Brewers Looking For Pitching?

by Eli Greenspan on May 15, 2008 5:54 PM EDT

The beauty of having pitching depth is that when someone goes down, you have more to back it up. However, the Brewers lost both Yovani Gallardo and Chris Capuano, limiting their options. It is unfortunate because their offense is such a force in the league, but teams win on pitching. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, the Brewers have room in their payroll to add another pitcher, opening up speculation to who that could be.

Ben Sheets is going to be a free agent at the end of this season and I think they would be smart to lock him up. Unless they are going to open the bank on CC Sabathia, there really aren't too many other pitchers that could step up and be their ace. Here are a couple options for the Brewers to look at this trade deadline:

Joe Blanton, Athletics: Blanton is 2-6 with a 3.69 ERA, but really has not been pitching bad. A move to the NL and playing on a run scoring team would definitely help his numbers. Although, it would probably cost the Brewers several low level prospects.
Greg Maddux, Padres: Maddux has been mentioned recently about possibly going to the Braves or Cubs, but don't rule out reunion in Milwaukee. Maddux's brother, Mike, is the pitching coach for the Brewers.
Mark Hendrickson, Marlins: If Hendrickson continues to pitch well, the Marlins could trade him while his stock is high for a couple of prospects. The Orioles did it last year with Steve Trachsel, and got two pretty good prospects. Because Hendrickson is younger and pitching better, he could net the Marlins a pretty good prospect or two.

Don't forget, the Brewers do have Jeff Weaver in Triple-A, so he could help them out if he can continues to be consistent. He is familiar with the NL Central, so that is a definite possibility.

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"Locking up" Sheets would be a mistake. The rule is never give a pitcher more than 3 years or you will be sorry. Sheets is continually hurt. If anything, trade him now and get 2 prospect starters.

by Anonymous on May 15, 2008 9:06 PM EDT reply actions

Greg Maddux would look good with his brother in Milwaukee.

by Anonymous on May 16, 2008 1:27 AM EDT reply actions

haha, "locking up" sheets... The guys a walking trauma center.

by Anonymous on May 16, 2008 8:19 AM EDT reply actions

I also think it would be a mistake to tie up payroll for an injury-prone pitcher. It makes more sense to me to trade him to a team with a better chance of contending this year. They could get some pretty good talent for Sheets with a few years remaining before they're eligible for free-agency.

by Anonymous on May 16, 2008 8:26 AM EDT reply actions

Just to let you know, the Orioles actually got 3 prospects for Steve Trachsel. There was a clause in the deal that said if the cubs made the playoffs they would recieve a PTBNL. that player is Jake renshaw, he is having a pretty good season in A ball currently.

three prospects for Steve trachsel, ridiculous I know but possibly one of the most one-sided deals in the last few years simply because of how horribly he did for the Cubs and the fact that he was not even put on the team's roster for the playoffs.

by Joey on May 16, 2008 5:27 PM EDT reply actions

As a longtime Cubs fan, it would make me absolutely sick if Greg Maddux was traded to the Brewers and finished his career there. I wouldnt mind seeing him back with the Cubs as our 4th starter with Z, Demp, Lilly, and Gallagher. They can trade Marquis for a supply of eyeliner for Jimmy Edmonds.

by Anonymous on May 16, 2008 10:33 PM EDT reply actions

Doug Melvin just did an interview where he said that the Brewers are very serious about making a move for a seroius starting pitcher. 3B Billy Hall is high among players we could see go. We've got Braun wrapped up for years, wanting to play 3B again, with an abundence of good OF players sitting on our bench(Kapler, T. Gwynn Jr., prospect Matt LaPorta). Even if we leave Braun in the OF, we've now got Russell Branyan back and Joe Dillon waiting at 3B. Also, there's no reason not to suspect the Crew trading J.J Hardy or Rickie Weeks based upon low production, but we have little to no support behind them. I also don't think Prince is sitting comletely safely right now with pressure from his agent for the short-term, big money deal, low numbers to begin the season and a few prospects to work with at 1B. He is the leader in the dugout and the face of the organization right now though, so we'd only be looking to deal him for some serious business.
Also, considering the more long term, where I expect we hold onto Sheets(the Brewers are obviously very conscious of their need for quality starters), Gallardo will be back next year and we have at least 4 starters that we think are strong(Sheets, Gallardo, Suppan and Parra). Any trade will most likely be for an SP with very little time left on his contract.
We signed quite a few veterans to short deals in this offseason(Gagne, Cameron, Kendall, Kapler). I'm looking for something like this again.

by andy p on May 30, 2008 1:11 PM EDT reply actions