Free Agent Starting Pitchers, who would you want?

[jjfanec]

What really drives me nuts..... the teams reportedly making a strong move to acquire Webb: Cubs, Cardinals, Rangers, Reds, Nationals, and of course Arizona.

 

If Arizona wants to keep the guy that should tell you all you need to know.

 

Why are we not trying to get this guy? It's unbelievable. He's kept his era under 3.5 most of his career. This is EXACTLY the player we NEED.

Just because we are not mentioned does not mean we are not trying to contact Webb. Look at all the false rumors floating - ie Prince to LA which made no sense with their financial situation. We could easily have inquired about Webb and he could have said I either want to stay where I am - Arizona - go to a playoff team - Texas, Cincy and St louis - or go to a team willing to overpay - Chicago or Washington. Maybe we dont fit his plans. Why do people always assume if we dont get a guy or are not mentioned with a guy that Melvin did not make an effort to get him. No one heard anything about the Marcum trade until it went down. The media does not know everything

[Mass Haas]

Rotoworld:

According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, "a number of teams" have checked in on free agent right-hander Rich Harden.

The Yankees, Twins, Rays, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Mariners and Rockies have all expressed interest in Harden, though some view him as a starter and others view him as a reliever. The 29-year-old posted an ugly 5.58 ERA in 2010, but he is one of the nastiest pitchers in all of baseball when everything is working. He can probably be had with a one-year contract.

 

FOXSports.com

[RockCoCougars]

Rotoworld:

According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, "a number of teams" have checked in on free agent right-hander Rich Harden.

The Yankees, Twins, Rays, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Mariners and Rockies have all expressed interest in Harden, though some view him as a starter and others view him as a reliever. The 29-year-old posted an ugly 5.58 ERA in 2010, but he is one of the nastiest pitchers in all of baseball when everything is working. He can probably be had with a one-year contract.

 

FOXSports.com

I would be ecstatic if they could get something done with Harden. As a 4/5 starter, he has tremendous upside. Give him an incentive deal, I said $2.5 million before, but I would go maybe to $4 million, with a million dollar bonus for every 10 starts or every 50 innings over 100, and an option for 2012 that kicks in for much higher if he hits 25 starts or 175 innings.

 

Come on Doug, get this done, get Cappy back in the fold, and all of a sudden, you have a legit starting 5 with a few extra guys that can step in.

[TooLiveBrew]

Harden's velocity was way down last season, & he was terrible to boot. If he can bounce back, I'd like to see the Brewers sign him... but I'm not sure how likely that is. He might just be a 'name guy' at this point.

[bando1234]

I know his stats look awful, but I would like Andrew Miller. I would like to see what he could do working out of the bullpen.

[RockCoCougars]

Harden's velocity was down, but he still threw harder than any of the guys penciled in the rotation (as we speak) not named Gallardo. Obviously, the loss of velocity is a little concerning since he's basically a one pitch pitcher, as is the fact that his groundball rate was down. That said, he still struck out over 7 guys per 9, and he's apparently healthy. If he was used as a #5 starter to begin the season, perhaps he could be brought along more slowly in the hopes that he doesn't live up to his reputation as a 'bullpen killer'. I would guess that you could probably get both Harden and Capuano on one year (base salary) deals for less than the cost of the first year of Pavano's multi-year contract. If you give them incentives they may cost more, but that's a good thing, because they came through. Worst case, they both flame out and you move on- kind of like the Gagne deal but for less money. It's a no-brainer to me.

[NievesNoNO]

TooLiveBrew[/b]]Harden's velocity was way down last season, & he was terrible to boot. If he can bounce back, I'd like to see the Brewers sign him... but I'm not sure how likely that is. He might just be a 'name guy' at this point.

Agreed. He was horrible last year and not all that impressive the year before. I'd say he's lucky to give 100 innings this year. He's definitely a big risk/reward type, but I'd still much rather sign him than Pavano though.

 

 

[Warning Track Power]

I would guess that you could probably get both Harden and Capuano on one year (base salary) deals for less than the cost of the first year of Pavano's multi-year contract.

It is this line of thinking that I believe should be the Brewers mantra when it comes to FA SP this offseason. If Pavano commands the 3yr/$33MM as has been speculated, I would much rather take my chances on one year fliers with incentives with multiple guys like Capuano and Harden. I can't imagine Melvin getting sucked into another Suppan deal when there are less risky solutions that won't handicap the team in the event the Hardens or Capuanos don't work out.

 

 

[MadScientist]

I'd like to see them sign John Maine to an NRI (with a June 1st out clause) to see if he's recovered from injuries. He's only 29 and was good before the injuries (shoulder spur, and scarring) hit.

[thumperden]

Wasn't there trade interest in John Maine a couple years ago from the Brewers, or was that speculation on this site? I agree, bring him in as a NRI with incentives.

[TooLiveBrew]

Haudricourt tweet: Brewers GM Doug Melvin said he's not focusing on any pitchers coming off injury: Webb, Francis, Penny, C. Young, McCarthy, Harden.

 

Have to say I'm kind of relieved to hear that.

[Invader3K]

Me too. Those types don't pan out more often than not. Though Melvin does say on Haudricourt's blog that he isn't opposed to exploring them, just that's not what they're focused on right now.

[thumperden]

[3:26pm]

>> The Brewers have met with right-hander Carl Pavano and his agent, according to Adam McCalvy.
Doug Melvin says the trade market is not buzzing too much, so he is
switching gears to the free agent market. Cue the music, ladies and
gentlemen.

I predict this will be the hottest topic on the board until either Pavano signs with Milwaukee or goes elsewhere. I think Melvin will be all over Pavano's agent to make a deal happen. If you believe they were even willing to offer Cliff Lee 7 years, that should tell you all you need to know about Melvin being on the hot seat this year. I predict Pavano gets overpaid to sign with Milwaukee. And I'm (gulp) okay with it, only because this is likely Fielder's and Melvin's last go round in Milwaukee together.

[BrandonBurns]

Does a Pavano signing end Greinke/Garza trade talks? God I would hope not. It might eliminate Greinke for payroll reasons but you'd have to think that DM would still be hard after Garza right?

[Invader3K]

I think the Greinke ship has long sailed after it was reported Melvin made two trade offers to KC, which Moore turned down. Garza could still be a possibility, but I'm not getting a feeling that the Rays are aggressively shopping him yet.

 

I really don't want to see Pavano signed to a 3 year/$30 million-ish deal, which seems to be the going rate for starters of his caliber this winter. I'd be OK if it's a two year deal, but that's about it. As much as I hate to say, he'd be OK as a two year sort of "stop gap" along with Randy Wolf, until some of the younger starting prospects are ready.

[NievesNoNO]

Maybe a combination of Harden and Brad Penny could give them between 160-180 decent innings each on a 1 year deal. It seems wishful, but anything is possible in the offseason!! Give them the 4-5 spots out of the gate knowing at least one is going down and have Parra or Rogers ready.

[dlk9s]

I predict this will be the hottest topic on the board until either Pavano signs with Milwaukee or goes elsewhere. I think Melvin will be all over Pavano's agent to make a deal happen. If you believe they were even willing to offer Cliff Lee 7 years, that should tell you all you need to know about Melvin being on the hot seat this year.

 

This doesn't really make sense. What some fan's belief about what Melvin might be willing to do, with no evidence to support said belief, tells us all we need to know about Melvin's job status? I don't get it.

[brewtank34]

dlk9s]

I predict this will be the hottest topic on the board until either Pavano signs with Milwaukee or goes elsewhere. I think Melvin will be all over Pavano's agent to make a deal happen. If you believe they were even willing to offer Cliff Lee 7 years, that should tell you all you need to know about Melvin being on the hot seat this year.

 

This doesn't really make sense. What some fan's belief about what Melvin might be willing to do, with no evidence to support said belief, tells us all we need to know about Melvin's job status? I don't get it.

This is a simple case of reading between the lines. One can infer that he was getting to the fact that Melvin has a lot of pressure on him this offseason to build a winning pitching rotation. It makes complete sense even though he didn't back up any of his information/statement. The need to act aloof and/or elitist was unnecessary.

 

[And That]

The interest in Maine may have been more distinct if Rick Peterson was still the pitching coach.

[thumperden]

I predict this will be the hottest topic on
the board until either Pavano signs with Milwaukee or goes elsewhere.
I think Melvin will be all over Pavano's agent to make a deal happen.
If you believe they were even willing to offer Cliff Lee 7 years, that
should tell you all you need to know about Melvin being on the hot seat
this year.

This doesn't really make sense.
What some fan's belief about what Melvin might be willing to do, with
no evidence to support said belief, tells us all we need to know about
Melvin's job status? I don't get it.


This is a
simple case of reading between the lines. One can infer that he was
getting to the fact that Melvin has a lot of pressure on him this
offseason to build a winning pitching rotation. It makes complete
sense even though he didn't back up any of his
information/statement. The need to act aloof and/or elitist was
unnecessary.

I think you guys are reading into what I wrote too much. I apologize if I didn't make my point clear. I'm a simple guy and I was simply reading between the lines...that is all. I am certainly not aloof and/or elitist. I'm simply trying to state that it is in my "opinion" a make or break year for Melvin and the information from which we have these discussions seems to indicate that...(a losing record last year, Fielder's contract, fan and ownership expectations, etc.)

[greeg35]

My guess is we are in a holding pattern because Melvin is waiting for some chips to fall before addressing our need for one more starter.

First of all, letting the competition settle for Greinke. If Texas signs Lee, that would seem to eliminate one of our main sources of competition for Greinke; which would hopefully lower the price for Greinke into the range we're willing to offer. After that chip falls, then we'll know if we are desperate enough to give Pavano a third year, give up Cain in a trade for pitching, or take a risk on an one of the "injury" pitchers.

The second chip that will have an impact on this situation is Fielder. Lee's signing may also shift the market and what teams are willing to GIVE for Fielder because some room in the budget opens up that was reserved for Lee or maybe need to make an "impact" move. The other side of that is that if we get Greinke, we would probably just keep fielder and compete next year. If we don't get Greinke, maybe we are willing to ship Fielder to fill in other holes such as the starter we need, first base, trading pieces, or to restock the farm system (or any/all of these).

[thumperden]

Even after the Greinke talk settles down and Pavano decides wherever to go, I'd still like to see the Brewers sign 1 if not 2 pitchers from the injury-risk pool for competition's sake.

 

Rogers and Jeffress need more seasoning, so I don't think a rotation spot will be filled from the farm at the beginning of the year at least. I'd just feel more comfortable with more arms on board, including Capuano.

[brewtank34]

I predict this will be the hottest topic on the board until either Pavano signs with Milwaukee or goes elsewhere. I think Melvin will be all over Pavano's agent to make a deal happen. If you believe they were even willing to offer Cliff Lee 7 years, that should tell you all you need to know about Melvin being on the hot seat this year.

 

This doesn't really make sense. What some fan's belief about what Melvin might be willing to do, with no evidence to support said belief, tells us all we need to know about Melvin's job status? I don't get it.


This is a simple case of reading between the lines. One can infer that he was getting to the fact that Melvin has a lot of pressure on him this offseason to build a winning pitching rotation. It makes complete sense even though he didn't back up any of his information/statement. The need to act aloof and/or elitist was unnecessary.

 

I think you guys are reading into what I wrote too much. I apologize if I didn't make my point clear. I'm a simple guy and I was simply reading between the lines...that is all. I am certainly not aloof and/or elitist. I'm simply trying to state that it is in my "opinion" a make or break year for Melvin and the information from which we have these discussions seems to indicate that...(a losing record last year, Fielder's contract, fan and ownership expectations, etc.)

Thumperden...that statement was not directed to you. It was to defend to your position.