Free Agents in the offseason

[logan82]

I have seen talk about signing somebody in the offseason to fill holes on our team, most notably in LF. The only position I see getting taken care of in the offseason is RP. I doubt we will even see that. People talk about having quite a bit of money this offseason and say we should get afree agent. I disagree. I doubt we will be able to find much more than a bench player who is willing to take less than a 3-4 year contract. Yes, we have money this offseason, but looking forward we will be strapped the year after. Not to mention that free agents generally are a bad idea. We should at the very least trade some of our SP depth to fill our needs.

[princeginterhallhelms04]

I hope that we can find some help for the bull pen. I am actually hoping we try and keep COCO. I was thinking that maybe we could have handed it over to turnbow again. But i just don't see that happening. The bullpen does need to be addressed, but you never know what the winter meetings are going to bring and that seems to be doug's best time of year to improve this team. But if i was just throwing out ideas Eric Gagne?

[sbrylski]

You can pretty much throw out all big name options for the Brewers, especially at closer. For the bullpen, I'm guessing we'll see two or three of Melvin's nuggets to chuck at the wall, as well as aquiring a younger "non-closer" (as in a guy who's never closed but could) or an undervalued late bloomer to compete for the closer role with Turnbow and maybe McClung if he has a good spring.

 

(BTW, I hadn't checked on Thatcher in a while - 0.64 ERA in 14 IP and very good secondary stats...)

[Nader Raider Tim]

This offseason if going to be a fun or devastating time. What is going to happen with the open spot in the OF? (Left Field or Center with Hall in LF) How is Melvin going to restock the Bullpen? What member/s of the starting rotation aren't going to be around next year? Is there anyway that Melvin could improve the catching situation?

[Yaz]

Hey, is Ted Thompson the Brewers GM? Nope, so I can hold out hope the Crew will go and find some good players for the 2008 season. Maybe a decent starter and a good leftfielder. At most it will raise the salaries paid to say, $80 million. This is WAY behind some of the bigger market teams.

[Oldcity]

The Brewers really can't afford an $80 million payroll. I don't think much will be done in free agency. Probably a couple trades though.

[trwi7]

You can pretty much throw out all big name options for the Brewers, especially at closer. For the bullpen, I'm guessing we'll see two or three of Melvin's nuggets to chuck at the wall, as well as aquiring a younger "non-closer" (as in a guy who's never closed but could) or an undervalued late bloomer to compete for the closer role with Turnbow and maybe McClung if he has a good spring.

 

(BTW, I hadn't checked on Thatcher in a while - 0.64 ERA in 14 IP and very good secondary stats...)

 

So what you're saying is our bullpen is going to blow next year. And please don't tell me one of Melvin's nuggets will pan out and it will be fine. They better spend some money on good bullpen pitchers or this team is screwed.

[jjfanec]

My guess would be that they would trade some of the starting pitching depth ie Cappy, Vargas, or maybe even Bush to get relief pitching. I dont see any more than one of those guys starting. So the bullpen could get some help there. I dont feel like starting pitching is a need with Sheets, Yo, Carlos, Suppan, and then Parra, or one the aforementioned three pitchers being the 5th with the other being the long guy.

I dont know a ton of the relief pitchers out there but I know we need some new blood. I dont see our future closer on this team unless Cordero would sign for less than what I think it will cost. I would hope we would be able to keep either Linebrink or Cordero. I read that Linebrink has had an ERA under 2 the last month, but I still dont think he is a closer. He could push Turnbow for the 8th inning spot with a closer coming via a trade.

Infield is set. Outfield would be set if Hall can come back. I like a Dillion/Gross platoon, Hart and Hall. Catcher is a question mark even though i dont dislike Estrada as much as others.

[dadofandrew]

Maybe a decent starter and a good leftfielder.

 

8 SP's is a plenty, I don't see another being added. AS for LF, you can make an argument that they cost too much, but you're not going to go out and sign a FA likely to beat our LF production.

 

Most of the effort will be on the bullpen this offseason, as it was far from perfect and has 2+ FA's.

[The Ignitor]

I think this team needs to look for a catcher upgrade somehow. As for outfield, I'm personally excited about having Hall and Hart manning two spots, and giving Gross/Gwynn/Dillon a shot to man the other spot for a year, until LaPorta is ready (I just think cost/benefit is to high of a cost for that spot). Gross has shown some potential out there. I think the team needs to find a way to keep Coco and Linebrink. My Line-up next year would be:

 

1) Weeks;

2) Hart;

3) Braun;

4) Fielder;

5) Hall (I think he'll have a big comeback next season, otherwise Hart will go here);

6) Hardy;

7) LF'er;

8) Estrada or Catcher upgrade

[sbrylski]

You can pretty much throw out all big name options for the Brewers, especially at closer. For the bullpen, I'm guessing we'll see two or three of Melvin's nuggets to chuck at the wall, as well as aquiring a younger "non-closer" (as in a guy who's never closed but could) or an undervalued late bloomer to compete for the closer role with Turnbow and maybe McClung if he has a good spring.

 

(BTW, I hadn't checked on Thatcher in a while - 0.64 ERA in 14 IP and very good secondary stats...)

So what you're saying is our bullpen is going to blow next year. And please don't tell me one of Melvin's nuggets will pan out and it will be fine. They better spend some money on good bullpen pitchers or this team is screwed.

Yeah, I do think with Melvin we'll never have an up-and-down great bullpen. That doesn't mean we can't have a solid one, if Melvin hits on a guy or two or young guys preform. McClung, Stetter, or Bray could be options. Rather than throw $6 million out for a reliever, I'll bet one of those three will end up matching whatever he would do, and I think Melvin is a guy that'll make that bet too.

 

Closer is the scarier position. We aren't going to be able to afford Cordero, nor any top FA closers. So I think Melvin has to find one in a trade and he sure better.

 

[twobrewers]

So what you're saying is our bullpen is going to blow next year. And please don't tell me one of Melvin's nuggets will pan out and it will be fine. They better spend some money on good bullpen pitchers or this team is screwed.

That idea sounds good - but does that ever actually pan out? Usually when a team decides to "fix" their bullpen issues they throw money at very average players and suddenly Danys Baez has a 3 yr 19 million dollar contract.

 

Or you can trade away half your team for a Gary Majewski.

 

I think fixing the bullpen can actually be one of the hardest tasks for a GM. The best bullpens almost all come from young players within the organization. Just take a look at Joba and Papelbon...

[SoCalBrewfan]

It's fine in the abstract to say, 'we need to add a starting pitcher,' or 'get a leftfielder,' but it's important to know who's actually available. Cot's has a list that is usually pretty reliable. To me, there's a lot of catchers that might be worth an inquiry, but not so many starting pitchers. (It also looks to me like a bad year to be looking for infielders, unless you've got A-Rod money.) Similiarly, I see a number of decent CF, but the corner guys look old. And the relief pitching available doesn't floor me...many of the best guys are current or former Brewers. There are a few current or former closers, Mariano Rivera for example, but I hate the thought of shelling out big bucks for a Todd Jones or Jorge Julio type. There might well be non-tenders worth adding, too, but I'd guess that you're more likely to make a major addition via trade.

 

Cot's free agent list

[Ennder]

RP's, maybe C and possibly a replacement for Mench.

 

Thats about all we are looking at in the off season in my opinion.

[igor67]

Spending big bucks on free agent relievers is usually a fool's errand unless you tab one of the top 10 closers. As in the small handful of relievers that have shown they can consistently get guys out. Everyone else is pretty much another Turnbow. One year they are great the next not so much. Coco is one of the few that has been very consistently a top performer, so I don't mind spending money on him after that?

[PeaveyFury]

If Miller retires/does not return, I hope they take a long look at Michael Barrett or Posada. Posada would be a pipe dream, so Barrett would be a much more likely target.

[trwi7]

If Miller retires/does not return, I hope they take a long look at Michael Barrett or Posada. Posada would be a pipe dream, so Barrett would be a much more likely target.

 

Weren't we interested in Barrett a few years ago but he decided to go to the Cubs instead?

[Riebes24]

Barret is pretty much the last thing this team needs. He's a better hitter than Estrada, but his defense is just as bad. Give me a Yadier Molina type next year - lousy hitter, unbelievable behind the plate. We have enough sticks in our lineup to compensate for a light hitting, stud defensive catcher.

[sweepscc]

I wonder what it would take to get Kenji Johjima from the Mariners. With Jeff Clement knocking on the door and Johjima only having a year left on his contract they might be looking to trade.

[homer]

I wonder if the Brewers would be willing to get a guy from Japan. Someone like Kosuke Fukdome http://www.japaneseballplayers.com/en/player.php?id=kfukudome could play outfield and would provide a lefty bat to replace Jenkins. Not sure how his stats compare to guys like Ichiro or Matsui but he seems to get on base quite a bit.

[owbc]

Fukudome would be an exciting addition, but I don't know if we can afford the risk if he is a bust.

[windiv07]

Fukudome would be an exciting addition, but I don't know if we can afford the risk if he is a bust.

I couldn't agree more, but if he duid work out, it would breathe even more excitement into an already intersting roster. BTW, I think this it is spelled: Fukudodme. I don't think he would want to be confused with a building in Minneapolis.

[bando1234]

If Miller retires/does not return, I hope they take a long look at Michael Barrett or Posada. Posada would be a pipe dream, so Barrett would be a much more likely target.

Weren't we interested in Barrett a few years ago but he decided to go to the Cubs instead?

 

 

I think when he was with the Expos we were looking at trading Luis Vizcaino for him. That was after Vizcaino's incredible year. I think Barrett was then traded to the A's & to the Cubs a few days later. (I believe he was traded for Damian Miller)

[brewmann04]

i would let jenkins go along with mench ,also believe this is miller last season.

vargas bush and cappy won't all be around next season

[kgbaseball]

Capuano will. Bush will be for sure, in my opinion.