Capuano eligible for arbitration?

[joepepsi]

By my count he has one more arby season. Right? So, do the Brewers offer him arby or do they release him?

[endaround]

Most likely they'll sign a contract but won't be making an arby offer to him. The big question is if its a major league deal or not.

[sveumrules]

they talked to cappy on fsn when the crew was in arizona and he made it sound like he'd be willing to accept a minor league deal and start the year out in nashville to pitch his way back to the bigs for milwaukee.

[And That]

Is the Brewers offered him arby, they'd have to offer him at least 80% of his current salary of $3.75 mil, which is $3 mil. They're not going to do that unless he recovers at a magical rate of speed. If they retain him, it'll be probably be on a minor league deal after a non-tender.

[fondybrewfan]

Cappy could be a huge boost to the rotation next year if he could return to his 2005 and 2006 numbers. I won't hold my breath but I hope he makes it back at some point. The Brewers can't count on him returning back to form so I would just assume they proceed in the offseason assuming he won't pitch and if he does that is just gravy.

[dadofandrew]

I would assume Cappy will sign for a reduced amount, and continue to rehab. He hinted a handshake deal was already in place when they talked to him on TV in Arizona.

[joepepsi]

I would assume Cappy will sign for a reduced amount, and continue to rehab. He hinted a handshake deal was already in place when they talked to him on TV in Arizona.

Well that's a good thing then. Sounds like he won't try to latch on with another team. Can't expect too much of him right away, but he should make his way back as a useful starter in the bigs. Could be a big boost in July or August 2009.

[BrewCrewForever]

I'm a big Cappy fan, so I hope he can battle his way back and possibly at the least be a left handed long relief arm out of the pen for us next season. He has a good work ethic so I'm sure he will bust his butt to get back.

[piccione88]

I would assume if he comes back it will be a contract like Bartolo Colon, or Weaver's. A minor league deal, with a deadline for the brewers to call him up, and incentives for innings pitched.

[dadofandrew]

I would think Chris is aware it will be a rehab year. I'd guess 1y/$1M, maybe even less. If he gets healthy, he'll break the bank in '10, so it won't be all about money.

[jimmyjeromehardy7]

Update for 2010 -

 

Anybody know if Capuano will be arbitration eligble next year or will he be a free agent? I couldn't find any information on COTS or the salaries page on BF.net.

 

If he was eligible for arbitration the 2009 season and was non tendered and signed to a minor league deal, then going into this year I would think he would still be arby eligible unless being non tendered changed things. Or does his service time in 2010 put him over the 6 years needed for FA?

 

Based on baseball reference, Cappy had 9 games and 5 starts in 2003 for AZ - so likely only up for a month or two. Looks like from the game by game log is was 13 days in May, a start on July 4th and then September. So depending on how many days he sat before and after those dates. Then had 17, 35 and 34 games/starts in 04-06 and 29/25 games/starts in 07. If I remember right, Cappy was in the starting rotation at the start of 04 so I am guessing the 17 starts was due to a DL stint. And same for 07. Plus he spent all of 2008 on the MLB DL. So he would have had 5 full season plus the month or two in 03 and if he finished the year with MIL about 4 months this year. Which could be close to a full season equivalent for 03/10.

 

So is he a free agent or possibly back with arbitration?

[dadofandrew]

I assume he will be a FA.

[monty57]

Just a guess, but that's probably why he had the mandatory call up date worked into his contract this season.

 

Either way, great to see Cappy get the win last night. The pain he went through to come back was probably worth it just so he didn't forever have to live with the winless-streak.

[1992casey]

There doesn't seem to be data on Chris on any of the contract sites, including Brewerfan's current salary page.

 

I'd bet on Chris being eligible for free agency. However, given that Brewerfan's 2007 salary page indicates that he's eligible for free agency after this season, it's possible that some of the time he spent in the minors could have delayed that eligibility.

[Invader3K]

They could still offer him arbitration after the season though, even if he is a FA, right?

[1992casey]

Right, but by virtue of being eligible for free agency, he'd have the right to decline the arby offer.

[Invader3K]

I think there's probably a strong chance the Brewers can re-sign him if they wish to. Capuano has stuck with them this long, and seemed to appreciate the team sticking with him.

[1992casey]

First, I was reading the Brewerfan charts wrong. Having read them for years, I should have known better. http://images.yuku.com/image/gif/dc33563353a14a575ba94c440bef6fdb3266a35.gif Chris would have originally been eligible for free agency after 2009 had his career not been interrupted.

 

Upon further review, Chris was on the major league roster in 2008, so he'd have full credit for that year. But I don't believe he was on it at all in 2009. That would delay his eligibility for free agency a year.

 

This year, he was called up on May 29. If you assume that he finishes the year with the Brewers and you combine four months of 2010 with the time he spent with the Diamondbacks in 2003, I'd bet on him being eligible for free agency.

[monty57]

They could still offer him arbitration after the season though, even if he is a FA, right?

I'm not an expert on this, but I believe that's normally only done if the player is a Type A/B free agent, and it's done to secure the draft picks. Capuano will obviously not be Type A/B, so there's no reason to offer him arbitration. Instead, if they would like him back they would simply talk with him and his agent and offer him a fair deal.

 

[JohnBriggs12]

It somewhat depends on how he does the rest of this year, but any team signing him this year will want a very low base with plenty of incentives if not another minor league deal.

 

Frankly, he would not be my top priority if I'm the Brewers. His repertoire is pretty limited and he remains an injury risk. Barring that big deal that brings the Brewers a top young arm, they are going to have to add a starter or two via FA or trade, but be smarter than they were in 08 and 09. For some reason Melvin has shunned the ground ball type in favor of more strikeouts but at the expense of more fly balls too. He needs to re-think that.

[Funketown]

For some reason Melvin has shunned the ground ball type in favor of more strikeouts but at the expense of more fly balls too. He needs to re-think that.

I wonder if Casey McGehee, Rickie Weeks, and Prince Fielder know the reason? Of course I don't know if Melvin ever considered the team's infield defense when choosing a guy like Wolf over someone like Piniero, but I really do think guys like him would "struggle" in Milwaukee.

 

Oh, and on a tangent, is anybody else sick of the way Bill calls weak ground balls that our inept defense can't get to "good pieces of hitting"? I feel like I hear that from him every time an opposite field dribbler gets by Prince down the line...

 

Back on topic, Capuano has done a really nice job. Resigning him would probably cost around $1MM + incentives, and I really don't think he'd take up too much of the organization's time with a laborious negotiation process. If he doesn't want to sign that type of deal, or he wants more playing time, they can each go their separate ways.

[DHonks]

Capuano could be a solid guy to sign for the 5th spot in a traditional 5th role--20-30 starts, often being skipped on off days