Gerut Avoids Arby, 1 yr/$2 million

[crewcrazy]

No salary number released yet, but Adam McCalvy and Tom Haudricourt both confirm via tweets. Six arby-eligibles remain.

 

Nice to see an "easy" case taken care of before the players even submit their asking prices. I think guys like Bush and Hart will be more of a challenge, given their performance in years past compared to their performance last year.

 

Edit: McCalvy tweets that Gerut will make $2 million, meaning a $225,000 raise over last year's salary.

[bjkrautk]

Seems like a lot to be paying for the production that Gerut put up for the Brewers last year....but I suppose that's to be expected for a player who came in .040 below his career BABIP last season.

 

That being said, Gerut is likely to be competing for the CF job (possibly RF), and is at worst the 4th outfielder. The worse that Hart and Gomez look, the better this deal may seem once the season starts.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

May he be our opening day starting CF? Pretty please? With sugar on top?

[Ennder]

Carlos Gomez's defense probably makes him more valuable than Gerut in CF and while it doesn't show up in his slash stats he most likely improved as a hitter last year. Having a left handed OF who can play CF is very nice given our all RH OF though.

[DHonks]

I'd rather have Ankiel at $3-5 million than Gerut at $2 million. I'm sure the Brewers didn't feel they had a choice, though

[TooLiveBrew]

I'd rather have Gerut at $2M, especially since he can actually handle all three OF positions

[Mr QL]

I expect him to be our starting CF. Can't say I'm excited.

[TooLiveBrew]

I think Gerut's better used in being the 4th OF, since like Ennder noted, we have an all-RH starting OF. And I agree with him on Gomez's defense... and really want to agree that Gomez improved. I sure hope he has & will -- fwiw, Gomez's CHONE projection is .267/.329/.390/.719. Add in a little luck and/or progression, and .340/.425/.765 isn't all that far off. That offense combined with his spectacular defense would be of immense value.

[Funketown]

I'd rather have Ankiel at $3-5 million than Gerut at $2 million. I'm sure the Brewers didn't feel they had a choice, though

I don't get the love for Ankiel. He looked completely lost at the plate last year and is not a strong defensive center fielder.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Gerut has shown in his career that he can play league average defense in CF and is a plus defender in the corners. If you combine that average defense with the .800+ OPS he put up 2 years ago, he's much more valuable than Gomez. Even if Gomez starts the year in CF, he'll hit his way out of the lineup like he did in Minnesota last year so I'm not too worried. Unless of course Gomez figured out how to recognize a pitch which at age 23 is still plausible.

[YoungGeezy]

May he be our opening day starting CF? Pretty please? With sugar on top?

God I can't wait to see Gomez bust out this season! His situation reminds me of Aaron Rodgers a bit with how everyone just hates on him without giving him a chance because he is 24 and hasn't prvoed anything yet. No matter how high the potential or anything. I have yet to talk to a Twins fan who wasn't extremely high on the kid and actually rather upset about the trade. But onto Gerut I think its a good price. An extra 225,000 isn't going to make much of a difference on the pay role. He is a decent 4th OF who wasn't given many chances to play before Hart got injured

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

May he be our opening day starting CF? Pretty please? With sugar on top?

God I can't wait to see Gomez bust out this season! His situation reminds me of Aaron Rodgers a bit with how everyone just hates on him without giving him a chance because he is 24 and hasn't prvoed anything yet. No matter how high the potential or anything. I have yet to talk to a Twins fan who wasn't extremely high on the kid and actually rather upset about the trade. But onto Gerut I think its a good price. An extra 225,000 isn't going to make much of a difference on the pay role. He is a decent 4th OF who wasn't given many chances to play before Hart got injured

I hope you're right, but first he has to prove to me that he can post a .300 OBP

[Funketown]

God I can't wait to see Gomez bust out this season! His situation reminds me of Aaron Rodgers a bit with how everyone just hates on him without giving him a chance because he is 24 and hasn't prvoed anything yet. No matter how high the potential or anything. I have yet to talk to a Twins fan who wasn't extremely high on the kid and actually rather upset about the trade.

Where Gomez differs from Rodgers is that he has nearly two seasons worth of plate appearances under his belt. Maybe he hasn't proven anything yet, but I'm inclined to believe that he will at best flash a mediocre bat, and likely show some greatness in the field.

 

That's interesting that you talked to Twins fans who were upset about the deal. Every Twins fan I talked to was extremely excited to have Hardy coming their way and didn't seem too upset about losing Gomez.

[monty57]

Just one more thing I didn't like about Macha last year. As soon as Hart got hurt, we should've played Gerut everyday to see what we had in him. Instead, we played Cat, who everyone knew had no future with the team. Personally, I'm glad Gerut's signed. He's got a lot of talent and given PT I think he's got at least as much chance of regaining his .800+ OPS form as Hart.

[BREWERPRIDE]

I dont agree with you guys on Gomez. People think that his career is over. He is ONLY 24, most guys don't come into the majors at that age. He came into the league at 21. Maybe he came into the league too early? The Twins fans say that they he does have the potential, and the swing to be a very good hitter. When he started, he put up some decent numbers. Also, the people that I talked to said that he has the right "pop" in his bat to hit 20 homers. Maybe a change of scenery or a new hitting coach. I say we look to see what happens before we go crazy first. The only thing I heard bad about him was his base running and decisions, but look who he gets to work with on that.... Willie Randolph. So I am not worried about him, im excited to have him.

[owbc]

I like the outfield situation. At least we have a 4th outfielder going into spring training, which wasn't the case last year.

[JohnBriggs12]

Gerut didn't earn a raise, but for whatever reason the Brewers have always been willing to pay the couple hundred thousand extra to avoid a hearing. Doesn't make sense but that's what it is. If they'd offered $1.8, they'd have won easily.

 

That being said, Gerut stands a good chance of playing a lot of CF. Gomez never hit over .300 or posted an OPS over .800 in the minors. He's borderline overmatched against major league pitching right now. Yes he was brought up too early. I'm all for bringing up young talent but his numbers didn't warrant it. He may need a half season at AAA to regain confidence.

[Hate those Rodents]

Does anyone have an approximation, if there is one, for how long Gomez would have to stay in FA to delay his free agency another year?

[Ennder]

Gerut didn't earn a raise

 

You don't have to earn a raise to get one in the arbitration process, it is assumed that every year of arbitration pays you more than the previous one unless there is an extreme reason not to.

 

As for Gomez, his LD%, GB%, swings at pitches out of the zone, ISO, K% and B% all improved last year. This is a player showing growth even if it didn't come out in his slash stats. He pretty easily could be a 2 WAR player this season and with a little bit of a breakout he could reasonably reach 3 WAR. I don't think there is a reason to throw him under the bus just yet.

[Invader3K]

It seems like the Brewers' 4th OF's unofficial job is to always be a "lightning rod of criticism" with the fan base, no matter who it is. Gerut for $2 million isn't that bad. He's a competent player who is probably making about average for an average bench player his age. Not that big a deal either way.

[sheethead]

Per Tom Haudricourt, "One thing to remember, folks: These one-year arbitration contracts are not guaranteed, meaning the players can be cut in spring training with the club obligated to only a fraction of the money."

 

I learned something today, I had no idea this was the case. I thought all MLB contracts were guaranteed.

[endaround]

Yeah arby contracts are only about 1/3 guaranteed. But thats only definite if you go through the arby process, one year deals before arby may or may not be guaranteed.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Gerut didn't earn a raise

 

You don't have to earn a raise to get one in the arbitration process, it is assumed that every year of arbitration pays you more than the previous one unless there is an extreme reason not to.

 

As for Gomez, his LD%, GB%, swings at pitches out of the zone, ISO, K% and B% all improved last year. This is a player showing growth even if it didn't come out in his slash stats. He pretty easily could be a 2 WAR player this season and with a little bit of a breakout he could reasonably reach 3 WAR. I don't think there is a reason to throw him under the bus just yet.

 

Thanks for bringing that in, Ender. That is good information. Hopefully it can start showing on his slash stats sooner than later or he'll end up being our 4th OF/defensive replacement like he was in Minnesota last year down the stretch.

[1992casey]

Yeah arby contracts are only about 1/3 guaranteed.

 

Actually, they're 1/6 guaranteed. If a player is cut in the first half of spring training, he receives one month pay. If he's cut in the second half of spring training, I believe he receives six weeks pay.

 

I'd assume that Gerut is guaranteed for this year unless we hear otherwise. Being guaranteed is would seem to be a good incentive to sign rather than take a case to a hearing.

[JohnBriggs12]

I don't think anyone's throwing Gerut under the bus as Ennder suggests. I think there's a consensus that he's capable of putting up a lot better numbers. But it's a valid question why the Brewers would fear a hearing that might save a couple hundred thousand dollars for a guy who went from an .845 OPS in 08 that earned him $1.775 mil, to a .654 OPS in 09 and who on paper is their 4th OF. That's a pretty dramatic dropoff in production. My only conclusion is they want him happy largely because he might well turn out being an everyday player.

 

Now as for only 1/3 of arby awards being guaranteed. That doesn't bode well for Bush if they bring in one more starter. Saving 2/3 of Bush's contract will net them around $3 million which is nearly enough to pay for a year of Davis, Garland or Washburn especially if they backload a 2 year deal.