Teams are now free to negotiate with free agents. Expect the hot stove to be heating up very quickly in the coming days.
Major League News
Tom Haudricourt has a "free agency primer" of sorts to kick of the true beginning of the hot stove season. He mentions that Randy Wolf could be a popular target for the Brewers, despite the fact that he is a Type-A free agent -- which costs a compensatory draft pick. Because the Brewers played poorly enough in 2009, however, their first-round draft pick is protected. Thus, Milwaukee would only have to surrender a second-round pick to the Dodgers if they were to sign Randy Wolf. A small-market team never wants to surrender draft picks, especially for a pitcher that rode a .257 BABIP to his first sub-4.00 since the 2002 season.
There have been a couple trade rumors floating around over the past couple days.
One involves the Atlanta Braves and Derek Lowe. The Braves are desperately looking to move Lowe's contract and have been connected to Corey Hart in trade rumors since last winter. While FOX Sports suggests the Lowe-for-Hart swap, MLB.com's Mark Bowman states that Atlanta is not interested in Corey Hart. The organization dislikes his undisciplined approach at the plate and would rather acquire prospects than Corey Hart.
Adam McCalvy notes that any potential trade involving Corey Hart would face many hurdles. The Brewers do not have a deep outfielding corps, so losing Hart would leave a gaping hole in right field. That could be filled via free agency or perhaps even Mat Gamel or Jody Gerut, but the Brewers are not anxious to fill one hole by creating another. Doug Melvin said that much throughout the 2009 season.
The other trade rumor involves a potential three-team deal that would include Seattle's Brandon Morrow, Detroit's Edwin Jackson, and a mysterious third team. The Brewers have naturally been connected to this trade scenario due to their interest in Jackson (and any starting pitching) and Doug Melvin's relationship with new Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik. Larry Stone of The Seattle Times warns fans to not get too crazy about this deal, as nothing solidified has been reported. While that may be true, no one said the deal was going to happen. The report simply stated that the teams were discussing a three-team deal.
The Ghost of Moonlight Graham has another Free Agent Primer, which names the best available free agent in many categories. The article says Jon Garland should get more love this offseason and that Milwaukee should seriously consider signing the right-hander. I would prefer someone who owns more than a career 4.72 K/9 strikeout rate, but that could just be me.
Tom Haudricourt tweets that it would be a "huge upset" if Mark Mulder does not sign a minor-league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers this winter. Due to his relationship with new pitching coach Rick Peterson, that is not surprising.
Keith Law, on the other hand, wants to know why the Brewers are targeting pitchers like Mulder and Jarrod Washburn, as neither have been very good for quite a while. Duly noted. Although, grouping Mulder and Washburn into the same breath this offseason is a mistake, as the cost for Mulder is significantly lower than it will be for Washburn.
Joe Posnanski unveils his NL Les Sweetland Award, which names the worst starting pitcher in the National League, and it goes to Milwaukee's own, Manny Parra. Aside from Manny Parra undoubtedly deserving the award, I resent Posnanski grouping Dave Bush in the same sentence as Looper, Suppan, and Parra when discussing their respective struggles in 2009. Parra is a headcase. Looper and Suppan are soft-tossers who cannot miss a bat if their life depended on it and serve up at least a home run per game. Dave Bush, though, battled arm fatigue and tears in his biceps muscle. They are not the same.
Adam McCalvy profiles the improvements in and around Miller Park. I do enjoy the new names for the parking lots, although I do sympathize with Hank Aaron. He has to endure the embarrassment of being the old Chicago Cubs parking lot. Paul Molitor is also ostracized a bit from the group.
A couple of Brewers' staffers started a new blog that will update happenings inside the stadium and provide plenty of information when it comes to gameday events and giveaways.
Seamheads spins a nice story about Milwaukee's first all-black baseball team and its captain, Napoleon Broady. As with a good deal of black history prior to the 20th century, much of the information on the Milwaukee Reds is lost. If you have a few minutes at work, give the article a read. Familiarize yourself with a part of baseball's history that is rarely reported upon, much less investigated.
Minor League News
Zach Braddock finally had a bad outing, according to Brew Crew Ball's Fall/Winter League Update. The left-hander had been sporting a sparkling ERA under 1.00, but gave up six earned runs on four hits and four walks yesterday. That caused his AFL ERA to jump above 5.00. This is yet another example of why small sample sizes cannot be trusted. Braddock was absolutely lights out, other than one performance.
Alcides Escobar went 4-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBI in Venezuela. The young shortstop is currently carrying an eight-game hitting streak.
Baseball America profiles center fielder Logan Schafer and his fantastic season. The 23-year old apparently did not know a Minor League Player of the Year award existed in Milwaukee's system, but was very excited to receive it this summer. The article goes on to quote Assistant GM Gord Ash, who hinted that Schafer has become the organization's top center field option going forward. That is interesting, as Lorenzo Cain was long thought to be the heir apparent in center field. That is, before Carlos Gomez came along this month.
The Arizona Diamondbacks did not protect Cole Gillespie from the Rule 5 Draft this winter. Could the Milwaukee Brewers bring Cole back as a right-handed fifth outfielder? His plate discipline and modest power potential could fit nicely on the bench. Gillespie can also handle both corner outfield positions, which presents some flexibility with Jody Gerut being able to handle all three outfield spots. (h/t Brew Crew Ball)
While there are upgrades going on inside and outside Miller Park, the same is happening at Time Warner Field for the Timber Rattlers. The organization broke single-season attendance records for the organization, so additional seating is being built...as well as other improvements.
Other Baseball News
I am not a paying member of Baseball Prospectus, so I normally gloss through their articles rather quickly. This article, however, caught my eye. It is an article that explains the different aspects of crafting a reasonable trade rumor -- something very germane to the beginning of the hot stove season. If you can breach the pay wall (by being a member, obviously), give it a look. Otherwise, read the first three bullet points. They are still fruitful.
As I linked to yesterday, the Chicago Cubs sent reliever Aaron Heilman to Arizona for two minor leaguers. Jonanthan Mayo profiles the two prospects. For a non-tender candidate such as Heilman, the Cubs did well to acquire anything, much less a first baseman being compared to Matt Stairs (a career left-handed platoon man).
The Cubs also signed left-hander John Grabow to a two-year, $7.5M deal. Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says the Cubs threw away money for Grabow.
Brad Thompson was recently released by the St. Louis Cardinals. He did not stay unemployed for long, however, as the Kansas City Royals have agreed to sign Thompson to a minor league deal. The deal is expected to become official today.
Jayson Stark of ESPN profiles the problems with the current revenue sharing program. While the numbers are nowhere near as high as Scott Boras recently claimed, Stark still crunches the numbers and argues that teams such as the Florida Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates are simply pocketing some of the revenue cash. Stark wishes to see teams like the Yankees get taxed to even the playing field, but he also believes the Marlins and Pirates should be taxed for not spending their revenue sharing money. If this is all true, count me in.
Keith Law unveils his Top 50 Free Agents. Cuban defector Ardolis Chapman ranks #5, while (former) Brewer Felipe Lopez checks in at #9. For those of you who are curious, Jarrod Washburn ranks as the 46th best free agent this offseason. On Washburn:
[I]t's hard to imagine any team giving Washburn three years when a
contender desperate for a starter wouldn't even use him down the
stretch.
Over the Monster opines that the Boston Red Sox should sign Chris Capuano to a minor league deal this winter. I still believe Cappy signs with the Brewers. The organization showed loyalty to him last offseason by signing him to a minor league deal with significant escalators if he made the big leagues. I suspect Chris Capuano honors that loyalty and attempts to return to the big leagues with the team that gave him his first legitimate shot.
In case you have an irrational hatred of "Statheads," much like Harold Reynolds, you should know that Zack Greinke fully subscribes to sabermetrics and utilized them on his way to winning the AL Cy Young award this season. Fellow Royal and sabermetric-enthusiast Brian Bannister said of Greinke:
He's extremely bright, and he's really picked up on using all the
information out there to make his game better. He's always had the
talent. His confidence level, which is extremely high, combined with
his knowledge of the numbers behind the game now, definitely makes him
one of the best pitchers in the world. David DeJesus had our best zone
ratings, so a lot of times, Zack would pitch for a fly ball at our park
instead of a ground ball, just because the zone rating was better in
our outfield and it was a big park.
Uber-prospect Stephen Strasburg has been scratched from his next AFL start due to a twisted knee. The Nationals panicked quite a bit as an organization, as the early reports on the injury indicated an "ugly pop" when it first occurred. The injury has now been dubbed a twisted knee, and the folks in Washington D.C. can now breathe easily.
Philadelphia prospect Domonic Brown spells his first name a bit strangely, but that did not stop a journalist in Pennsylvania from calling him an idiot in the newspaper for how he spells his name. The comment was not meant for publication. An editing error, however, caused the comment to be printed anyway. The journalist quickly retracted the comment and said that the only idiot was himself. Indeed.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are reportedly bargain hunting for relievers this offseason. They are unwilling to pay $3-4M per year for a reliever, which apparently paints them as unique. There are very few relievers who should be paid $3-4M. Hence the reaction to John Grabow receiving $7.5M over two years. Neal Huntington is not "ahead of the curve," he is simply ascribing to an idea that has been widely held over the past couple of seasons.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN delves into the uncertainty of defensive value and different quantifying metrics such as UZR. Should a GM trust numbers such as UZR or what a scout sees? I suppose I do not understand why this has to be an either/or proposition. Why can't a GM take both into consideration? If there is a discrepancy between the two, send another scout or rerun the numbers. A GM can also split the difference.
The notion that defensive scouting and defensive metrics such as UZR and TotalZone are mutually exclusive is ridiculous. A GM not only can, but should, utilize both tools when evaluating a player's defense.
BC Approved Music Video of the Day
Sia -- The Girl You Lost to Cocaine