Results tagged ‘ free agency ’
Hot Stove Report: Brewers Begin Testing Pitching Market
The Winter Meetings start next week and, as I’ve said more than once in this space, there is opportunity for a lot to get done every year during them.
If I need to post a picture of Ryan Dempster, why not post a picture of Ryan Dempster with Marisa Miller?
Last year we here at Brewer Nation were the first to bring to you that the Brewers made contact and were potentially “down the road” with then free agent Aramis Ramirez prior to the Winter Meetings. We had the money right though we were slightly off on the years (though we later learned that it may have been a misinterpretation on our end of the information we obtained).
Well, Doug Melvin is at it again in the days leading up to the 2012 Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. Though “it” in this case is merely dipping his toe in to test the water a bit more so than being anywhere significant.
FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal reported this morning that the Brewers are one of three teams that have “shown interest” in free agent starting pitcher Ryan Dempster.
(By the way, this absolutely qualifies as something that makes sense but that I hadn’t yet heard independently so it’s not something I had passed along yet.)
Rosenthal said in a tweet earlier:
Sources: #Brewers, #RedSox, #Angels among teams expressing interest in Dempster. Seeking three-year deal.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 29, 2012
Naturally, I’ve already seen on Twitter where someone interpreted that as “The Brewers are close to signing Dempster to a three-year deal.” Jumping to conclusions is one of the most repeated acts on the internet.
But just take Rosenthal’s tweet for what it says which (according to his sources) is:
- Ryan Dempster wants a three-year contract.
- The Milwaukee Brewers have expressed interest in Ryan Dempster.
- The Boston Red Sox have expressed interest in Ryan Dempster.
- The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have expressed interest in Ryan Dempster.
It does not say that any of those teams are willing to give Dempster a three-year deal, just that Dempster (understandably) is seeking a three-year deal. It does not say that Dempster is not willing to sign a contract at less than three years. It does not say whether any of the mentioned teams expressed their interest in Dempster after they learned that Dempster is seeking a three-year deal.
I hope I’ve covered all the ways the you could read into Rosenthal’s tweet.
I’ve reached out to someone to see if he knows anything further about the Brewers “expressed interest” in Ryan Dempster. I’ll update this space when I hear back.
***UPDATE: I heard back. My friend had heard the Brewers being tied to Dempster but thought it was “speculative” talk that sometimes goes on and not something concrete enough to pass along.***
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See Previous Hot Stove Reports:
Hot Stove Report: Somebody New Has Contacted the Brewers (but it means little)
Here is the other thing I mentioned on Twitter the other day. I didn’t even really want to post this one, but several people talked me into it. “What could it hurt?” was the underlying theme of their prodding.
This isn’t really a revelation so much as it would be a confirmation of what many people can assume and infer based on standard operating procedure by sports agents. Agents try to drum up as much interest in their clients as possible. That’s their job. More teams involved on a client usually leads to more money being paid to that client.
It doesn’t mean anything more than what is written. No signing is imminent. Numbers likely were not discussed. But…
The agent for Josh Hamilton did contact the Brewers.
It makes all the sense in the world that he would. Doug Melvin doesn’t like to pursue players who don’t show an interest in playing in Milwaukee; that isn’t a secret. Making contact sends a message, however thin, that “my client would consider playing here” and that means that one of Melvin’s favorite excuses is taken off the table.
The trump card of “we can’t afford him” is obviously still up Melvin’s sleeve regardless, but it’s all about positioning at this stage of the game for a talent like Hamilton in unrestricted free agency. His agent can say, truthfully, that he’s talked to other teams regardless of who he is negotiating with down the road. Pitting GMs who have access to owners with deep pockets against each other is a technique that has won many a battle in the war against the league minimum.
So as much as it pains me to add kindling on top of the Hamilton-to-Milwaukee embers, Hamilton’s side has reached out. To be fair though, expecting anything less would be foolish, really.
Don’t read anything into this that isn’t there. Read the words, don’t read into the words.
In other words, nothing is likely to happen and I’m definitely not saying that anything will. At all. There aren’t many scenarios that exist in which Hamilton would (or could) sign with Milwaukee. It’d take a truly perfect confluence of events to result in the Milwaukee Brewers signing Josh Hamilton in advance of the 2013 season.
I hope that’s clear.
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