Offseason roster moves - Marcum, K-Rod, Gonzalez choose free agency

[LouisEly]

I thought the Brewers had the option on Gonzalez, but apparently not:

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Brewers-SS-Gonzalez-off-DL-chooses-free-agency-55692822

[torts]

for the hundredth time on this forum, the option on gonzalez was on 525 plate appearances in 2012, which he did not reach

[Baldkin]

for the hundredth time on this forum, the option on gonzalez was on 525 plate appearances in 2012, which he did not reach

 

Considering the Brewers own beat writer reported multiple times that the option was Vesting + Team option, it's not surprising people were confused.

 

Q: eric, Albany Wi. - Just wondering if the Brewers have an option of Gonzales for next year,or is it a guaranteed contract?Reason,,,IF Edwin Maysonet plays well,do you see him as a Full time starting SS next year for us and Gonzales to be gone or is Gonzales given another year since he played well this year before getting hurt

A: Tom Haudricourt - Alex Gonzalez had a vesting clause in his contract that gave him a $4 million salary in 2013 if he accumulated 525 plate appearances this season. Now, obviously, that's not going to happen. The Brewers could still exercise the option if they wanted to keep him. But, at 35 and coming off major knee surgery, Gonzalez might be considered too much of a risk at that price. So, the Brewers probably will look elsewhere.

[torts]

touche

[xisxisxis]

Maybe the brewers told him they weren't going to exercise the option. i think Segura showed enough at the end of last year that the brewers felt they didn't need a $4M insurance policy and could get a cheaper backup (Bianhi?)

[wisniewski]

Melvin specifically mentioned the SS position yesterday in his time with reporters and gave the sense they were going full time with Segura.

[wisniewski]

From the transcript:

 

On Alex Gonzalez possibly returning:

 

“We’ve gotta make that decision yet. Alex is a free agent so he could test the market too. When it comes down to asking players, when you’re a free agent, he’s gonna want to know his playing time. How much time is he gonna play or do we view him as an extra guy and are we going with Segura. We have to answer that question. Jean is playing winter ball right now and is hitting almost .400 and he hit very well the month of September for us. We’re pretty high on (Segura) at this point. We can go with Jean Segura. We just want to make sure that is the right thing to do. Alex would love to return to us but it’s probably going to be about playing time. ‘Are we the right fit for him?’ And if you do bring Alex back, what impact does that have on Jean Segura? We haven’t made that final call yet. Right now we’re probably leaning toward Segura and just letting Jean do the job because we do think the resources are going to be needed for pitching.”

[torts]

love that endorsement of Segura!!

[PrinceEatMeat]

Morgan was just outrighted off the 40-man too.

[torts]

later tony plush, it was nice known' ya

[wisniewski]

Yeah, not totally unexpected. Thanks Plush for the memories. You made it fun and we had a good time.

[LouisEly]

If you read the link it said Gonzalez "chooses" free agency. Use of the word "chooses" implies that it was Gonzalez that had the option.

[markedman5]

Mike Vassallo‏@MikeVassallo13

 

The #Brewers have signed minor-league free agent RHP Michael Olmsted. He will be added to the Brewers 40-man roster.

[monty57]

From the transcript:

 

On Alex Gonzalez possibly returning:

 

“We’ve gotta make that decision yet. Alex is a free agent so he could test the market too. When it comes down to asking players, when you’re a free agent, he’s gonna want to know his playing time. How much time is he gonna play or do we view him as an extra guy and are we going with Segura. We have to answer that question. Jean is playing winter ball right now and is hitting almost .400 and he hit very well the month of September for us. We’re pretty high on (Segura) at this point. We can go with Jean Segura. We just want to make sure that is the right thing to do. Alex would love to return to us but it’s probably going to be about playing time. ‘Are we the right fit for him?’ And if you do bring Alex back, what impact does that have on Jean Segura? We haven’t made that final call yet. Right now we’re probably leaning toward Segura and just letting Jean do the job because we do think the resources are going to be needed for pitching.”

 

That's perfect because that was exactly my concern. I have to believe that someone will offer Gonzalez a starting job, so the only way he returns to the Brewers is if Segura is either on the bench or in AAA. As long as Segura can handle the workload, I would like to just go with Segura as the starter with Bianchi (or some other pickup) as the backup, and it sounds like that's Melvin's plan.

 

Spending around $1MM total between the starting and backup SS opens up a lot of room for shoring up more glaring holes. We could have Segura, Bianchi and a good setup guy for what we paid Gonzalez in 2012. Good pre-arby guys are wonderful.

[djoctagone]

five players had their contracts purchased this morning. they are now all on the 40-man roster and should each have three option years remaining (meaning the club can send them up and down for the next three seasons).

 

right-handers nick bucci and hiram burgos, outfielder khris davis, second baseman scooter gennett and outfielder josh prince.

 

the roster now stands at 39. this doesn't leave the brewers a lot of flexibility for free agent signings. other fringe players are likely to be jettisoned to make room for the pitching help that melvin assured.

[reillymcshane]

I'm betting Parra gets the ax. Maybe we work out a trade for some A ball prospect. But not much else, unless you take on someone else's 'change of scenery guy'.