Brewers sign Jason Kendall -- 1 year/$4.25 mil guaranteed, up to 2 years/$10.25 mil possible

[MJLiverock]

So if my math is correct the Brewers have between $10-$11 Million tied up in Counsell, Mota, and Kendall.

 

 

Yuck.

[JJHardy7]

This is the last year of Counsell and Mota's deal though, correct?

[DHarris34Phan]

This is the kind of deal this board would have ripped apart if it was a team other than the Brewers.

[dpapo]

Jaybird and anyone else interested, Brewers.com is going to have a live feed to kendall's press conference. I myself cannot hear it as I'm at work. If Melvin says anything of interest, I'd appreciate any information being passed along.

[MarquesJohnson2000]

Kendall will be on the "D-List" show (1510AM) this morning, not sure what time.

[And That]

This is the last year of Counsell and Mota's deal though, correct?

All Brewer salaries and contract lengths can be found here on Brewerfan: click me.

 

Additionally, contracts for every player on every team can be found here: click me too.

 

[dpapo]

Too much Brewers stuff going on to be at work http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif I know this morning Adam McCalvy was on WSSP right as I was heading out for work, so I wasn't able to hear what he said as well.

[davego]

Maybe we have to trust that the 'powers that be' have a better feel for the team then we do to make this deal. On the surface it looks like a pretty lateral move. I suspect there is more to it that may come out as the 08 season rolls on.

[And That]

The video press conference is going on live at brewers.com shortly.

[patrickgpe]

watching it, it looks like gabe lost his number

[And That]

Jack Z. originally signed Jason as a Pirate. That's interesting.

 

Edit: Hah... DM taking a shot at the A's stolen base philosophy.

[jaybird2001wi]

Does anyone notice DM's phone going off during the press conference? I hate to think too deep into this, but does anyone believe a GM may be on the phone trying to reach him? Perhaps an agent?

I also seem surprised that Melvin believes Kendall will be able to handle the pitching staff consistently. He also mentions Damian may not be in the Brewers plans at all next season and may not even retain him at all.

[And That]

Melvin seemed a lot higher on Munson than Rivera for Kendall's backup, though he did mention Rottino first when he went through the list of guys that were up for the backup spot, and as jaybird just mentioned, didn't sound like Miller was really in their plans. He also took a few veiled shots at Estrada, and made a point of saying that the team needs to improve its OBP.

 

Kendall seemed really fidgety. He was playing around with his name card and constantly was moving his arms around. I wonder if he has ADD, or was just nervous sitting next to Doug. Jason even said "and that" once. Hah!

[jaybird2001wi]

Kendall also seemed to grasp his hands too much and covered his mouth a lot with his elbows on the table while DM was speaking. But oh well, Kendall appears to think the pitching staff is unique in that everyone has a "different pitching style" and also mentions he knows Suppan well due to them being teammates back in Pittsburgh.

I looked at Kendall's stats just now and I thought he fell off considerably 5 years ago, but it seems his .226 average with Oakland was his worst as a Major Leaguer. I also thought he was much older than 33 years of age. I am feeling a little bit less nervous about this signing now.

Despite the fact that we need to improve our OBP, we also need to improve our RISP avg because it doesn't do us any good when we have men on base and can't drive them in at all.

[tigerbrew]

Kendall doesn't look old to me, he looks pretty fit with very little body fat. Miller signed with the Brewers at 35 and played for 3 years, so 33 is not too old unless he has the body of Estrada's, then I would be very nervous. As DM said, Kendall is a very durable catcher and I can see why.

[TooLiveBrew]

I agree, tigerbrew - Kendall appears to be a guy that's always taken good care of his body. Another similarity to Estrada!

MJ Liverock - if it makes you feel better, the Giants have $33 mil. committed to Rich Aurilia, Barry Zito, Ray Durham, & Dave Roberts in 2008. It could certainly be a lot worse - we're not in bad shape, especially since Counsell's & Mota's deals expire after '08.

[Invader3K]

Sounds like Miller is not going to be back with the Brewers next year.

[AdvantageSchneider]

All Brewer salaries and contract lengths can be found here on Brewerfan: click me.

 

That's great stuff And That. It would appear that even after arbiration we should be well under $50M in payroll. Given the ticket price increases and the record attendance last year and the payroll flexibility we appear to have, it seems there has to be another move in the making.

[MJLiverock]

I agree, tigerbrew - Kendall appears to be a guy that's always taken good care of his body. Another similarity to Estrada!

MJ Liverock - if it makes you feel better, the Giants have $33 mil. committed to Rich Aurilia, Barry Zito, Ray Durham, & Dave Roberts in 2008. It could certainly be a lot worse - we're not in bad shape, especially since Counsell's & Mota's deals expire after '08.

I know it could be worse. The Giants should have AARP sponser their team. I just don't want to see the Brewers get caught up in the idea they don't want to spend $10-$12 Million on one player who may be a difference maker because the risk is too big but are willing to spend $3-$4 Million each on 3 or 4 players who really aren't very good.

[areacodes]

All Brewer salaries and contract lengths can be found here on Brewerfan: click me.

 

That's great stuff And That. It would appear that even after arbiration we should be well under $50M in payroll. Given the ticket price increases and the record attendance last year and the payroll flexibility we appear to have, it seems there has to be another move in the making.

Wasn't it mentioned recently that we have the capability of exceeding $80M in payroll?

 

[TooLiveBrew]

"'We figure with a veteran guy like Jason on the club, we'd like to have that second spot on the roster be a competitive battle,' Melvin said. 'And also keep that open in case there's an opportunity to get a catcher, someone who could be a big part of the future, down the road.'"

 

That's from Haudricourt's article this evening. I like to hear that closing comment - quite a bit. I wonder who he's been talking with, or perhaps who he's playing off the other.

[PeaveyFury]

Well, they had mentioned before that they'd have interest in Barrett if he's not offered arby. That was obviously before they signed Kendall, but a Barrett/Kendall catching tandem would be quite nice, even if they're horrible defensively.

[JohnBriggs12]

For what it's worth, Steve Stone who often doesn't think much of moves the Brewers make, pretty much endorsed the signing of Kendall on the Score today. Stone has spent a lot of time at AFL games this fall where's he's talked at length with new Brewers coach Ted Simmons. Stone believes Simmons will be of great help in getting Kendall's mechanics straightened out and he will show great improvement in his caught stealing rate.

 

Earlier this fall, Stone raved about Simmons who he believes has one of the smartest baseball minds around. Let's hope that Ted can impart some of that vast knowledge to his former caddy Ned.

[tigerbrew]

According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, the Mets are already shopping Estrada. If Estrada can't be traded, the Mets still plan to get a catcher and non-tender Estrada's $4M plus arby salary.

[TooLiveBrew]

Sounds like they got that C they planned to get. Bye bye Johnny, huh?