The Brewers may be right up against their 2010 payroll limit according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, however GM Doug Melvin is still looking to upgrade his club.
"If we can [add another starter] we'd like to," Melvin said at the conclusion of the Winter Meetings. "We might not be able to. We're always looking to improve the club.
"We're trying to keep flexibility to do things. The worst thing you can do is lose flexibility. We still want to be aggressive but we can step back and look at the landscape, see what takes place with free agents and trades."
McCalvy notes that the club's free agent signings total a $21MM commitment for 2010, plus there's another $37MM or so tied up in players already on their roster. The team has seven players eligible for salary arbitration, and there's about $18MM budgeted for them. If they fill out their roster with players making close to the minimum, it'll push Melvin's club over their $80MM or so projected payroll.
Given Randy Wolf's price tag, the team may not be able to add the second starter they crave. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com said the Brewers will "almost certainly" sign one of Jon Garland, Doug Davis, or Jarrod Washburn, though they may have to make a move to free up some cash to sign one of them.
That’s what you get when you offer a medicore pitcher way too much money
Yeah. Also this trade proposal has been bugging me. I know it won’t happen. Who do you think would reject this trade?
Jurrjens/Delgado/Cody Johnson for Braun.
that’s too much for Braun
no way,terrible trade proposal. you have to add heyward and freeman then you can talk.
Dude, Heyward AND Freeman? C’mon. Jurrjens had like the fourth best ERA. Johnson had like 30+ homers in A+, and Randell Delgado is one of the Braves Best Prospects. This isn’t any system, this is the Braves system.
Dude, Heyward AND Freeman? C’mon. Jurrjens had like the fourth best ERA. Johnson had like 30+ homers in A+, and Randell Delgado is one of the Braves Best Prospects. This isn’t any system, this is the Braves system.
No chance you land Braun without Heyward. Unless you wanna add in Hanson.
His contract is insanely cheap and he’s one of the best hitting young outfielders in the National League. Acquiring a player like Braun is the type of deal that decimates your farm system.
Braun signed an EIGHT-YEAR extension that is worth only $45MM total. He’s locked up through 2015 at about $7MM annually, in other words.
The Braves traded Feliz, Andrus, Saltalamacchia, Harrison, and Beau Jones for 1.5 years of Mark Teixeira.
Think about what you’re proposing. Heyward, Freeman, and Jurrjens would be a starting point. Maybe.
It’s a moot point anyway, he’s got full no-trade protection through 2011.
MAYBE you could add in Teahern and Freemen. That MIGHT seem fair. But that would not help the Braves overall.
Yeah, it’s mind-boggling how long and how little they’ve got Braun for. Considering his elite bat, he easily could have landed at least twice that much. With an 80 MM payroll, the Brewers will need Braun and his contract to compete every year. no way he gets traded
No chance you land Braun without Heyward. Unless you wanna add in Hanson.
His contract is insanely cheap and he’s one of the best hitting young outfielders in the National League. Acquiring a player like Braun is the type of deal that decimates your farm system.
Braun signed an EIGHT-YEAR extension that is worth only $45MM total. He’s locked up through 2015 at about $7MM annually, in other words.
The Braves traded Feliz, Andrus, Saltalamacchia, Harrison, and Beau Jones for 1.5 years of Mark Teixeira.
Think about what you’re proposing. Heyward, Freeman, and Jurrjens would be a starting point. Maybe.
It’s a moot point anyway, he’s got full no-trade protection through 2011.
no way,terrible trade proposal. you have to add heyward and freeman then you can talk.
Braun isn’t going anywhere. Next question!
Yeah, I agree that they gave Wolf way too much money.
Yeah, I agree that they gave Wolf way too much money.
Yeah, They gave way too much to Wolf IMO. As for the trade proposal. I believe the Braves hang up, because we are just hoping Heyward will be our Braun, and then we keep Jurrjens.
Obviously, if Melvin had been more responsible and didn’t give Suppan an atrocious contract…
I agree, I don’t have too much faith in Doug Melvin ability in Judging Major League Pitching
I agree, I don’t have too much faith in Doug Melvin ability in Judging Major League Pitching
Obviously, if Melvin had been more responsible and didn’t give Suppan an atrocious contract…
Yeah, they gave Wolf way too much IMO. As far as the trade proposal goes, I believe the Braves hang up. They are just hoping that Heyward is their Braun and then they can keep Jurrjens.
Yeah, they gave Wolf way too much IMO. As far as the trade proposal goes, I believe the Braves hang up. They are just hoping that Heyward is their Braun and then they can keep Jurrjens.
That’s a shame because they really need some pitching if they want to compete with the Cubs this season.
The Cardinals got a little bit better by signing Holliday but now they can’t afford Pujols anymore. This is how I see the division right now.
1. Cubs
2. Cardinals
3. Brewers
4. Reds
5. Pirates
6. Astros
Are you serious? The Cubs are not even in the same league as the Cards are right now. The Cubs have a lot of dead money contracts, not to mention trading one horrible contract for an even worse contract this offseason.
As far as the Pujols situation goes, he has stated numerous times that he is not wanting to go anywhere else. There is still two years left on his current deal, more than enough time to work out an extension. Cards ownership has stated that they are willing to adjust payroll for whatever Pujols wants. He isn’t going anywhere, much to the chagrin of the east coast pundits, and Chicago Cubs fans.
Are you serious? The Cubs are not even in the same league as the Cards are right now. The Cubs have a lot of dead money contracts, not to mention trading one horrible contract for an even worse contract this offseason.
As far as the Pujols situation goes, he has stated numerous times that he is not wanting to go anywhere else. There is still two years left on his current deal, more than enough time to work out an extension. Cards ownership has stated that they are willing to adjust payroll for whatever Pujols wants. He isn’t going anywhere, much to the chagrin of the east coast pundits, and Chicago Cubs fans.
Where have you been the last 15 months?
Where have you been the last 15 months?
Dude the Cards have Carp, Wainright, Loshe (if he can bounce back). The rest is a question though. But that lineup consists of Pujols, Holliday, Ludwick, Schmaker, Molina. The Cubs have more depth, but that linup and pen are HUGE question marks.
Dude the Cards have Carp, Wainright, Loshe (if he can bounce back). The rest is a question though. But that lineup consists of Pujols, Holliday, Ludwick, Schmaker, Molina. The Cubs have more depth, but that linup and pen are HUGE question marks.
Gotta love Cubs fans thinking their team is atop the standings no matter how miserable their team is. Tell me how the baby bears got any better from last season to jump up the standings all the way to #1 in 2010? Cubs won’t even be in the wild card chase this season let alone the NL Central race. Sad to say the Cards run away with it again, unless the Crew can figure out a way to get another starter. BTW if they don’t…Wolf wasn’t enough for me to renew my season tickets. Good luck hittin 3mil again this year with little to no improvement Dougie.
You know what amuses me more than Cubs fans thinking they have a good team? Arm-chair pundits who claim that essentially the same team most analysts picked to win the Central easily last year is now “miserable” because they played poorly.
People can’t have it both ways. Either the Cubs were an awful team that got what they deserved last year, and thus they will be awful again with essentially no improvement over the offseason–making every analyst who ever said they were good completely and utterly wrong–or they’re a good team who played awful and they’re highly likely to improve.
Or let’s put exactly the same situation to you as a Brewers fan: Do you really think the Brewers are a sub-.500 team? ‘Cause if so, you’re roughly a .500 team now with your offseason. I don’t believe that about the Brewers and I don’t believe it about the Cubs.
Seven of the eight Cubs everyday starters played well below their career marks (though admittedly two of those had little in the way of career makes to judge on). They’re highly likely to improve just by doing nothing. I don’t think they win the division, and I say that as a fan–I think the Cardinals are still a better team, and while I hate the money and the years I do think Holliday fits in well on their club.
But I don’t think it’s a blowout either. Their starting pitching behind Carpenter and Wainwright doesn’t impress me, and neither does their bullpen. Essentially the same goes for the Brewers and the Cubs. If people play more like they’re capable of playing on ALL the teams, I don’t see any reason the NL Central isn’t a three-team race the majority of the year. And if not, well… if you can predict that in advance I suggest you take up sports gambling, because clearly you’re able to make a lot of money.
Carpenter is never a guarantee to go a full season. Injury to his elbow and shoulder and your hopes that Losche and Penny have big years are more like desperate needs.
That said, I still think they win the division, but not by much.
Gotta love Cubs fans thinking their team is atop the standings no matter how miserable their team is. Tell me how the baby bears got any better from last season to jump up the standings all the way to #1 in 2010? Cubs won’t even be in the wild card chase this season let alone the NL Central race. Sad to say the Cards run away with it again, unless the Crew can figure out a way to get another starter. BTW if they don’t…Wolf wasn’t enough for me to renew my season tickets. Good luck hittin 3mil again this year with little to no improvement Dougie.
did Pujols die in a knife fight last night?
That’s a shame because they really need some pitching if they want to compete with the Cubs this season.
The Cardinals got a little bit better by signing Holliday but now they can’t afford Pujols anymore. This is how I see the division right now.
1. Cubs
2. Cardinals
3. Brewers
4. Reds
5. Pirates
6. Astros
Sorry for all the post’s that said the same thing. Still trying to figure this thing out.
Sorry for all the post’s that said the same thing. Still trying to figure this thing out.
Seriously? The Cubs are better than the Cardinals? You have to be joking. The Cubs traded away one horrible contract for an even worse contract, and have a lot of dead weight contracts. The Cubs blew payroll three years ago when they went on a spending binge, and are now paying the price.
As far as the Pujols situation goes, there are still two years for the Cardinals to work out a deal with Albert. He isn’t going anywhere.
Seriously? The Cubs are better than the Cardinals? You have to be joking. The Cubs traded away one horrible contract for an even worse contract, and have a lot of dead weight contracts. The Cubs blew payroll three years ago when they went on a spending binge, and are now paying the price.
As far as the Pujols situation goes, there are still two years for the Cardinals to work out a deal with Albert. He isn’t going anywhere.
Hey, so sorry, but let’s go and start trading Prince and Braun to the Mets.
Hey, so sorry, but let’s go and start trading Prince and Braun to the Mets.
Suppan was a signing in part pushed by a new owner wanting to make a splash and in part by a pressing need in an inflated market. For a while the Brewers were weighing Matt Clement and Suppan against each other but the consensus was that Clement was aiming too high.
Agree that Suppan is a dud, but the context of the timeframe during which he was signed tells more of the story than pointing fingers at Melvin for a judgement call.
Suppan was a signing in part pushed by a new owner wanting to make a splash and in part by a pressing need in an inflated market. For a while the Brewers were weighing Matt Clement and Suppan against each other but the consensus was that Clement was aiming too high.
Agree that Suppan is a dud, but the context of the timeframe during which he was signed tells more of the story than pointing fingers at Melvin for a judgement call.
sorry for the basic double post, my charter connection is killing me today.
sorry for the basic double post, my charter connection is killing me today.
Please Melvin, sign Washburn. Just to make sure Minnesota doesn’t. Please…
he’s a midwestern hillbilly…so who’s got better hunting, Minn or Wisc?….that’s where he’ll end up.
Please Melvin, sign Washburn. Just to make sure Minnesota doesn’t. Please…
There is a very simple reason the Brewers won’t compete this year. Insanely, stupidly cheap. Well, what do you expect of Bud Selig’s team,, err ex team. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
But hey, they are a teeny, tiny, small market team. Why they only drew 3,037,451 fans last year. About 800,000 less than the Braves. 1,000,000 less than the Mariners, more or less.
Check out the attendance of the teams above the Brewers.
espn.go.com/mlb/attendance
A cheap team, that only cares about making a ton of money, and they do that by doing just well enough to keep 3 Million suckers hoping for a championship team.
Listen, bub, how about you leave the cheap shots against me and the rest of the Brewers fan base out of your post, huh?
We have drawn over 3 million fans in two consecutive years now, and that is extremely good for a team that lost 106 games in 2002. Mark Attanasio has turned this franchise around, and Doug Melvin is a very good GM. Don’t try to tell me 3 million fans is bad. That ranks 9th out of 30 teams. I’d say that’s pretty damned good, myself, and I’m sure the majority of baseball fans out there would agree with me.
Doug Melvin has been a very good GM in his time, with only a few bad contracts (Suppan) on his record. Don’t forget, this is the guy who pulled off the C.C. Sabathia trade. If the Brewers only care about making money, why on earth did they offer a $100 million contract to him before he signed with the Yankees? That sounds like the actions of a team that cares about winning and bringing it’s fans a championship. According to you, though, that’s just them being cheap. They easily could have offered more money, right? WRONG. That would have been more than double the richest pitching contract in Brewers Franchise history.
Now, please, don’t talk about the Brewers if you have no idea whatsoever what you are saying.
On to the actual topic of this rumor. I think the Brewers will end up having to trade for another starter. I’m not sure with who or for whom, but, I don’t think they will be able to afford to sign another starter unless one of their asking prices decreases dramatically.
I’m no Brewers fan, but have been to several games at Miller, and will vouch for the awesomeness of Brewers fans. I’ve never seen an actual tailgaiting scene comparable to football stadiums like Miller has, and the city is all Brewers in the summer.
Hitting the fanbase was pretty misinformed.
Perhaps you need reading lessons. The Brewers out drew the Mariners and Braves in attendance.
I think you need to learn some basic economics first before making any accusations of who is cheap and who is not.
The Brewers could have gotten better attendance than the Yankees did but still wouldn’t have had as much as the Yankees the same with the Mariners and the Braves. The Brewers media market size and not ticket sales is not what counts.
If you really want to go on ticket sales then I suggest looking up the fan cost index. Atlanta in 2008 had an index number of $157.19, Seattle had $191.16, and Milwaukee $141.52. That is the price it costs for a fan to see a game.
Now also look into the standard of living in Milwaukee compared to the standard of living in Atlanta and Seattle and you will see you will find even more discrepancies. You can’t compare an apple to an orange.
what did they do with the money they were going to give Sabathia. so if they signed him they would of played with 16 or 17 players. this stuff doesn’t add up.
Extending Hoffmann, acquiring Rhodes, Lopez money, and Wolf.
Where oh where is the money C.C was going to get? Or are we to believe that they would of played with 15-16 players had they signed him. glad I’m not a Brewer fan those owners are laughing all the way to the bank. cant’ use the we need a new stadium excuse either. just plan baloney. Maybe baseball should cut down to 8 major league teams and 20-24 4A teams. because the are raking in money by the billions.yes billions. And they are all small market. Kansas City is small market baseball,Huge market football,Cleveland the same it’s Baloney. sorry for long rant. But get a starting pitcher and cut the baloney.
The opening day payroll for the crew will be around 82-84 million this year. They have have an actual payroll of 90 million planned for the season. Melvin can go out and get a Garland or a Washburn for 6-7 million if he so chooses but that would not leave them with any wiggle room once the trade deadline comes around. The real problem is the 23 million in dead money that is spent for this season. 12 mil for Suppan 7 million for Hall and about 4 mil for Riske.
Also on the Sabathia thing the owner and Melvin both stated that they would spend the money on a special player but not spend money just to spend it. Sabathia was a special case just like Fielder will be. They might not be able to sign him but they will be competitive.
Good news for Brewers fans is that Pujols, A. Gonzalez, Howard and Berkman all have contracts/team control that expire the same year that Fielder’s does. So it’s not like he will be the only big fish out there in the 1B power pond that year.
Sage, I was being sarcastic! Of course 3 mil is great numbers, and if you look at the teams who draw more than you, they spend a heck of a lot more money than the Brewers. Look at the moola Seattle is spending this off season! If the Brewers won’t spend 6-7 mil on another starter, they are being ultra cheap.
Oops, sorry about that! I’m still not terribly good at detecting internet sarcasm.
I understand why you would think not spending 6-7 mil on another starter would be cheap, but think about it. If they go into the season with all $90 million of their planned payroll spent already, they won’t have any wiggle room at the trading deadline. Wiggle room is needed for big trades like the Sabathia trade.
Of course, if Jarrod Washburn is going to cost 6-7 mil, I really hope the Brewers don’t sign him. He’s a 35-year-old left-handed Jeff Suppan who only seems to perform in contract years. If the Brewers could get Doug Davis back as a 5th starter, that would be cool. If Jon Garland only costs 6-7 mil, I would absolutely hope the Brewers jump on that opportunity. He’s really the only pitcher of the three mentioned with a true upside, and he’s the youngest.
Sage, Doug Davis would be a pretty good signing. I’m not quite sure I am as high on Garland as you are…seems to just get by.
Washburn had a 2.64 ERA in 20 starts for the Mariners last year, then was traded to Detroit and just imploded with a 7.33 ERA in the last 8 starts. But, I read over and over that it was a minor miracle he was able to pitch as well as he did with the Mariners, that his knee was just killing him. Guess it caught up with him in Motor city.
I see he got 9,850,000 million last year, so who knows what his is expecting, or likely to get.
Man, this new system makes it a bit hard to post, is there any way to stay logged in???
Don’t forget, the Brewers were able to defer some of Wolf’s salary, so there’s actually some money left in the bank. The last two seasons, Milwaukee has opened the season with roughly an $80 MM salary. However, their window is closing as Prince gets closer to Free Agency, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them start the season with an $83-85 MM payroll. Mark Attanasio has shown that he’s willing to open his pocketbook to win, and he has an oppurtunity to do so again here.
Also, it doesn’t hurt selling 3 million tickets 2 years in a row.
I’ll take this one step further, with the deferral of Wolf’s salary the Brewers payroll is at 83.56 mil. There is no wiggle room. As I stated earlier the end goal is 90mil, but they want the luxury of being able to go to the 90 mil mark at the trade deadline. There is no more money in the couch cushions.
post # 36
brewersfandemonium.yuku.com/topic/20985/t/2010-pay…
why not take a gamble on Wang?
I like that one of the first posts in this thread was a trade proposal involving Ryan Braun. I needed a good laugh this morning, so thanks for that one.
I have a feeling that as spring training approaches, they will sign a desperate starter to a one year deal. Basically whomever is left over of Davis/Washburn/Garland/etc. It also looks like they will sign Mark Mulder to a minor league deal. He could possibly be ready for the majors by mid-season, so it isn’t like they’re just sitting on their hands here.
I agree with your comment. However if Melvin sees more of a need to add one of these starters at a higher cost don’t be surprised if the Brewers try to dump some salary by trading one of Suppan, Hart, Bush or possibly Riske. I don’t think are many takers on those players, but thats where they would need to look to get some cash.
Trading Hart would obviously create another vacancy however.
Obviously everyone’s primary option is to get rid of SOME of Suppan’s contract, but I don’t think he has much value. Maybe a low level prospect for Suppan and 6 mil.
To everyone outside Brewer Nation who thinks Doug Melvin is being cheap: Wait until next winter when the Crew has $25M in bad contracts (Suppan, Hall, Riske) coming off the books. Melvin will be working hard to sign Yovani long term & at least keep in touch with Boras about signing Fielder to an extension. It’s like 99% certain Fielder will wait & become a FA but Melvin will be aggressive with a fair offer. The Brewers can also take some of that Prince money & sign a quality FA SP instead. Once Prince leaves it will be impossible to replace his offensive value, but we’ll find a decent 1B & also find quality pitching which in a way can replace offense.
Every Brewers fan out there. We have Braun at a discount and he is the face of the franchise. Why would we do a stupid thing like trade him?
What about this trade, Hart,Gerut,Heether and minor league pitcher Jeremy Jeffress to Colordado for Aaron Cook Seth Smith and maybe some cash. Then put Smith in Right and Cook as a third starter.
cubs ate tyler colvin