The Brewers have acquired Sergio Mitre from the Yankees for Chris Dickerson. The move provides the Brewers with the pitching depth they coveted and opens up a spot in the Yankees bullpen, possibly for Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon.
The Brewers have been considering adding pitching since they learned that Zack Greinke will miss some time to recover from a cracked rib. Their need for depth became more pronounced when Mark Rogers (shoulder) and Manny Parra (back) also encountered health issues.
It's not clear whether the Brewers will use Mitre as a long man, as the Yankees did, or insert him into the rotation over internal starting candidates such as Marco Estrada. Mitre has started games in every one of his seven major league seasons, but has only been a full-time starter once, for the 2007 Marlins. Last year, the 30-year-old right-hander posted a 3.33 ERA with 4.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 54 innings as a swingman. Mitre, a veteran of Tommy John surgery, missed 49 days with an oblique strain in 2010.
The Yankees appear set to open the season with a rotation of C.C. Sabathia, Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett, Ivan Nova and Colon or Garcia. If the Yankees, who just signed Kevin Millwood, insert Colon into the rotation, they could take Garcia up on his offer to become a long reliever and use him to replace Mitre.
The Brewers acquired Dickerson last summer in the trade that sent Jim Edmonds to Cincinnati. Dickerson hit .206/.250/.268 for the Brewers and Reds last year, but he showed more pop in 2009 when he posted a .743 OPS. The 28-year-old has played all three outfield positions in the majors and will provide the Yankees with some welcome depth.
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick first reported the move (on Twitter) and both teams have since confirmed it.
TdotsFinest
does this mean Marcum will start the season on the DL?
jill
I hadn’t heard that. Grienke will, though. That left them one starter short. Mitre may do better in the NL anyway so I see it as a why not move.
Jeff Weissbuch
I agree why not since Chris wasn’t going to make the team anyway
daveineg
No.
phoenix2042
YES. the tyranny of the groundball machine who still somehow manages to give up too many homeruns is over!
bleachercreature
best news in the history of forever. peace out meat tray, i’m sure our opponents will miss you
mrjjbond
I’ll miss him and I wasn’t even an opponent (just a fan of one).
MB923
Good Riddance.
notsureifsrs
mitre traded to brewers for a diet coke and a high five
bleachercreature
from Shelly Duncan
BravesRed
How about a beer and a hamburger?
PostMoBills
Bratwurst instead of the hamburger. It’s Milwaukee, after all.
start_wearing_purple
A Brat and a Beer for Mitre? Wow… the Brew Crew really over paid.
Encarnacion's Parrot
It was a non-alcoholic beer.
coolstorybro222
O’DOUL RULES
GriffeyandSizemore
But the high five is what Girardi asked for in the deal he’s lonely now that Mitre is gone.
Matt Levy
Get anyone worth for him?
start_wearing_purple
They agreed to buy dinner for Colon for a night.
So the yanks won the deal…
venn177
Why would the Brewers bankrupt themselves like that?
Jeff Weissbuch
Are you nuts dinner for Colon we are a small market after all
ARod's Ring
as long as the brewers included at least a bag of balls and some wooden bats we are good.
BravesRed
Brewers could have had another bad pitcher in Rodrigo Lopez, and gave up just as much. And, he’s cheaper. And, better.
jill
Lopez could have worked, but fly ball pitchers have a very tough time in Miller Park. Balls in the air fly out of there with alarming regularity. But good luck to Mitre with that fairly crappy infield defense. He’s going to need it.
John Beierle
This is, without a doubt, Brian Cashman’s best move of the offseason.
Bob George
No, signing Millwood is Cashman’s best move. A 5.00 washed up pitcher.
I wonder if the Yankees will ever learn how to construct a roster.
notsureifsrs
they do ok
Vmmercan
Yeah I know, they only won a World Series more recently than 28 other teams from constructing a paper airplane
aisored
WHAT!?!?
rockfordone
Waste of money to fly him to Arizona
Lunchbox45
you assume a plane ticket is involved
TartanElk
I think I read somewhere that the Brewers hired him a burro for the ride out to Arizona. Could be wrong though…
MB923
Mitre for Dickerson. Wonder if that means Granderson will go on the DL and Jones will start. And Dickerson to the bench?
notsureifsrs
dickerson? wow. hat-tip to cashman for this one
daveineg
You won’t be toasting Cashman when you watch Dickerson hit.
MB923
Nor will Brewer fans be toasting Melvin when they watch Mitre pitch.
notsureifsrs
because he blew for 100 PA last year?
in 2009 in three times as many PA he hit .275/.370/.373 with plus defense. and those numbers are not a surprise in light of his production in the minors
that kind of player for sergio freakin’ mitre? tip of the cap indeed
nathanalext
Dickerson’s biggest issue is staying healthy. If he manages to do that, he will be more than serviceable for them.
Matt R.
Brewers had (still “have” probably) some pitching depth issues and a few bench / backup OF decisions. Solution = Mitre? Unlikely. Get well soon Greinke.
Don Thomsen
Rosenthal tweeted Brewers now in on Nyjer Morgan so we will see where this goes.
daveineg
The Brewers acquired Dickerson last year from the Reds for two months of gimpy legged Jim Edmonds. Dickerson did nothing of note in a Brewer uniform. He doesn’t hit with power or average and strikes out a lot. He’s fine defensively but that’s about it. The guy is vastly overrated and would have been optioned as soon as Corey Hart returned. For gosh sakes, Jeremy Reed and Brandon Boggs beat him out this spring.
Mitre fits the bill for what they needed, a spot starter who can then serve as long man in the pen.
TrueYankeeFanNYC
Lol justifying a trade for Mitre.
notsureifsrs
that is a ridiculous review of chris dickerson. you are talking about 105 plate appearances
to give you an idea of how foolish it is, in 2008 i could look at this 122 plate appearances in cincinatti during which he hit .304/.413/.608 and crown him one of the best hitters in baseball
a more realistic view accounts for both of those small sample outliers and his 300 PA from 2009 of .275/.370/.373 ball in light of his performance in the minors, which was very good (average wOBA of .375 in 800 AAA plate appearances)
the guy can hit. the guy is a good defender. the guy can steal a few bases. he’s a good 4th OF and a very good pickup when the cost was sergio mitre
East Coast Bias
He was probably going to get cut soon anyway. Good move on Cashman’s end!
daveineg
So was Dickerson.
Pool Messi
Cash obviously got sick of Girardi’s man-crush on Mitre.
Decided the team would be better off without him.
bleachercreature
hell no. Cashman pulled them apart kicking and screaming. Girardi is in tears
Matt Galvin
Dickerson can be start and Jones of the Bench.
MB923
Can you fix that sentence up? From the looks of it it seems you’re saying Dickerson can start and Jones can be on the bench. Uhh, both of them will be on the bench unless Granderson’s injury keeps him out. And if he is out, Jones would start, not Dickerson.
Jeff Weissbuch
Good luck with that
Bob George
Inexpensive filler for the Brewers. Mitre has talent, was even a good looking prospect with the Cubs but has never turned it into much big league success. He’s an average pitcher at best at this point.
Still, the Brewers didn’t give up much to get him and they needed another warm body.
venn177
You know who else was a good-looking prospect, that even turned it into success? Mark Prior.
SixAces
Anytime you get a living breathing human being or a sack of fresh “fruit of your liking” for Mitre, you declare it a win.
TheRza82
Overall, I find this to be an even deal. Yes, a lot of people are bashing on Mitre but I always felt comfortable with as being a spot starter. 54 IP, 1.09 WHIP, 223 BAA? Sounds pretty good to me. Yeah, he totally sucked in 09 but that was 09.
The same thing for Dickerson, the dude totally sucked last year and was awesome the year before that with a 745 OPS, 275 average, and 11 SB in only 255 ABs. One inconsistent guy for another, the difference is we don’t really have a spot for Mitre but we DO have a need for another outfielder. Mitre will benefit from being in the national league and Dickerson needed a change of scenery.
Jeff Weissbuch
I am not sure why everyone is getting so dang upset/exciting over this trade. It is a trade of 2 guys who would not make there old teams anyway.