Matthews for Suppan?

[PilprinBuddha]

If we were offered 10-12 mil and Gary Matthews for Suppan, would you do it? I think I would.

[nate82]

I wouldn't as bad as Suppan has been I believe Matthews has been worse.

[804Sox]

At least Suppan is a consistent, durable, innings-eater.

[Oldcity]

Except after last year you really can't even say that. There's nothing appealing about either of these two. The only thing that gives Suppan the "edge" is he'll be gone in one year, while Matthews still has two years left.

[Invader3K]

I think at this point I'd rather try Suppan in the bullpen (I have a hunch he could be a serviceable long reliever) and be done with him after one more season than experiment with a declining outfielder we don't really have a need for.

[davego]

Jeff could help out there...our hurt less.

[Fatter than Joey]

At least Suppan is a consistent, durable, innings-eater.

 

Suppan is NOT an innings eater.

 

Suppan was 46th in IP last year (161 IP) -- He made 30 starts last years, most of the dudes making 30 starts were around 180-175 IP. In fact, the majority of pitchers making 25-29 starts pitched more innings than Suppan.

 

If you are only capable of a ~5.30 ERA (over the course of a season), you won't, or at least you better not be racking up a lot of innings.

[RockCoCougars]

At least Suppan is a consistent, durable, innings-eater.

He is consistently brutal. His durability could also be called into question with his injuries/mental breaks over the past two years.

[Funketown]

At least Suppan is a consistent, durable, innings-eater.

I don't think being an innings eater has much value when you are essentially a replacement level pitcher, not to mention the fact that he only pitched 177 innings last year...

[Invader3K]

Jeff Suppan should be ashamed of himself.

[PeaveyFury]

I don't think being an innings eater has much value when you are essentially a replacement level pitcher

 

It is when the replacement options that the Brewers had last year were below replacement level....

[804Sox]

I don't think being an innings eater has much value when you are essentially a replacement level pitcher

 

It is when the replacement options that the Brewers had last year were below replacement level....

This was going to be my response.

 

He DOES need to work deeper in games this season, though, to help protect the bullpen.

[trwi7]

It was a mistake to refer to Suppan as a replacement level pitcher since he himself has been below replacement level the past two years.

[nate82]

I don't think being an innings eater has much value when you are essentially a replacement level pitcher

 

It is when the replacement options that the Brewers had last year were below replacement level....

Narveson was adequate during the final months of the season though. But he probably played way over his head though and I wouldn't expect Narveson to do this again over a whole season would be nice if he could because his numbers in September for the 4 games he started were nice.

 

By Day/Month	ERA	W	L	SV	SVO	G	GS	CG	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG
July	4.91	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	3.2	6	2	2	0	1	2	.375
August	1.35	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	6.2	6	1	1	1	1	5	.240
September	2.84	1	0	0	0	8	4	0	25.1	21	8	8	4	7	27	.223
October	2.08	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	4.1	3	3	1	0	3	5	.167
Post All-Star	2.48	2	0	0	0	12	4	0	36.1	30	12	10	5	11	37	.219

Small sample size I know but Narveson as a starter and a reliever for last year.

Overall	ERA	W	L	SV	SVO	G	GS	CG	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG
Total	3.83	2	0	0	0	21	4	0	47.0	45	22	20	7	16	46	.247
As Starter	3.38	1	0	0	0	4	4	0	18.2	16	7	7	3	6	19	.232
As Reliever	4.13	1	0	0	0	17	0	0	28.1	29	15	13	4	10	27	.257

I think Narveson could put up a 4.7-5.0 ERA as the #5 starter for the Brewers that would definitely be better than what you could expect Suppan to do next year. Narveson actually had a nice FIP last year also at 4.22 while Suppan had a 5.70 FIP. I don't think Narveson would be able to keep a FIP of 4.22 throughout a whole year but he shouldn't be as bad as Suppan was last year though.

 

I believe Narveson was and is above replacement and actually did rather well during the last months of the year.

[Invader3K]

MLB Trade Rumors has speculation about the Dodgers dealing Juan Pierre in a three team trade and netting Jeff Suppan.

[logan82]

Sure Narveson may be better than Suppan, but even with Narveson, we only have 5 pitchers and Suppan is one of them.

[Invader3K]

Well, if Melvin can't somehow rectify the situation during the off-season, he should be fired anyway. We can't go into 2010 with Suppan as an integral part of the rotation like last season.

 

"Hope is not a plan."

[ILuvDaBush]

And we nab....D-Lowe? This is going to get ugly.

[MNBrew]

Haudricourt chimes in on the MLBTR speculation about the Juan Pierre notion, particularly that by getting a bit of cash from LA to offset the difference remaining on the 2 contracts, a Suppan-Pierre swap might just make a whole lot of sense. And I'm thinking he may just be onto something.

 

Now, before everyone tears down the whole thing all over again, consider this: Especially if the Dodgers used some cash to even out the money involved, it's not just a wash. Suppan's money was mostly coming from this year's budget. The Pierre money would be spread over 2 years. Why's that good? Only half of it goes onto this year's salary spreadsheet! Therefore, at least a few more million dollars would have just been freed up to go for even more pitching this year.

 

It's not that the whole idea is perfect. It's more that Suppan's been that bad, and this presents a fiscally responsible method for addressing that problem AND creating more OF depth (which is needed) at the same time AND freeing up more 2010 payroll space for pitching. So even if it's not a perfect idea, at bare minimum, it's hardly stupid at all on several fronts.

[nate82]

Haudricourt chimes in on the MLBTR speculation about the Juan Pierre notion, particularly that by getting a bit of cash from LA to offset the difference remaining on the 2 contracts, a Suppan-Pierre swap might just make a whole lot of sense. And I'm thinking he may just be onto something.

 

Now, before everyone tears down the whole thing all over again, consider this: Especially if the Dodgers used some cash to even out the money involved, it's not just a wash. Suppan's money was mostly coming from this year's budget. The Pierre money would be spread over 2 years. Why's that good? Only half of it goes onto this year's salary spreadsheet! Therefore, at least a few more million dollars would have just been freed up to go for even more pitching this year.

This sounds more like the Braves and Dodgers are going to be making a swap with a third team. I wouldn't be surprised if Lowe is reunited back with the Dodgers for Pierre. Though Pierre bats from the wrong side of the plate for the Braves and that maybe why a third team is needed to be involved. What other team needs a CF maybe the Cubs will be reunited with Pierre again not sure who would be going from the Cubs to the Braves though probably a minor prospect.

[TooLiveBrew]

I don't get what adding an extra year of a bad contract would do to help the Brewers. Paying your 4th OF $18.5M for the next two seasons just isn't a good plan for a team looking to shed payroll in order to add SPing. At least Suppan can be off the books after 2010, and is a pitcher. What would Pierre get, 350 ABs per season? It doesn't make sense to me. If you can unload all or the vast majority of Suppan's contract for a low-level prospect, and you have the rest of the rotation & bullpen filled, fine. But this would just be adding more financial burden to an already cash-strapped roster.

 

Jody Gerut is a better option as a 4th OF, bats LH, and is remarkably cheaper. Plus he's year-to-year in terms of contract with two more arbitration seasons remaining (as best I can tell)... and he's already on the team.

[trwi7]

Paying your 4th OF $18.5M for the next two seasons just isn't a good plan for a team looking to shed payroll in order to add SPing.

4th outfielder? The guy who's making the lineup is Macha and Gomez is a young guy who hasn't proven himself. Pierre would probably be the starter in CF. I'm not sure if that should be in blue or not.

 

I completely agree though. Suppan at least goes away after this year. I'd rather not have a roster spot tied up to a terrible player unless I have to. And in this case, it's not necessary.

[igor67]

I like bad contract swaps, if you find a partner who is unloading something that has value to you. Juan Pierre and the career .720 OPS not so much value. Something like a RF with a bloated contract who's only going to put up an .800 to .825 OPS, but is paid 20 million the next two years. That would be a useful kind of swap.

[JohnBriggs12]

At this point in their careers, Pierre is a significant offensive upgrade over Gomez. Replacing Suppan with just an average starter is an upgrade to the pitching staff.

Upgrading offense and pitching essentially in one move is easily worth an extra $6 million over 2 years.

[Invader3K]

Pierre is one of those guys where using OPS doesn't tell the whole story. We all know he has no power. Imagine having him and Escobar on the base paths, though. Base stealing havoc like crazy.

 

Of course, it would be up to Macha to actually let them steal, but that's a separate topic.

 

I would rather have Pierre than Suppan at this point, personally. I would also not shed any tears if Jody Gerut was DFAed (or non-tendered, whatever). If the Dodgers could even out the dollars a bit, I think it could work.