AL West right now pretty much ends any possibility of us acquiring Bedard. It's nice to think about, but if we were going to get him, it was in the offseason. Right now it's a pipe dream.

 

EDIT: By "quite effective" I mean lights out and as good as he's ever been. In 19.1 innings, he's got a 1.86 ERA and a 23/3 K/BB ratio. This guy isn't going anywhere unless Seattle falls off the map in a surprisingly weak AL West.

[nate82]

He is to injury prone for the Brewers to take a gamble on Bedard. I wouldn't take Bedard with the pitching staff we have right now. Bedard isn't really a guy you can count on to get you 7+ IP a game.

 

I believe Roy Halladay is more of a possibility depending on how well the Blue Jays do this year but he may not even be an option the owner and the GM of the Blue Jays have been quoted in the offseason they are not interested in trading Halladay. There has been some extension talks between the two parties also.

 

If Chien-Ming Wang could also be a possibility for a trade. Everyone is talking about Kennedy and Hughes being trade bait for the Yankees don't forget about Wang. Wang is not happy with his contract situation and if he continues to pitch like he has I wouldn't be surpised if the Yankees trade him. But like Halladay Wang is more than likely is not on the block to be traded.

 

I don't see the Brewers moving early and getting a starting pitcher. If the Brewers do do a trade early in the season it will be more than likely for a relief pitcher especially if Riske is not able to come back before the All Star break. Julio won't be with this team for very long I believe and I am not sure if there are any pitchers in the minors who could step up and help the bullpen this year.

[Never Outhustled]

This guy isn't going anywhere unless Seattle falls off the map in a surprisingly weak AL West.

Seattle is going to fall off. Endy Chavez won't keep hitting 370, and Jarod Washburn won't keep his ERA under 2. Seattle is an improved team, but improved from terrible to just bad.

 

I'd have an interest in Bedard if he's healthy later in the year, but he's not my 1st choice. As Nate82 mentions, he's very fragile, and he won't gut it out for the team.

Julio won't be with this team for very long I believe and I am not sure if there are any pitchers in the minors who could step up and help the bullpen this year.

Tim Dillard is very qualified to help this team. Chris Smith is also interesting. Julio is just the mop up guy anyway. He might get cut when Hoffman gets activated, as Swindle should be a useful pitcher.

 

 

I believe Roy Halladay is more of a possibility depending on how well the Blue Jays do this year but he may not even be an option the owner and the GM of the Blue Jays have been quoted in the offseason they are not interested in trading Halladay.

Hopefully thats just posturing by their owner, because Halladay is a perfect fit for us, and Toronto is a perfect trading partner for us. They need a SS, and they don't have a big need for young pitching.

[nate82]

Tim Dillard is very qualified to help this team. Chris Smith is also interesting. Julio is just the mop up guy anyway. He might get cut when Hoffman gets activated, as Swindle should be a useful pitcher.

 

I believe Dillard is going to be a good #4 or #5 starting pitching option in the next couple of a years. Though this depends if he can develop that 3rd and 4th pitch more. I know Dillard would be a great option in the bullpen but I would rather see him become the teams #4 or #5 starter. I would rather have someone like Dillard be the teams #4 or #5 pitcher than pay for someone like Looper or Suppan to fill those spots.

 

Julio is just wasting space in the bullpen right now. He is the teams whipping boy so to say. I would rather have McClung out there doing that since he can give you more innings than Julio can and he is more valuable than Julio.

[Madmullhern]

Am I wrong by saying Bedard is a prime trade candidate, the mariners albeit there hot start are not a team that is going to hang around. I agree he is fragile but that makes him a bit more affordable in my mind. If he is going to be a type A free agent the risk seems minimal in going after him. I just think that Halladay and Peavy are not realistic possibilities because I think Toronto will hang around in that AL East and I think the fact Peavy, whom is also an injury risk, has more than this year on his deal.

[nate82]

Am I wrong by saying Bedard is a prime trade candidate, the mariners albeit there hot start are not a team that is going to hang around. I agree he is fragile but that makes him a bit more affordable in my mind. If he is going to be a type A free agent the risk seems minimal in going after him. I just think that Halladay and Peavy are not realistic possibilities because I think Toronto will hang around in that AL East and I think the fact Peavy, whom is also an injury risk, has more than this year on his deal.

Bedard is just not a good fight for Milwaukee and no he will not cost less because of that. We already have a pitcher like Bedard in Gallardo we need someone more like Sheets than we do someone like Bedard. If Bedard were more like Sheets an injury liability but someone who could pitch deep into games then sure but Bedard starts to shut it down once he hits the 7th inning. The Brewers do not need someone like that.

 

Peavy makes sense because the Brewers need a lot of their younger players if they are going to compete in the long run. If you are going to give up a lot of cheap players I would want somone who I can control for longer than a season. Bedard doesn't really improve the Brewers and neither does Peavy really Halladay does though. Halladay is someone you can expect to go 7+ IP. While Bedard you can count on him going 6-7 innings. The Brewers already have 5 of those kind of starting pitchers. The Brewers really do need someone who can give the bullpen the whole day off or give them a very easy day 1 or 2 innings pitched.

[yoshii8]

I think Bedard would be a good option because he is a great pitcher and he would also cost a lot less than Peavy or Halladay. I also don't see anything wrong w/ a guy that averages 6-7 very quality innings each start. To say that he wouldn't really help the Brewers is an absolute joke, he is a huge improvement over every one of our pitchers except Gallardo. In 07' he put up ace numbers while pitching half of his games in Camden Yards in the AL East, and so far this season he looks to be back to that form.

 

He has been healthy two out of the last 3 seasons, and even pitched 81 innings last year, so I'm not sure why he would be considered more fragile than Peavy who only pitched 26 innings last year.( Nevermind, I looked at the wrong stats, he actually pitched 173 innings, thanks Spidey)

[Spidey]

Um, Peavy pitched 173 innings last year. http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/stats/historical/player_stats.jsp?c_id=sd
Not sure where you got that 26 innings from. He's had injuries, but not like Bedard's yet.

[yoshii8]

Wow, big mistake, sorry about that. I still think Bedard would be a very solid addition.

[Spidey]

Tim Dillard is very qualified to help this team.

I was kind of wondering about Dillard too. I'd love to see him up in the pen this year, but since he's being used as a starter in the minors, does that limit his ability for a call up?

[Madmullhern]

I agree with you Yoshii, to think that Bedard isn't a huge upgrade is ridiculous. When healthy he would be our best pitcher and the risk would be so minimal since we wouldnt have to resign him after the year. With the economy the way it is I think you are going to see a shift in philosphy much like you see in the NBA. Players with one year or two years on there deal are going to be very valuable, especially with the draft pick compensation you receive. I can see the Brewers going after a guy like this every couple of years and then re-stocking the talent they trade away with the draft picks they receive as compensation. Sometimes trading young talent for the pieces you are missing is the way to go. It helped the Rays quite a bit last year.

[JoeHova]

It's funny. I'd rather get Peavy precisely because he still has years on his deal. Use that money they had earmarked for CC. $15 million in 2010, $16 million in 2011, and $17 million in 2012 is quite reasonable for a top pitcher, especially considering that the Brewers are paying a total garbage pitcher $12 million to lose games for them. I'd rather pay the extra $4 million per year and get a top player. If they were willing to pay $42 million for Suppan, they'd be crazy to not pay $48 million for Peavy.

[igor67]

I agree with Joe completely Peavey's deal has reasonable money for a nice length, long enough to provide some stability in the rotation over the next few years, but not so long your worried about getting stuck with multiple years on a washed up player because of injury.

[endaround]

The problem with that is Peavy might force the receiving team to pick up his 2013 option for $22m.

[Never Outhustled]

I'd rather pay the extra $4 million per year and get a top player. If they were willing to pay $42 million for Suppan, they'd be crazy to not pay $48 million for Peavy.

 

The problem with Peavy, as pointed out in the Peavy thread, is after you curve his stats for park effects and figure in age regression, we wouldn't be getting a top pitcher. Then theres the no-trade clause factor. To convince Peavey to waive his no-trade clause to come to Milwaukee, he'd likely want that $22 million option for 2013 picked up. Thats an absolute deal breaker.

[TheCrew07]

Use that money they had earmarked for CC. $15 million in 2010, $16 million in 2011, and $17 million in 2012 is quite reasonable for a top pitcher

You mean that fictitious 20 mil per year over the 85-90 million dollar payroll we already have? Let's say for the sake of argument that CC took the 20/per... that would have meant right now we'd be minus Cameron, Hoffman, and Sabathia would have replaced Looper... Prince likely wouldn't have been signed to a 2 year deal this year and there would be absolutely no hope of resigning Hardy, not that there's any now.

 

I hate to keep pointing this out but people continually ignore the domino effects of any big contract acquired. The team was barely profitable with a playoff appearance at a little over 90 mil, so 85ish seems like a good number year to year. That means we have 85 million for 25 MLB players and signing bonuses for the draft picks. Every year the young talent, the best players on our team, get more expensive. We're the smallest market in baseball with a mid market payroll, how much farther can the team reallistically go? If the Riske and Suppan deals haven't proven the risk involved in FA pitching, I'm not sure what other evidence people will need. The Brewers wouldn't be able to absorb a single bad contract, at least Suppan is still performing, what if he wasn't for that 48 mil? What if Peavy finally has a major injury? Bedard isn't exactly a picture of health either..

 

Name pitchers aren't going to get it done for us year in and year out. If we want quality pitching we're going to have to target unproven talent like a Zimmerman this year or a Cain 2 years ago. A young unproven pitcher with very good upside who isn't in that top tier of prospects.

[kramnoj]

You mean that fictitious 20 mil per year over the 85-90 million dollar payroll we already have? Let's say for the sake of argument that CC took the 20/per... that would have meant right now we'd be minus Cameron, Hoffman, and Sabathia would have replaced Looper

 

Your first sentence contradicts the last sentence. The $20M wasn't over the existing payroll, it would have been part of it, as you point out.

[TheCrew07]

Not really... we already have those players under contract, so the "CC" money isn't out there and available to spend. Since the team didn't have an extra 20 million just for CC, my comments were right on the mark. The same thing is being said on the various blogs around the net... lets go spend that 20 mil on another player... when it's already been spent on 3 players. For whatever reason people don't equate the money that was spent to the money that was out there for CC. People think that the amount money offered made CC a special case and get hung up on an "extra 20 mil", when I think that Melvin and Mark A were talking about risking such a high percentage of the payroll on 1 player. That 20 mil was always going to be part of a 90ish mil payroll, not on top of the existing payroll.

[kramnoj]

"You mean that fictitious 20 mil per year over the 85-90 million dollar payroll we already have?"

 

"That 20 mil was always going to be part of a 90ish mil payroll, not on top of the existing payroll."

 

You don't think these sentences contradict each other? You seem to be throwing out this idea that "people" think that the Brewers could have their current team, plus have CC. I don't see any evidence of that.

 

In regards to current speculation about acquiring other pitchers, it is surely idle speculation at this point. The Brewers have DiFelice as an alternative, and has arms they've acquired down at AAA specifically for short term depth. If at some point down the road the Brewers are in the hunt and for whatever reason lose a significant pitcher, I'm sure the idea of getting a veteran pitcher will be explored. But it's not going to happen anytime soon.