Brewers pick up CF Cameron's 10M team option

Good move by the Brewers - I don't even get why there was any sort of question here - Cameron was well above average at the plate and is a solid defender. 10M/yr is a bargain.

about 1 year ago Jack Moore 33 comments 0 recs |

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Agreed.

by R.J. Anderson on Nov 3, 2008 9:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Easy call

Mother---- him and John Wayne!

by MerryGoByeBye on Nov 3, 2008 9:49 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

What,

no separate post about the Royals and Miguel Olivo mutually agreeing to his return next season?

A shocking offense…

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Nov 3, 2008 10:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Matt (UW): Do you agree with the Brewers decision to pick up Mike Cameron’s $10 million option for this season? He was exactly what they expected but he is slowing down in the OF and is going to be 36. Putting up that kind of money on a team that needs SP badly with a relatively smaller budget just doesn’t seem very sound.

Christina Kahrl: Yeah, I have to agree, Matt, this wasn’t really the best investment given the team’s more significant needs in other areas. If this team doesn’t address its holes in the rotation, they’re also-rans, and I’d rather they found a third baseman than keep winging it.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/chat/chat.php?chatId=544

"i wasn't sure who to vote for. but then his grandmother died. they're pulling out all the stops to get those undecided voters. damn, these guys are fucking good."

by larry on Nov 4, 2008 10:26 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I honestly haven't given much thought to the Brewers rotation.

But isn’t this at least passable? From theinsidepitch.com

1SP Yovani Gallardo
2SP Dave Bush
3SP Jeff Suppan
4SP Chris Capuano lhp
5SP Manny Parra lhp

There’s certainly room for improvement, but it’s not Texas-like, right?

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

by Sky Kalkman on Nov 4, 2008 10:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i dunno, man.

i haven’t given it much thought either but they’re presumably losing both sheets and sabathia – big production there, of course. gallardo should help make up a good chunk of that but are they going to make up that lost production anywhere else? i’m not sure. they’re still in the division with the cubs who, while looking a bit older next year, still at least look like the class of that division. i wouldn’t really want to go into the season with suppan, capuano (coming off TJ, will he be ready?) and parra making up 3/5 of my rotation.

but, no, texas-like is a pretty tough floor to reach.

"i wasn't sure who to vote for. but then his grandmother died. they're pulling out all the stops to get those undecided voters. damn, these guys are fucking good."

by larry on Nov 4, 2008 10:53 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Cameron improves the pitching...

Chances are, whoever would play CF instead of Cameron wouldn’t be as good of a defender. Considering the Brewers are going to have a staff that really relies on the defense, Cameron is a smart investment, especially for only one year.

by Peter Bendix on Nov 4, 2008 12:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think I suggested these three guys as trade options over at Brew Crew Ball:

Endy Chavez, Nelson Cruz, Franklin Gutierrez. None would be much of a downgrade from Cameron for a much smaller (financial) cost. Trade cost, however…

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

by Sky Kalkman on Nov 4, 2008 12:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Is Cruz much of a CFer?

by Peter Bendix on Nov 4, 2008 12:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Probably average.

I have a man-crush on him, for full disclosure.

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

by Sky Kalkman on Nov 4, 2008 12:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i wouldn't buy that.

older player projected to be average? i think the difference would be marginal.

"i wasn't sure who to vote for. but then his grandmother died. they're pulling out all the stops to get those undecided voters. damn, these guys are fucking good."

by larry on Nov 4, 2008 12:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

to clarify, i don't disagree that this was an acceptable move.

it’s just the brewers have some serious rotation questions.

"i wasn't sure who to vote for. but then his grandmother died. they're pulling out all the stops to get those undecided voters. damn, these guys are fucking good."

by larry on Nov 4, 2008 12:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Attanasio has implied that if it's not Sabathia, there'll be some other free agent pitcher somewhere there.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Brewers can’t retain Sabathia, then they might go after Lowe.

---
Juuuust a bit outside!!
http://balkingtraditionalism.blogspot.com/

by Jack Moore on Nov 4, 2008 4:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Derek Lowe: so underrated he became overrated?

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

by Sky Kalkman on Nov 4, 2008 5:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

More of the outstanding analysis we've come to expect from Ms. Kahrl

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Nov 4, 2008 11:12 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

But having a good defense helps their remaining pitchers.

by R.J. Anderson on Nov 4, 2008 11:37 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

is he that good?

"i wasn't sure who to vote for. but then his grandmother died. they're pulling out all the stops to get those undecided voters. damn, these guys are fucking good."

by larry on Nov 4, 2008 11:43 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He's a positive defender, not as much as before obviously. Probably between 0 and 3 runs worth.

by R.J. Anderson on Nov 4, 2008 11:44 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

well, sure.

if you’re worried about defense, i think they’ve got adequate replacments for that. they really, really need to get some starting help. no matter who they have in center, he’s not going to make that starting rotation look good.

"i wasn't sure who to vote for. but then his grandmother died. they're pulling out all the stops to get those undecided voters. damn, these guys are fucking good."

by larry on Nov 4, 2008 11:47 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Definitely.

Although, I thought Sheets may return at a lesser rate. Maybe a $$/yr deal, allowing him to take another shot next season at the FA market?

by R.J. Anderson on Nov 4, 2008 11:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

if i were sheets coming off a near 200 inning year, i think i'd bank now on that guaranteed cash.

but that’s just me.

i think the brewers will need to trade to get help.

"i wasn't sure who to vote for. but then his grandmother died. they're pulling out all the stops to get those undecided voters. damn, these guys are fucking good."

by larry on Nov 4, 2008 11:54 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You really have to consider the other options, though.

If there’s no Cameron, what other position player conributes, and how much worse is he? If Tony Gwynn Jr. (ouch) is the next guy, Cameron’s a huge upgrade. If you have a Colby Rasmus sitting around, that’s the better move.

And if a pitcher is brought in, how much of an improvement is he over, say, Parra?

Which $9MM will improve the team more. It doesn’t matter that the pitchers are worse than the position players. What matters is the marginal increase in talent by taking each road.

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

by Sky Kalkman on Nov 4, 2008 12:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

of course.

"i wasn't sure who to vote for. but then his grandmother died. they're pulling out all the stops to get those undecided voters. damn, these guys are fucking good."

by larry on Nov 4, 2008 12:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not so sure

this was the move I would’ve made. I think the Brewers should’ve saved the money and put it towards pitching and moved Rickie Weeks to CF.

by jcmitchell on Nov 4, 2008 10:34 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

they can still trade him, of course.

while i don’t really have an opinion either way regarding whether the brewers should have picked up the option (there are obviously pros and cons either way that are substantial for a team in the position of the brewers so it seems kind of like a wash at this point in the offseason), i’d think it was an excellent move if they flipped him for something.

"i wasn't sure who to vote for. but then his grandmother died. they're pulling out all the stops to get those undecided voters. damn, these guys are fucking good."

by larry on Nov 4, 2008 10:37 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Who plays second if Rickie's moved to CF?

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

by Sky Kalkman on Nov 4, 2008 10:42 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Bill Hall?

I has a blog. | Ask a sabermagician!

by cwyers on Nov 4, 2008 11:21 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

At this pace, Hall's a pitcher by what, 2014?

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

by Sky Kalkman on Nov 4, 2008 11:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps Alcides Escobar or Hernan Irribarren?

The Brewers have approximately 50 players at AA or AAA that they could potentially move up. I believe both of these guys (Escobar was for sure) were discussed in the LaPorta/Sabathia deal.

---
Juuuust a bit outside!!
http://balkingtraditionalism.blogspot.com/

by Jack Moore on Nov 4, 2008 4:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Either

J.J. Hardy or Bill Hall. I would try Hall out and if he can’t handle it then move Hardy over. Escobar is the future at short and I don’t think taking him off short will help his development.

by jcmitchell on Nov 6, 2008 10:42 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Another way of looking at it...

Yes, the Brewers need pitching. But how much pitching talent would $9MM buy? At $4.8MM per free agent win, they could have gotten something like 1.8 WAR from a pitcher. That’s like a league-average pitcher.

So, do you want Cameron and the current number five guy, say Manny Parra, or a center field shmuck, say Tony Gwynn Jr. and Tim Wakefield? I’ll take Cameron/Parra, please.

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

by Sky Kalkman on Nov 6, 2008 6:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs