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Non-Tenders

LHP Chris Capuano

Coming off UCL reconstructive surgery. He'll probably remain with the Brewers while working towards a rotation spot, but his splits against left-handers are absolutely delicious (.619 OPS).

LHP Randy Flores

Has always had unusually high BABIPs. 2008 saw his strikeout and walk rates go whack. Had a pretty solid 2007, and nothing stands out besides the LD% and BABIP.

LHP John Bale

Career stats indicate situational lefty, yet the Royals used Bale in 13 games and he wound up with 26 innings and saw more righties than lefties.

RHP Takashi Saito

He'd appeal to all the "ZOMG CLOSER" types, but unlike some, he's actually a solid pitcher. Had some elbow surgery last year, but returned before the season ended. Good for 1-1.5 WAR as a reliever, and as a player entering arbitration in his first year, he's worth about 3 mil. Reports have him asking for 3.5 million.

0 recs | Comment 14 comments

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Does Joe Nelson sound appealing?

i see them waiting for a closer type to fall through the cracks, which it should since supply outweighed demand

by Raymondo on Dec 13, 2008 11:18 AM EST reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Me too.

He should be shipped off to another team.

And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic...

by Blicks on Dec 13, 2008 12:15 PM EST to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

I guess it's what you've done lately

His first half was lights out. Second half not so much. You might call it regression, but what if he was just worn down. If Joe can use him effectively he is capable of being a very good 7th/8th inning guy.

Anyway, as I was lying in the puddle, I think I may have found a way for us to get Bonds and Griffey, and we wouldn't have to give up that much.

~George Costanza~

by Sandy Kazmir on Dec 13, 2008 12:46 PM EST to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

He's bound to regress, and he's expensive.

His FIP of 4.48 and tRA of 4.72 in 2008 don’t look good

He’s on the borderline of becoming a bad contract.

And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic...

by Blicks on Dec 13, 2008 1:07 PM EST to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

His marcel at the ASB predicted a collapse.

Brad Ziegler had a scoreless inning streak. Brad Ziegler had not met BJ Upton.

by P Brady on Dec 13, 2008 1:08 PM EST to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Splits

He actually posted better K/BB rates the second half the year. But worse HR rates, mostly because he got pretty damn lucky the first half. He’s a huge flyball pitcher. Oh, and his BABIP-against rose from .162 to .242.

Wheeler’s not a bad pitcher. By ERA, 3 of the past 4 years have been 3.12 or lower, but the other was above 5.00. By FIP, he’s a 3.75 guy. By tERA, he’s a 4.25 guy. Unscientifically, I’d put his 2009 ERA O/U at 4.00. Useful but not overly productive.

Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.

by Sky Kalkman on Dec 14, 2008 1:49 PM EST to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

It is always nice to upgrade a position

and if we can acquire better middle relievers than Wheeler, great. But sometimes our pendulum of evaluation swings too far the other way once we become disenchanted.

Wheeler is not a great reliever. If he is consistently placed in high leverage situations he will disappoint often enough, and those disappointments will outweigh in our imaginations his more ordinary successes. But as a middle reliever he is serviceable, at least in the sense that most pitchers in that role are.

It is likely that any reliever we get for that role will about the same. It is reasonable to argue that for what he cost we can get someone at least as good, but whoever it is is likely to fail often enough to create a similar backlash.

I think “useful but not overly productive” is a fair assessment. Like players such as Gross, this kind of role player is often underappreciated because they are not stars. But no team has 25 all-stars, so the key is to play to the strengths of the players we have, not to castigate them because they do not succeed every time out.

From July 2 to the end of the year, Wheeler did his job effectively 22 times, even if in a few more cases he came near the edge. He clearly failed 5 times. Actually, 24 times he either finished an inning without incident (no hits, walks or runs) or got the save in spite of allowing a run. The peripherals may warn us that he will regress, but his history for the past number of years indicates that year after year he provides serviceable relief.

by bobr on Dec 14, 2008 3:00 PM EST to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Saito is intriguing...

…maybe if we can talk him down about a million off his asking price, i might do it.

by daveh33 on Dec 13, 2008 12:52 PM EST reply reply actions actions   0 recs

1 year/2 mil could wind up being a great deal

A lot of teams will worry about the injury, it is far from impossible that we get that deal.

by joeybw on Dec 13, 2008 1:35 PM EST to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Capauno

The Brewers are likely to sign him to a split contract and start him in AAA to rehab. That’s his second reconstructive arm surgery, so it’s unlikely he’s in the majors for two months or so, if it all.

He was interviewed a couple times on Brewers broadcasts last year and it sounded like there’s already a handshake agreement on a minor league deal.

And neck size to baby eating ratio.

by Jordan M on Dec 13, 2008 3:19 PM EST reply reply actions actions   0 recs

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