Results tagged ‘ Chris Capuano ’
Rumor: Diligence Extends Even Farther, Two More Names
If you follow on Twitter, you’ve seen me comment on reports over the last couple of weeks that the Brewers appear to be performing due diligence on veteran starting pitchers around the league.
From a scout attending a game in which Aaron Harang was pitching to the scouting of Scott Kazmir to the reported interest in Javier Vazquez before he was shut down due to injury, it seems as though the Brewers are making sure they are up to speed on where several considerable options stand in their preparation for the season.
While this could make it seem as though the Brewers don’t have faith in their in-house options, I really feel as though this is mostly simply keeping tabs just in case. If the guys competing for rotation spots step up, I think Doug Melvin probably is comfortable entering the season with all of this inexperience in the starting rotation. However, if enought of those same competitors don’t begin to round into form before long, you might see the front office look to supplement the group currently working at Maryvale.
The thing about it though is that the Brewers are confident in many of their arms that are beginning to reach the upper levels of the minor leagues. So much so that entering into a long deal with a free agent pitcher doesn’t seem to make sense at this time. That being said, one of the jobs of the front office is planning for the present as well as the present. For example, is keeping a Hiram Burgos down at Nashville for an extra season worth it to sign a free agent if you have to tack on an extra season to his deal?
But I promised you a rumor at the top, and I’m sure that’s why you clicked on the link.
I’ve been told that the Brewers’ diligence has extended beyond the three names that have been in the media lately. Two specific names were mentioned to me. They’ve both been discussed to varying degrees on my different platforms at different times.
The first name will come as no surprise. I was told that there has been at least one additional conversation between the Brewers and Scott Boras about Kyle Lohse. I wasn’t told the details of the conversation, but I would guess that it was basically a “What are you asking at this point?” kind of a talk.
If you sign Lohse, you’re committing to, one would think, at least two seasons with a seven-figure average annual value. You’d also be surrendering your first-round draft pick in June. That means the player you’d draft and the portion of the draft pool compensation that goes along with the slot.
Look, despite all of the costs, doesn’t it feel like if the Brewers really wanted to sign Kyle Lohse, that they simply would have by this point? I understand the reluctance and I sincerely hope that the Brewers don’t feel forced into something that they really don’t want to do.
Secondly, a name that many of us discussed after Zack Greinke agreed to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Brewers and Dodgers have reportedly been in contact about veteran starting pitcher Chris Capuano. A fan favorite in his time in Milwaukee, “Cappy” would make much more sense to me than Lohse would.
Capuano is in the final guaranteed season of a two-year free agent contract he signed with the Dodgers before the 2012 season. There is a mutual option on that contract for 2014. Unlike the potential annual cost of a Lohse free agent deal, Capuano’s contract pays him “just” $6 million in 2013. And after consecutive seasons with 31+ starts, there should be no reservations anymore another year removed from his second Tommy John surgery.
There are two schools of thought though.
What do you value more? The packages are put together like this:
- Money to spend elsewhere, a first-round draft pick, no commitment beyond 2013
- Retaining the assets already in your system, stability in the rotation (assuming performance)
Personally, I think that Capuano makes more sense for this team for a number of reasons, one of the biggest being the ability to move on as early as 2014 should that be necessary. There are have been a number of long-term free agent contracts given out by Doug Melvin that haven’t worked out in the last year of the deal, and recent history (Jeff Suppan, Randy Wolf) rings loudest.
Now, these are only conversations and I’m not even close to saying that either of those conversations will lead to anything, but I wanted to pass along the info. I’m also not exactly sure when the conversations took place, for the record.
Milwaukee Brewers Sign Five, Including C Zaun
By: Big Rygg
The Hot Stove season in baseball can be a very exciting time. It’s the first real baseball-heavy stretch of time in the sports media since the end of the World Series and, chance are, the first time you’ve really heard much about your team since the end of the regular season.
The big event during the off-season in baseball are the four days collectively known as the Winter Meetings. The Winter Meetings are a gathering of all of Major League Baseball’s General Managers (amongst other MLB officials). A ton of agents and even usually a handful of players make the trip as well. It is a chance for everybody to meet face to face and, thusly, to get a LOT accomplished in a relatively short amount of time. Groundwork is laid, dialogue is begun, negotiations get underway and, when all the stars align, players get signed to contracts.
In 2008 the Milwaukee Brewers were a part of the big storyline of the Winter Meetings, that of course being the CC Sabathia sweepstakes (congratulations to CC for winning a World Series Championship, by the way). That didn’t work out in Milwaukee’s favor, but it certainly was fun to have all the national media focused on the Brewers for a couple of days.
Last year, Doug Melvin was focused pretty much solely on Sabathia during the Winter Meetings and didn’t really accomplish anything. This year, however, Melvin is casting a much wider net into the free agent waters, specifically into the Sea of Starting Pitching. It has been said that the Brewers are basically looking into every available free agent pitcher. Having signed two arms already (the rehabbing Chris Capuano along with John Halama), the Brewers have gotten started fairly quickly this year. The Winter Meetings don’t even start until this coming Monday, for what it’s worth.
But, two pitchers that are questionable at best if one were to rely on them to start 20 games in 2010 (and for Capuano that games-started number could be one) is not enough for this team. Fortunately, Melvin, assitant GM Gord Ash and the rest of the front office realize this fact.
And, since pitching isn’t the only need for this organization, the Brewers have been active in areas other than pitching too. The Brewers made a trade in acquiring a new center fielder, Carlos Gomez, from the Minnesota Twins for SS J.J. Hardy. They signed a 16-year-old (pending age verification) shortstop, a young OF prospect who had a taste of the big leagues last year in Trent Oeltjen and a new starting (more on that later) catcher in the tastefully-named Gregg Zaun.
Allow me to focus on the new backstop in Milwaukee for a bit. There has been much discussion amongst fans already as to what exactly the Brewers are gaining by signing Zaun as opposed to simply retaining the services of two-year starter Jason Kendall instead.
First and foremost to this off-season’s agenda of acquiring as much starting pitching help as possible, this move saves the Brewers money. Kendall earned $5 million last year. With so many servicable options available on the upcoming market, Melvin made the decision that the team couldn’t afford to pay $5 million for a catcher again. There was never a report on whether Kendall flat out told Melvin to take a hike or whether he would’ve considered resigning at a reduced rate. Kendall was said to have greatly enjoyed his time as a Brewer, so it’s nice to think that he would’ve at least considered it.
To focus on what actually happened, though, is to realized that Gregg Zaun was approached by as many as six teams in this first week of free agency. He has said that the Brewers separated themselves pretty quickly from the pack. It helped that Milwaukee could offer a chance to be the primary starter. nearly-40-year-old catchers (or ballplayers of any position at that age) seldom hear those words. Now, Manager Ken Macha has seemed to be a no nonsense guy in his first year. That would seem to indicate that if Zaun isn’t performing at an acceptable level, then he would lose a start or two per week as whomever the backup winds up being will gain that playing time. Zaun is veteran enough in this league to know that performance is what hangs onto a job.
Should Zaun falter and his backup be called on…well, I don’t know what to tell you at this point because there is no certainty who that backup will be. Rumors flew (and continue to fly) since the end of the season about giving highly-touted prospect Jonathan Lucroy a shot to make the leap from AA to the big leagues. Then again, had prospect Angel Salome not missed so much combined time in 2009 due to injuries, might it be his name that would’ve been getting ballihooed about? There’s also the realization that Mike Rivera has been a decent backup the last few seasons as well at the big league level, thereby making him the devil they know, so to speak. Backup catcher is a much more important decision this year because Gregg Zaun will not be starting 130+ games.
Enough sidebarring. What else is the team gaining with Gregg Zaun behind the dish? How about more power, a higher batting average and, since Zaun is a switch-hitter, a second left-handed bat against right-handed pitchers. A little more balance can make a big difference.
As for the things Kendall excelled at (blocking the plate, blocking up pitches in the dirt, calling a game), Zaun is good at all of those things too. Let me put it this way, without going to find defensive statistical numbers… When you’re 38 years old and still playing in the big leagues, it’s usually not because of your stick anymore, especially behind the dish. Why do you think Henry Blanco is still playing? A cannon arm is among the top reasons why.
So when you add it all up, is there really any debate as to whether or not the Brewers made the right call? Of course there is. That’s the beauty of baseball and of all sports. Until the games are played on the field/court/rink/etc, you never know. But at least in baseball, statistical analysis provides a pretty darn good idea.
Despite all of this, though, the team needs more help. Formally offering a contract to Craig Counsell is a good start (depending on the value of said contract), but it’s hardly enough. The Winter Meetings begin in Indianapolis, Indiana in three days. With Doug Melvin and company being able to spread their focus around in 2009, let’s all hope that more irons in the fire yield better results in the long run.
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