Infielder Adam Heether lost on waivers to Oakland; Gamel activated to the 40-man and optioned to Nashville

[jwill535]

Also before we kill DM, lets remember that if it was done instead of cutting Suppan, it may not be his decision. Going off the moves so far this year, there has to be a reason beyond DM's control keeping Suppan on the roster.

[naivin]

what specific evidence or indication is there that Heether (and Stern) was waived because DM wants to keep Jeff Suppan on the roster?

 

Heether is not on the 40-man, Suppan is on the 40-man. Not sure what piece of evidence you are looking for here, the two names written on a piece of paper with a circle around one of them?

How about anything to suggest that one has anything to do with the other? Thanks for admitting there is nothing like that though. It should be pretty clear that neither Heether nor Stern factored into the Brewers future any more than Jeff Suppan does. My problem is with people lamenting the loss of players that were never going to matter to the Brewers, being the result of some sort of grand scheme by Doug Melvin to hang onto Jeff Suppan, when there is frankly nothing to indicate that is the case.

[sheethead]

Heether was more useful to the Brewers right now than Jeff Suppan. Mole-skin jeans are more useful to the Brewers right now then Jeff Suppan. Every move made that doesn't involve removing Jeff Suppan from the Milwaukee Brewers is a move made to keep Jeff Suppan on the Milwaukee Brewers.

[brains and braun]

There have been plenty of opportunities to jettison Suppan, where that would have been the most logical move, but the Brewers have resisted it. I think people have the right to question the Brewers' handling of the roster due to the Soup situation.

[naivin]

How are they worse off today than they were 48 hours ago when they had two more career minor leaguers on the roster?

[pretendastronaut]

I have to agree to a degree with naivin's point that right now, no one seems to have any idea why Heether was even placed on waivers, so to say he was placed on waiver's as a further way to keep Suppan on the roster is just ranting because you want Suppan gone, not a statement with anything to support it whatsoever.

[DHonks]

Good for Heether, who profiles as AAA depth at this point. Perhaps he can one day have the career that Scutaro has had thus far

[naivin]

Heether was more useful to the Brewers right now than Jeff Suppan. Mole-skin jeans are more useful to the Brewers right now then Jeff Suppan. Every move made that doesn't involve removing Jeff Suppan from the Milwaukee Brewers is a move made to keep Jeff Suppan on the Milwaukee Brewers.

Well, by my count, that leaves 39 guys on teh 40-man roster, so seems to me there should be room for both at the moment.

[battlekow]

Well, as a couple others have said, Heether probably isn't destined to do anything great in baseball, but I do like him, more than Luis Cruz and Jeff Suppan anyway. Tough to see him go after all this time. Good luck in Oakland, Adam.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Well, by the start of next week they'll have to activate Riske and Gamel off the 60-day DL, so this will likely be one of those spots. Hopefully the other is Suppan, but I'd guess Zaun to 60-day DL and Braddock demoted if Riske is added to the active roster.

[paul253]

How about anything to suggest that one has anything to do with the

other? Thanks for admitting there is nothing like that though. It should

be pretty clear that neither Heether nor Stern factored into the

Brewers future any more than Jeff Suppan does. My problem is with people

lamenting the loss of players that were never going to matter to the

Brewers, being the result of some sort of grand scheme by Doug Melvin to

hang onto Jeff Suppan, when there is frankly nothing to indicate that

is the case.

 

You're missing the point. What we are saying is that between Heether and Suppan, the one who is more valuable to the future of the Brewers (if you had to pick one) is Heether. I named 6 guys who can do what Suppan is doing, and I could probably name 4 more. While nobody is suggesting Heether is going to be making any NL All-Star teams anytime soon, it seems foolish to continue spending over a million dollars a year on backups like Craig Counsell when someone like Heether could assume the backup role for a third of the price. Jeff Suppan not only brings nothing to this team, he actually hurts them when he comes in and pitches. So what we're really saying is why would you even consider putting someone like Heether on waivers when you could finally relieve yourself of a pitcher who is hurting the team? It doesn't make any sense.

 

Beside, if Heether was never going to be of any help to Milwaukee, why did they even bother to put him on the 40 man to begin with? Have these first 50 games of 2010 really changed their minds about him so much that they don't even care if they lose him anymore? Apparently so.

[battlekow]

Well, by my count, that leaves 39 guys on teh 40-man roster, so seems to me there should be room for both at the moment.

Setting aside the fact that the Heether move almost assuredly wouldn't have been made except to clear room for another player, the 40-man roster has to be full to have a player on the 60-day DL (as at least one of Gamel and Riske still are), so there's definitely someone replacing Heether on the 40-man.

 

EDIT: Though perhaps the rule simply prevents players from being put on the 60-day DL if the 40-man isn't full and doesn't speak to players already on the 60-day DL. Either way, why waive Heether now unless you needed the spot?

[monty57]

I figured Heether was in someone's doghouse last year when he hit .902 at Nashville and wasn't called up when we had injuries at 2B/3B. Then Inglett was signed this offseason (and Counsell re-signed) to fill the role that would've been Heether's. I would've liked to have seen him given a shot, especially if it would've meant us holding on to Cole Gillespie. I don't know if this was more Melvin wanting to hold onto Suppan or his dislike of Heether, but I'd say he shouldn't have been the one waived.

[jackalope02ca]

Good luck to Heether. Hopefully he can carve out some sort of career for himself.

 

I can't quite figure out why everyone wants Suppan off the roster so badly but I don't see anyone screaming for Hoffman to be gone? I'm not suggesting Suppan has done anything that supports him being kept but what's the rush to get rid of him? He seldomly pitches anymore. I'm sure if Melvin can upgrade he will do so. Things like Budget and availability come into play though.

 

As for Heether I think it's a good move for him. He wasn't going to get much playing time here and I wonder if Doug was doing him a favour by putting him on waivers. There are going to be more roster moves coming soon and it's a little hard to criticize the GM now before you see how everything shakes out over the next couple of weeks.

[greeg35]

I'm as loyal to Melvin as they come; but his one really angers me.

[YoungGeezy]

Good luck to Heether. Hopefully he can carve out some sort of career for himself.

 

I can't quite figure out why everyone wants Suppan off the roster so badly but I don't see anyone screaming for Hoffman to be gone? I'm not suggesting Suppan has done anything that supports him being kept but what's the rush to get rid of him? He seldomly pitches anymore. I'm sure if Melvin can upgrade he will do so. Things like Budget and availability come into play though.

 

As for Heether I think it's a good move for him. He wasn't going to get much playing time here and I wonder if Doug was doing him a favour by putting him on waivers. There are going to be more roster moves coming soon and it's a little hard to criticize the GM now before you see how everything shakes out over the next couple of weeks.

Hoffman will go down as one of the greatest closers in the history of baseball and this is really the first time he has ever faltured.... It would be pure classless of the Brewers to cut Hoffman for 2 bad months def after the sensational season he had last year (a season where he made Hell's Bells maybe the most popular ringtone in Wisconsin and had fans jazzed for Trevor Time). Suppan on the other hand got lucky by have 2 great starts to win a world series mvp.....thats it, he has offered the Brewers nothing and continues to get worse and worse and worse. I can deal and swallow down Hoffman going through a major hiccup in his otherwise outstanding career but not to watch a pitcher who just does not have what it takes to get the job done at all be marched out there to put the Brewers in a position to lose just because he has a big pay check and is good in the community.

 

Also it really should not be hard to upgrade over Suppan... After seeing him get beat up on by a bunch of 18-20 year olds (runs not the issue but the hits...wow) for the T-Rats I think even Arnett could compete in the majors as well as Suppan is ( that is not a good thing) Like you said but in better words "a waste of a roster spot roll" he doesn't pitch much but when he does it impacts the game...negitively. That is not good! Why have a guy you know can not get outs on your roster?

 

I have always loved Melvin but man enough is enough....I wish I could just walk into his office and drop that sports front page, Suppan must go article from JS in front of him and say it is time, swollow your pride, everyone makes mistakes just do what is best for the team.

 

Heether best of luck!!

 

 

[RockCoCougars]

Good luck to Heether. Hopefully he can carve out some sort of career for himself.

 

I can't quite figure out why everyone wants Suppan off the roster so badly but I don't see anyone screaming for Hoffman to be gone? I'm not suggesting Suppan has done anything that supports him being kept but what's the rush to get rid of him? He seldomly pitches anymore. I'm sure if Melvin can upgrade he will do so. Things like Budget and availability come into play though.

 

As for Heether I think it's a good move for him. He wasn't going to get much playing time here and I wonder if Doug was doing him a favour by putting him on waivers. There are going to be more roster moves coming soon and it's a little hard to criticize the GM now before you see how everything shakes out over the next couple of weeks.

Hoffman makes slightly more than half the money as Suppan, and did twice as much as Suppan has for this franchise last year in a fourth of the time. He's also a future HOF candidate where Suppan is merely Attanasio's pet. I'll give Hoffmn the benefit of the doubt. I actually wouldn't be one bit surprised if Hoffman did a Griffey in the next few weeks if he does not improve, while Soup will wring every thin dime that he can out of the franchise.

[LouisEly]

Heether is not on the 40-man, Suppan is on the 40-man.

And Suppan is a pitcher and Heether is a corner IF.

 

They were trying to clear a 40-man roster spot. In order to do that they have to put Heether on waivers. If Heether isn't the last position player on the 40-man, he's the second-to-last. Maybe they flipped a coin between him and Cruz and said loser gets put on waivers. (Cruz is younger though.) In reality, Heether is competing with McGehee, Gamel, and Green for the 3B spot in Milwaukee, and is probably behind all three on the depth chart. Thus they did him a favor and let him get a chance with another organization.

 

As far as a RH hitter, Cain is only a phone call away and Katin is a better OF than Heether.

 

Edit: You know how there was this "tree" of derivatives from the trade of Seitzer/Burnitz/etc.? Maybe we should start a tree of players who have been screwed by Jeff Suppan.

[TheCrew07]

Heether is competing with McGehee, Gamel, and Green for the 3B spot in Milwaukee, and is probably behind all three on the depth chart. Thus they did him a favor and let him get a chance with another organization.

I don't think that is the case at all, he's a utility guy with much greater position versatility than Cruz, he can legitimately play every position but C, SS, and CF. Cruz has spent limited in the time in the OF in the minors, but he's more of a utility IF. Adam also has the much higher career OPS, .788 vs .660, I think they DFA'd the wrong player. It's not that Cruz wasn't performing well this season, it's just he's a right handed Counsell.

 

Suppan's talent is completely replaceable, I'm not sure I understand the fascination with pitching depth around here sometimes. A bad pitcher, aka a warm body, doesn't make someone worth keeping around. Depth for depth's sake really hasn't done anything for the team. We now have a 40 man roster full of the same type of pitching... surely the younger pitchers are a better option than Suppan at this point, not to mention what's the difference if we lose 2 of those excess pitchers? Are the results for the big club going to be demonstrably worse if we were to cut ties with 2 of them? For the most part they are all the same.

 

I called my shot on this when Stern was DFA'd, I didn't like where this DFA thing was heading, I do not want Cain called up in the midst of his best season to sit the bench for any length of time. Is his time in Milwaukee going to be the difference for this team? Let him stay down and keep playing, if the youngsters aren't starting, I don't want them accumulating service time on the bench during another losing season. I didn't like extending Gamel's service time by dropping him on the 60 day DL, I was fine DFAing Heether with Stern still on the 40 man even though I kind of like him, but with Stern gone from the 40 man, Heether was the only player between Cain and the bench.

 

Katin isn't on the 40 man roster, he's not a viable option at this point. The team still has to clear 2 more roster spots when Riske and Gamel come off the 60 DL.

[MNBrew]

Thanks, LouisEly, for bringing some sense into this thread.

 

Per Haudricourt's blog: Also, the Brewers apparently tried to slip Nashville third baseman Adam

Heether through waivers and he was claimed by Oakland. I guess the

Brewers were trying to clear a 40-man roster spot for future moves and

didn't think Heether, who socked two homers last night, would be

claimed. In 50 games, he was batting .245 with nine homers and 28 RBI.

 

Two important things stand out to me in TH's blog post that LouisEly thankfully gets at:

 

1. For what many of us have come to like about Heether, he wasn't getting it done this year at a rate that merited putting him higher on the depth chart than 4th after McGehee, Gamel, & Green.

 

2. Based on when Gamel went on the DL and on the fact that he's currently on a rehab assignment, it shouldn't be too long before they'll need to activate him from the 60-day, which means either placing him back on the 40-man & optioning him or trying, as they did with Heether, to sneak him through waivers.

 

Gamel hit .393 rehabbing at AA and was getting bumped to AAA. There's no way he'd EVER get through waivers. Heether, swell guy that he is, was hitting .245 in AAA w/ a .343 OBP & a .783 OPS. TH's point has been blatantly missed by so many posters in this thread: With no-so-glamorous stats, the Brewers were trying to SLIP HIM THROUGH WAIVERS -- they tried it because they thought it could work. They weren't trying to waive him so they could get rid of him. To infer that they were waiving him to get rid of him is missing the boat BADLY.

 

I like what Heether could be, but there's absolutely no guarantee that he'll ever amount to what Craig Counsell has proven very reliably to be. Yeah, I'd rather see him on the 40-man than Suppan. And I wish they'd never kept Suppan out of spring training because the clown never deserved to make the team. I can see why it's not an apples-to-oranges comparison. But at the same time, if the Brewers looked at it that it was apples-to-oranges, I don't find theirs to be a flawed logic, either. . . . And at the end of the day, no matter how much we want to see Suppan gone, if the owner still can't fathom spending $12.5M to watch Suppan do nothing -- releasing him, in other words -- it doesn't matter what the GM or anyone else wants to see happen.

[TheCrew07]

With no-so-glamorous stats, the Brewers were trying to SLIP HIM THROUGH WAIVERS -- they tried it because they thought it could work.

First, that's a pretty superficial evaluation of Heether which I don't agree with. Second, Cruz has a career .660 OPS, of the 2 players, he was the least likely player to be claimed based on his career. Third, see the paragraph in my previous post about the pitching... do we really need a 40 man full of all the same type of pitching?

[MNBrew]

What about a .245 BA, .343 OBP, & .783 OPS is glamorous, then? What Heether did last year was excellent. What he's done this year hasn't been so far except for some nice run production. But it wasn't power-hitter-type run production that got everyone around here excited about him.

 

The nice thing is, we don't have to agree. I don't think mine was a superficial evaluation of Heether at all, but rather a self-evident description of the obvious.

 

Look, I've made it clear that I like Heether as a ballplayer. I've been on record, I believe, of saying I'd hoped he would've made the team this year before Inglett was signed. But Heether's a career corner IF type who's realized in the past year or so that to have a future in the bigs, he's got to learn to play other positions. He may be serviceable at 2B & the OF, but only to the extent that Jeff Cirillo was. He didn't have a major track record as a utility player.

 

I also don't see any redeeming qualities in Luis Cruz that merit having him on the 40-man at all, and I'd much rather have seen him go than Heether (though I understand why, I don't agree with him being the choice: It is true that Cruz is the only middle IF on the 40-man not currently

in the bigs. If they needed to recall a middle IF, they could pull up

Cruz w/o pulling a prospect up too far or starting a strong prospect's

"service clock" unnecessarily early.) But that wasn't the discussion, so I didn't go there.

 

My point was just that I could see why the Brewers might think they could sneak a 28-year-old career minor leaguer with so-so stats this year (again, not for his career, but definitely for this year) through waivers, even though there's another whole line of thought that makes the move make no sense at all.

[Mass Haas]

After seven long years prior to this season, Adam Heether had earned the right to become a minor league free agent. The Brewers only retained his rights for 2010 after placing him on their 40-man roster on the very last possible day last fall.

 

So I think an overlooked item here is that even though it was Heether's first outright off of a 40-man roster, it appears as though he would have had the right to not accept the Brewers' minor league assignment even if he had not been claimed. I'll have to ask our Baseball America friends to confirm that.

 

I can't wait for him to eventually appear in a big league uniform for Oakland, will be so very happy for him.

 

Oakland has only been able to get five home runs from the third base position, making a brief stint with the Sacramento River Cats a realistic route for the Ripon graduate (link).

[Tbadder]

For now I choose to look at Heether as the Dana Eveland of utility infielders--intriguing, but not so good. Truth is, he was buried in the organization, but it's just as true that Melvin needs to learn from his own successes. Give a guy a chance, especially when he's cheap because you may catch lightning in a bottle ala Axford, McGehee, etc.

[MJLiverock]

If the Brewers were looking at a 25 man roster I could see the argument of utility infielder or pitcher but on the 40 man? Bah, who cares at that point, just keep the better player or the player you have no subsitutes for. As was mentioned the Brewers have a bushel basket full of soft tossing, mediocre pitchers to call upon. Utility players who can hit with a little power from the right side, not so much, especially if they need to bring a guy up to ride the pine in the OF or fill in some games if Edmonds, Gerut, go down again or Hart is traded at some point.

 

Looking at the roster of 40 guys and if someone has to be cut for Gamel, Riske, etc. Just drop the guy with the least use or future with the team- - > Suppan. If some other team just offered a player like Heether to the Brewers for Suppan (assuming the Brewers still paid his salary) wouldn't most people take the deal? Suppan has been compared to not worth a bag of balls but in this case the Brewers decided he was more valuable than Heether. The Brewers had the choice to DFA Suppan but didn't, they lost a player who may never amount to much in the majors but they decided a bag of balls like Suppan was more valuable or irreplaceable. To me it was completely stupid decision.