Cain DFA'd.... Jonathan Davis contract selected

[Brock Beauchamp]

48 minutes ago, hawing said:

Oof.  I understand it, but this move hurts.  Lorenzo is special enough so losing him in the Greinke trade was a big sting for me.  Thus I was extra delighted at his return in 2018. 

Enjoy your THREE KID$, Lo.  You've earned your success and deserve a rest.

Agreed. LoCain seems like a hell of a guy, it would have been nice to see him get a ring in Milwaukee but either way, go enjoy his retirement. 

[edfunderburk]

1 hour ago, Thurston Fluff said:

Guess my wait to see if we can recoup some of his salary in a trade was spot on. Does anyone know how much we have to eat in salary?

About 60% of $18M

[edfunderburk]

Any chance Wiemer or Frelick get a bump to Nashville as part of this shuffle?

[sveumrules]

37 minutes ago, Brewcrew82 said:

The cost of 1 win in WAR over the last few years is around $9-10 million. Cain produced 11.5 in WAR over the course of his latest tenure with the Brewers, including this season. So, purely by the numbers, we got what we paid for and more. 

Cain opting out in 2020 essentially knocked 16 million off his deal too, so it ends up closer to 64 million instead of 80.

If he retired or whatever so we didn’t have to pay him the rest of the year (which I don’t expect) that could possibly bring that down closer to like 55 million.

7th place finish in MVP voting, go ahead RBI in Game 163, NLCS run in 2018. Then two league average years by WAR with GG caliber CF defense in 2019/21.

Lorenzo more than earned his contract, hope he & his family can enjoy it for lifetimes & that he gets a complimentary 2022 WS ring this autumn.

[pitchleague]

Sveum touched on it a bit, but I wonder how things would have played out had Cain not sat out for 2020.  He would have reached the 10-year pension mark much earlier this season, so I wonder what the length of leash it would have been in that case.  Would they have DFA’d him in May?  Or late April?

Just thought it was interesting.

 

Good luck to Lo in the future, whatever that may bring!  I enjoyed watching him play for the Brewers, both in 2010 and on his 5-year contract.

[SRB]

40 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Cain opting out in 2020 essentially knocked 16 million off his deal too, so it ends up closer to 64 million instead of 80.

I assumed he got paid his full salary that year. Do we know one way or another?

[SRB]

Such a shame that Cain broke down so quickly. His 2018 season shows the kind of elite player he was and could have been. Man, baseball is a game full of what-ifs, but he if he stayed closer to his peak for the whole contract? (And if Yelich has remained an MVP caliber player, for that matter...)

A contract is never a mistake when you get at least legit MVP caliber season out of it though. Congrats on a great career to Lorenzo. I wish we had never traded you in 2010!

[nate82]

7 minutes ago, SRB said:

I assumed he got paid his full salary that year. Do we know one way or another?

He forfeited his salary when he chose to sit out.  

[SRB]

Just now, nate82 said:

He forfeited his salary when he chose to sit out.  

I believe players who met certain exemptions (high-risk family members, i.e. possibly small children?) received their normal salary. Maybe he did forfeit it, but even for a guy who is set for life I would just be shocked if he gave up that much money.

[GAME05]

I recall when we signed him the board generally believed that he wouldn't produce much this last year of his contract, but that he'd make up for it his other seasons. Certainly seems to be the case.

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 hour ago, edfunderburk said:

About 60% of $18M

Actually, the Brewers will have to eat 100% of LoCain’s salary, as no team will claim him on waivers. 

[NBBrewFan]

Thanks for 2018 and all the moments since.  Enjoy your family and your future.

50 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Actually, the Brewers will have to eat 100% of LoCain’s salary, as no team will claim him on waivers. 

I think he's referring to 40% of the season is already done/paid so they are eating the remainder (or 60%).

[edfunderburk]

54 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Actually, the Brewers will have to eat 100% of LoCain’s salary, as no team will claim him on waivers. 

I must not have been clear

I’m suggesting they will owe him the remaining 60% of his $18M salary (since we are about 40% of the way through the season)

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 minute ago, edfunderburk said:

I must not have been clear

I’m suggesting they will owe him the remaining 60% of his $18M salary (since we are about 40% of the way through the season)

My misunderstanding and apology. 

[Robocaller]

What I had seen a few days ago said that Cain had to last to Saturday, today, to get his 10 years of service time. Are we sure the brewers didn't screw him out of that?

 

[Axman59]

Cain lost me as a fan when he quit on the Brewers during the 2020 season.

[areacodes]

8 minutes ago, Axman59 said:

Cain lost me as a fan when he quit on the Brewers during the 2020 season.

Deciding to not play during a pandemic isn’t quitting on your team and I guarantee the Brewers don’t view him as quitting on them that year either.

[Brewcrew82]

11 minutes ago, Axman59 said:

Cain lost me as a fan when he quit on the Brewers during the 2020 season.

This is sad. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 hour ago, Axman59 said:

Cain lost me as a fan when he quit on the Brewers during the 2020 season.

I find this take really sad and non-empathetic. People have reasons to make these decisions during a pandemic and those decisions are their own to make. 

[Lathund]

2 hours ago, Robocaller said:

What I had seen a few days ago said that Cain had to last to Saturday, today, to get his 10 years of service time. Are we sure the brewers didn't screw him out of that?

 

I don't know when the day of service "counts", if it's one minute past midnight, at game time or whatever. But with so many stories out even after the DFA about reaching 10 years, Cain's own reactions and comments to it all, and the fact that it would be the most dickish move ever, I'm as sure as I can be that the Brewers didn't screw him out of that. Like what possible reason would there be? 

[bork]

I don't have a problem with him sitting out in 2020. I do have a problem with him doing nothing to stay in shape that year, which he admitted.

[torts]

That game winning snag against the Cardinals was worth 80 million alone.  Thank you, locain for being a gem of a human.

[clancyphile]

7 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

The cost of 1 win in WAR over the last few years is around $9-10 million. Cain produced 11.5 in WAR over the course of his latest tenure with the Brewers, including this season. So, purely by the numbers, we got what we paid for and more. 

$115 million in value for an $80 million deal.

Overall, a good deal. Front-loaded in 2018 with the career offensive season and that Gold Glove in 2019, but 2021 was also decent. Not the worst free-agent contract in Brewers history.

[CheezWizHed]

It was time to go, but sad to see him go this way.  

I remember when Cain was drafted, it hurt when he was traded, but fun to watch the KC Milwaukee team have a good run, and it was good to have him back.  

And I miss the draft and follow process.  

[CheezWizHed]

Also classy of the Brewers to let him get to 10 years.