Offseason Transactions: Latest -- Ryan Dittfurth Auditions

[rluzinski]

***!!!???

[ja002h]

To echo, this doesn't seem to make much sense at all, unless there's something else going on we don't know about.

[Never Outhustled]

It has been rumored in the past that The Brewers were less than enamored with Matt Fords work ethic. His laziness might have just cost him a job. Work ethic is contagious, and I'm sure they didn't want his rubbing off on the real prospects.

[cosnj]

Maybe Matt asked for his release.

[MassBrew]

LHP Matt Ford is still Brewer property.

 

From the Brewers:

 

He was released and then signed a new contract with us for 2005. He is on the Brewer roster.

 

We didn't ask the Brewers to expand on the how's or why's of those paper transactions, but Matt Ford will be in Maryvale for spring training.

 

Now I may be wrong, but I believe that a signing like that, similar to the Chris Saenz re-sign earlier, means that Ford will be eligible for free agency at the end of the 2005 season if not added to the 40-man roster.

 

Regardless, he's a Brewer...

[cosnj]

MassBrew,

 

Huh???

I thought if a player gets released, he is automatically a free agent. Why would Ford resign to be a free agent at the end of the year if he was technically a free agent when they released him and free to make his own deal somewhere else.

Do you figure some good sized $$$ was involved??

[Al the Thinking Man]

I think Matt Ford is a perfect example of a couple things...one, how easy it is to have a good small sample; two, how easy it is for a prospect to simply stop being a prospect.

 

Many guys the Crew have in their bullpen mix (Turnbow, Lehr, the BOS curveball kid) have jumped from prospect status, and out of it, many times due to inconsistency and injury.

[clancyphile]

Matt Ford is probably better suited to the bullpen. He did fine there in 2003, and struggled in the rotation.

 

I always figured he would have been a good option of the pen in 2004, and it might be the same this year.

[MassBrew]

MassBrew,

 

Huh???

I thought if a player gets released, he is automatically a free agent. Why would Ford resign to be a free agent at the end of the year if he was technically a free agent when they released him and free to make his own deal somewhere else.

Do you figure some good sized $$$ was involved??

 

cosnj, I honestly don't know.

 

In the case of former 40-man pitcher Chris Saenz, by non-tendering him, it appears the Brewers kept him off of waivers, and by having a handshake deal in place to re-sign him immediately, things seemed to work out fine. I notice that the Brewers list Saenz as a non-roster invite to big league camp, so that's probably one of the bones they threw to Chris (hey, you can rehab with the big boys...).

 

With Ford (not on the 40-man), I'm not sure. I remember that he and Enrique Cruz signed unique re-structured deals after their Rule 5 year with the Brewers. Was there some beneficial financial implication to both parties to release and re-sign Matt at this time? No idea.

 

Don't think that players always choose free agency when they're able. Matt Childers is an example of a player who chose to re-sign with the Brewers (last winter) when he hit the six-year minor league free-agent market. It's not common, but if the organization makes it worthwhile...

[brewcru1]

Here's what I think happened.

 

2003 - Ford makes ML minimum $300,000

 

2004 - Brewers send Ford to minors, but have to pay him at least 80% of his previous year salary (~$240k)

 

2005 - Brewers think Ford will be in the minors again, but don't want to pay him the 80% of $240k ($192k). So, they tell him they won't pay him that much but they'll pay him more than he would get as a free agent.

 

If Ford says no, then they would release him and save $192k. But Ford, or his agent, is smart and takes the offer because Ford wouldn't get $10,000/month as a minor league free agent. So the Brewers are probably paying more than he would have gotten from another club, but less than the $192k.

 

In order to do that, they would have to release him and then have him sign a new contract.

 

Does that make sense?

[Al the Thinking Man]

As usual, BC makes sense. That said, I know many 6 year FA's get nice bonuses as well, once in a while, one even hits 6 figures, though they are uncommon. Ford, a hard throwing lefty, may well have had a shot at a decent bonus, but I assume injury derailed any chance at that he had.

[ja002h]

Always trust the 8-ball. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[DHonks]

I heard that the Brewers have claimed Phil Stockman from the Dbacks. He's a big Australian righty who throws hard, and is kind of a project.

He was DFA'd, and the Brewers are working out a trade that should be finalized by Wednesday or Thursday.

[berniebrewer4life]

awesome!! thanks Dhonks!

[MassBrew]

I heard that the Brewers have claimed Phil Stockman from the Dbacks. He's a big Australian righty who throws hard, and is kind of a project.

He was DFA'd, and the Brewers are working out a trade that should be finalized by Wednesday or Thursday.

 

Career numbers -- 25 years old this month, and scary control:

 

www.sports-wired.com/prof...bc7143.asp

 

When a player has been designated for assignment, his team has 10 days to decide to return him to the active roster, outright him to the minors, trade him, or release him. A player may only be designated for assignment if the 40-man roster is full and a player needs to be added. If a trade is made, a player is often designated for assignment to make immediate room for him on the 40-man roster. Most often, a player is designated for assignment when the team doesn't have time to wait for him to clear waivers to add another player to the roster. Since any player who is removed from the 40-man must clear waivers to be released or sent to the minors, any player who isn't traded within the 10 day span must pass through waivers. The only time a designated player can be returned to the roster is when the player provides proof of an injury that hindered performance, in which case the team will place that player on the disabled list.

 

Why wouldn't the Brewers just claim him and not give anything up? I guess the thinking is that another team could trade for him first.

 

And by the way, DHonks, nice inside scoop.

 

Between the Washington Post ("?") reporting on Ricky Bottalico and the occasional Brewerfan scoop, well, I'll just leave it at that...

[DHonks]

Mass, I was wondering about the claiming, too, but my insider doesn't know the waiver rules all that well, just that somehow the Brewers claimed him and were working out a trade.

 

Also, I heard that the Dbacks and A's had a done deal with the Valverde-Byrnes swap. All that was needed was for a Dbacks official to get Valverde to the US for a physical, but somehow all the executives thought someone else was calling him or his agent, and nobody took the initiative to call. So when Valverde still hadn't arrived for a physical after several days, the A's assumed something was wrong with him phyisically, and began demanding that Cintron be included in the deal. So if the Byrnes to Dbacks deal happens, sounds like it's no longer just Valverde.

[lynchmobster]

Here's an interview by Stockman -- video here.

[brewcru1]

Quote:

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He was DFA'd, and the Brewers are working out a trade that should be finalized by Wednesday or Thursday.

---

 

This doesn't make sense to me. Once a player is DFA'd, he can be claimed by any team within a certain time frame for the fee of $20k. Teams do not have to trade anyone to claim a player who is DFA'd.

 

Perhaps Stockman is still on waivers and the waiver period does not close until Wednesday?

[squarepusher]

[ Teams do not have to trade anyone to claim a player who is DFA'd. ]

 

If they think someone else is planning on trading for him or has a better waiver position than them, they do.

[DHonks]

my source has been wrong before, but this is just what I was told. The problem with being an insider is he hears all the facts about a week in advance, along with all the rumors.

[Al the Thinking Man]

Actually, his BB/K ratio was excellentn until 2004. Looks like a hard thrower who fell into a funk LY, that no one could get him out of.

 

Mike & Bill may find his flaws and turn into a productive, generic reliever.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Quote:

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Mike & Bill may find his flaws and turn into a productive, generic reliever.

---

 

That really does seem to be the Brewers' M.O. as of late. Melvin is really stockpiling wild power arms with problems this offseason. I know that he told his scouts to go out and find him the next Danny Kolb, but I didn't think they were going to try and replace Danny with 32 other guys. I guess it's a good situation to be in, though. They can throw them all during Spring Training and see who sticks. Hopefully the Brewers will be playing alot of split squad and "B" games this spring.

[thumperden]

Ralph: I've been wondering the same thing too. Maybe a couple of the wild arms can be "controlled" with the tutelage of Maddux and Castro and will stick around long enough to convert to more prospects again.

 

I hope they play plenty of split squad and B games too. We're gonna need as many opportunities as reasonable to figure out who's gonna round out the pitching staff.

[MassBrew]

So when does it become overkill? How many arms are now competing for spots in Huntsville / Nashville / Milwaukee? Will there be an opportunity to properly evaluate with so many guys competing? I'm with Toby, I mean, we're approaching a dozen guys at least who just won't be able to squeeze into an organizational slot and will have to be traded or released. Here's the latest name, courtesy of the Sounds' site:

 

RHP Jason Ryan - The 28-year-old Ryan is a familiar face to Sounds fans, having spent the first half of the 2001 season as a member of Nashville's starting rotation (3-5, 4.53). He is no stranger to the Pacific Coast League either; the right-hander has spent portions of five of the last six seasons in the circuit. The league's ERA leader with a 2.70 mark with Memphis in 2003, Ryan split the 2004 campaign between the Redbirds and Omaha, posting a 2-10 record and 6.91 ERA (77er/100.1ip) in 22 games (19 starts).

 

Career Stats:

 

www.sports-wired.com/prof...c17486.asp

 

His 2004 Rotoworld summary:

 

www.rotoworld.com/content...mp;id=6319

[lend d money]

How do you go from league ERA leader to 6.91 in one year? Is there more to this story?