Brewers sign Mike Cameron (1yr/$6.22 mil + 2009 Team Option)

[patrickgpe]

link

 

as said before on the fence on this one. i think the team is better and i do not know the other options but this had to be the best in doug's eyes. the defense will be much better. wonder how long this deal is.

[bullox]

Hall at 3rd, Braun in Left, Cameron in Center. I'm good with that. Cameron isn't exactly the OBP machine the Crew was looking for, but his defense and speed on the bases will help.

[lovehate]

The first game he is eligible to play will be tueasday April 29, the opening of a three game series at Wrigley.

[jlau20]

If it means Hall to 3rd and Braun to left, which it looks like it will, I'm all for it. I don't know why, I just like Hall in the infield.

[berniebrewer4life]

Hall at 3rd, Braun in Left, Cameron in Center. I'm good with that. Cameron isn't exactly the OBP machine the Crew was looking for, but his defense and speed on the bases will help.

If that happens, i am too. However i have a feeling that it may still be Braun at 3rd, Hall in left, Cameron in center. Either way, cameron should easily have 30 hrs in Miller Park. A nice boost to our offense.

[Ennder]

I'm ok with it as long as we didn't overpay and it is a short deal so LaPorta isn't blocked.

[lukevan]

This move definitely signals Braun to LF and Hall to 3B. It'd be absurd to keep Braun at 3B now.

 

 

 

WTG Doug! I love the move!

[clancyphile]

Might be simpler to move Hall to left, if Doug wanted my advice.

 

 

 

If this means Bill Hall is traded, then i do NOT like this deal.

 

 

 

2b: Weeks

 

ss: Hardy

 

3b: Braun

 

1b: Fielder

 

rf: Hart

 

lf: Hall

 

cf: Cameron

 

c: Kendall

 

 

 

Not a bad lineup, if you ask me.

[patrickgpe]

cameron should be able to help braun's move go smoothly since he can cover so much ground.. s

[clancyphile]

This move definitely signals Braun to LF and Hall to 3B. It'd be absurd to keep Braun at 3B now.

 

 

 

WTG Doug! I love the move!

Either that, or moving Hall to left is an option. If Hall rebounds to hit about 40 doubles and 25 homers (where he might have been had he not hurt his ankle last year), that's darn good for a LF, and sliding to left from center is easier than doing that double-switch.

 

[TheBrewer]

1 Year Deal with a Club Option for a 2nd Year according to Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports.

 

 

 

I like the Club option part. Now we need the numbers. I'm going to predict 1yr 8 Million with a second year option for 10 million

[bullox]

Halls value at 3rd is much higher than in Left. Braun's bat can play anywhere. Braun's defensive deficiencies will be better masked in Left. No brainer if you ask me.

[TooLiveBrew]

I don't think this means Hall will be traded, but you never know. I'm kind of 'meh' on Cameron just by himself, but I have to hold myself to 'Anything to get Braun off 3B!' sentiment - especially since it's going to improve the team a ton.

 

Cameron's not exactly an OBP machine, which is why there remains the possibility that Hall may be traded. However, the reason his OBP isn't really high is due to a lower BA - he draws BBs very well... basically a lock for 60+ BBs even with the 25-game suspension. I'm not sure who should hit #2 with Cameron in the mix, though. If we/he get/s lucky with a BABIP around .320 (his career #s have been roughly from .300-.330), that OBP could easily be north of .350. Welcome, Mike!

 

EDIT: Projections:

 

CHONE: .246/.331/.435/.766

Bill James: .244/.333/.432/.765

ZiPS: .249/.334/.424/.758

 

I think the lower BA & numbers overall is heavily influenced by PetCo Park. My personal guess would be more like - .260/.350/.465/.815. His ISO is still strong (2007's was .189), and I think his game will translate very well to MP.

[jjfanec]

Gross becomes very valuable with all these righties in the lineup. Do we need another left handed bat off the bench?

[berniebrewer4life]

1 Year Deal with a Club Option for a 2nd Year according to Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports.

 

 

 

I like the Club option part. Now we need the numbers. I'm going to predict 1yr 8 Million with a second year option for 10 million

That sounds about right, but for the sake of being sporting, i'll go 7 million with the option year being 9 million.

[derflotr]

I think the fact that Cameron still sees 4 P/PA is attractive...not to mention the solid, established defense he brings to a very important position.

 

 

 

Obviously Hall might've become an excellent CF as well, but his defense is more valuable at 3B considering Braun's problems. This move gets Braun off of 3B and adds even more pop to the lineup, though the strikeouts will be annoying. I think the Brewers got the best defensive option out there, which was really the focus of this whole process, am I wrong?

 

 

 

But of course DM may not be done yet, we'll see.

[Ennder]

If this means Hall to 3B my math says it is about a 4 win move by the Brewers. 2 wins by hiding Brauns' glove in Lf instead of at 3B, 1 win from upgrading Hall's defense in CF to Cameron's defense and 1 win upgrading from Gross and others to Cameron offensively. There could be another .5 to 1 wins in there if Cameron hits better than in the hitter parks and if you consider Gross is now replacing our 1st backup OF.

[JohnBriggs12]

Hall has a lot of value in the trade market. He is one season removed from hitting 35 HR as a shortstop. To not listen to offers when your lineup consists of 7 righthanded bats, 5 of whom figure to strike out over 100 times and Prince Fielder (who also figures to top 100) is really shortsighted. The only thing that can be predicted with certainty if they start with this team is that they will shatter all strikeout records.

[MillerParkSouth]

as long as Hall isn't traded, I like this move. Improves the defense and gets Braun off of 3rd. Unfortunately, this team is going to strike out A LOT! Hopefully Yost has the foresight to not bat Hall and Cameron back to back.

[jjfanec]

This team wont strikeout a lot more than last years. Remember Jenkins was a strikeout king. He might have stuck out less than Cameron but its not like we are replacing a high OBP guy

[berniebrewer4life]

as long as Hall isn't traded, I like this move. Improves the defense and gets Braun off of 3rd. Unfortunately, this team is going to strike out A LOT! Hopefully Yost has the foresight to not bat Hall and Cameron back to back.

Woof, that would give us almost 300 ks in back to back spots. That's scary to think of. Where do you place Cameron in the lineup? 7th?

[Ennder]

I don't think the K's will really spike as much as people think. Jenkins had 116 K's in 464 PA's last year. Cameron will probably get roughly 114 K's per 464 PA's at his last few years rate. He doesn't K anymore than Jenkins, he just plays more. So the majority of his PA's are going to result in the same K's we got from our OF last season.

[TooLiveBrew]

Hopefully Yost has the foresight to not bat Hall and Cameron back to back.

 

Despite being burned by having faith in Ned in the past, it could be Cameron #6, Hardy #7, Hall #8. But since Mike draws BBs well, maybe hitting him ahead of Hall wouldn't be so bad (JJ to #8). Wait - did this signing just ensure that Kendall is now Ned's '#2 guy' in the lineup?!

 

NOOoooo!....

 

EDIT: Perhaps Cameron could hit 2? He looks to have enough BBs, plus getting to a hitter's park will help. Thoughts?

[kilgore37]

What if St louis wanted hall with cappy?

[M Skjellyfetti]

I'm really not sold on Cameron's value to this team. He is a defensive upgrade in CF, but moving Hall to 3rd does nothing to help our bad team OBP. I would still like to see Doug go after Ensberg to play 3rd for the first month of the season and possibly find a way into the lineup after Cameron comes back. He should be cheap and could be a valuable bat (and glove) off the bench or make a Hall trade possible if he performs like he could.

 

Edit: Then again, after actually looking at numbers instead of using my stupid head, it looks like Cameron does walk quite a bit. It is possible that his average and power could rise as he leaves Petco, meaning that he could put up a very solid OBP if he keeps the walk rate. I think I still want Ensberg to be a Brewer though.