Counsell, Bush, Capuano hit the market; Options declined on Hoffman, Davis and Zaun

[Jim Goulart]

Andrew Wagner's Blog -- Three Brewers become free agents

 

40-man roster drops to 35.

 

Additionally, pitchers Trevor Hoffman and Doug Davis and catcher Gregg Zaun will become free agents if the team declines the options on those players' contracts.

 

Then it'll be at 32...

 

Earlier minor league forum thread discussing possible additions to the 40-man roster.

[crewcrazy]

Adam McCalvy reports that teams will only have three days to decide on player options this year. Furthermore, the "exclusive negotiating period" for teams to talk with their own free agents has been shortened from 15 days to five.

[BrewCrewForever]

I don’t see Davis, Zaun or Hoffman’s options being picked up. Does anyone?

[Invader3K]

I don’t see Davis, Zaun or Hoffman’s options being picked up. Does anyone?

No, no real reason for the Brewers to pick up any of those guys at this point.

I could see Capuano and possibly Counsell being back next season if they agree to low one year contracts, though.

[Invader3K]

http://brewersbeat.mlblogs.com/

 

Brewers officially decline 2011 options on Trevor Hoffman, Doug Davis, and Gregg Zaun.

[Matt Breen]

I'd like to see Capuano back, but to be honest, with three other lefties in the mix - Wolf, Parra and Narveson - he's likely isn't going to be guaranteed a spot in the rotation.

 

And once we sign Cliff Lee - that makes four.

 

Unless the team promises him a spot, I would think he'll get the opportunity elsewhere.

[thumperden]

Where Wolf will certainly be in the starting rotation in 2011, the jury is certainly out on Parra and Narveson. Capuano, if healthy, you could argue is as effective or even better at times than Wolf. I want Cappy back with an incentive laden contract. IMO, he'd make at least a good #4 in the starting rotation. He showed in September that he can get the job done. The Brewers would be making a mistake if they didn't bring him back to compete in 2011, as long as the contract isn't outrageous.

[cadillacjosh]

I think we're a pretty safe bet to get Cappy back. Who's going to give a 32 year old 2 time Tommy John's soft tosser a contract better than the Brewers?

 

I mean heck even if he wasn't a Brewer before, the fact that he throws 87 would be enough for me to assume we'd be getting him. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[MNBrew]

I really liked how Narveson got his game together in August & September, but I REALLY want Capuano back -- at least to be given a shot to start; I don't think any team would guarantee him a rotation spot.

[thumperden]

Narveson had a good September in '09 too. Just sayin'...

[Invader3K]

Well, if you are going to compare Narveson to Capuano directly, I think it's safe to say who still has some upside left. Narveson is four years younger than Cappy. I like Capuano and hope he gets another chance, but I wouldn't do it at the expense of Narveson.

[JohnBriggs12]

Narveson had a good September in '09 too. Just sayin'...

Narveson's season long peripheral numbers were good. His WHIP of 1.378 (1.313 as starer) was nearly identical to both Gallardo's 1.368 and Wolf's 1.391. His K/BB ratio was a very respectable 2.44/1. Opponents hit .266 off him which is about league average. He was 11-2 in starts where he got support of 3 runs or more.

 

Barring injury or them bringing in more than 2 new starters, Narveson is a virtual lock to start 2011 in the rotation.

[Nottso]

I hope Counsell is back. He's always been one of my favorites.

[Tbadder]

I just want Cappy to get another 3 or 4 years somewhere in the majors. Hard worker. Smart guy. Had that lovely, what was it? 17 or 18 win year for us. Just hope he succeeds somewhere.

[Ennder]

Yeah I'm fine with Narveson in the rotation next year given his peripherals. I just hope he is the #5 and not the #3.

[thumperden]

Thanks for the statistical insight gentlemen. I appreciate it. All of these things being said, I think Capuano should be brought back and there certainly is room enough for both in the rotation. I think that's something we all can agree on. No stone should be unturned when it comes to fortifying the rotation next year.

[Invader3K]

Thanks for the statistical insight gentlemen. I appreciate it. All of these things being said, I think Capuano should be brought back and there certainly is room enough for both in the rotation. I think that's something we all can agree on. No stone should be unturned when it comes to fortifying the rotation next year.

Well, there is room right now. The problem is that gives you basically: Gallardo/Wolf/????/Narveson/Capuano. And if the unknown guy ends up being another re-tread guy like a John Garland or another Doug Davis type, I don't think that's looking much better than what we had in 2010. Of course if Melvin can swing a trade for Zach Greinke or someone comparable, things look a lot brighter.

[joepepsi]

Erik Bedar is a free agent.

[thebruce44]

Thanks for the statistical insight gentlemen. I appreciate it. All of these things being said, I think Capuano should be brought back and there certainly is room enough for both in the rotation. I think that's something we all can agree on. No stone should be unturned when it comes to fortifying the rotation next year.

 

 

I think there is room for him because I don't expect him to pitch much more than 100 innings. He would be a perfect bridge to Mark Rogers in the second half. Both of them could eat up a lot of effective innings as the number 5 starters, Cappy in the first half, Rogers in the second.

[Thurston Fluff]

If we could get a Cappy deal done quickly that would give us more options with a Prince trade. I would like to see someone with a little more velocity and overall upside than Narveson. Especially since our team has a lot of that same sort of pitcher. IF Prince and Narveson package could get us one legit top of the order pitcher and some minor league depth I would be fine with trading them both.

[Beast Light]

If we didn't plan on re-signing Capuano if he performed the way he did after coming back from his injury, then why did we keep him around in 2010 in the first place?

 

Does this team really think they have enough starting caliber pitching to let a guy like Capuano walk? I just don't get it.

[TooLiveBrew]

Adam McCalvy's most recent blog post focused on a MLB.com interview with Hoffman. Hoffman stated he'd be interested in Arizona, whose new GM is longtime (former) Padres GM Kevin Towers. Towers recently was quoted as saying, "The bullpen, to me, is paramount. I think we definitely need to stay focused on that."

 

"I'm going to wait to see what happens, see what's out there," said

Hoffman, when reached by phone in San Diego, where he and his family

still make their home. "It's not a situation where I'm going to pursue

it very hard. If it's something that makes sense, if it's an opportunity

for me to close, I'll look at it. If it's something that doesn't make

any sense, I'll probably retire."

...

Hoffman said that he's eyeing the D-backs situation, where old friend

Kevin Towers is now the general manager. Towers was the GM of the

Padres for virtually Hoffman's entire 16-year tenure there.

 

 

"I've known K.T. for such a long time and I figured having a

little history there would help," Hoffman said about playing in Phoenix,

which would keep him close to home. "But I don't know. I'm coming off a

tough year. I don't know if people are going to be turned off by that

or not. I hope the strong second half I had will compensate."

Hoffman's agent has spoken with the D-Backs, but apparently not with Towers specifically yet. I know this is more Transactions forum fodder, but I didn't want to start a thread just to post this minor update.

 

[Invader3K]

Arizona would probably be a good fit right now. I can't remember who they were using as closer, but there might be an opening there. Also since the team is basically rebuilding right now, there probably wouldn't be a ton of pressure on Hoffman.

[brewmann04]

it seems like counsell just might be comming back as per Tom H tweet

[trwi7]

Makes sense that he would want to come back to the Brewers. He's already won two rings, so he's not desperate to get one, so in that case I'd just want to stay close to family instead of having to rent someplace and be away. Also probably helps that he was a Brewers fan growing up. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif