The Brew Haus - Cordero Crisis Presents Questions for Crew
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Earlier this week, the Milwaukee Brewers tabbed re-signing closer Francisco Cordero as their top offseason priority. Terrific plan; Cordero is the Brewers single season record holder for saves, he is one of the top closers in the league and losing him would create a canyon-like hole at the back end of the Brewers' bullpen.
But signing him may create an extremely skinny free agent market for Milwaukee.
As one of the top closers in the league -- and arguably the best closer on the market alongside Mariano Rivera -- Cordero is likely to command a huge contract. According to Kelsdad's report on the GM meetings, the Yankees have already offered Rivera a contract around $40 million over three years, which may suggest Cordero will look for a similar contract, making him the highest paid player on the Brewers roster.
Cordero has said he loves playing in Milwaukee and may take less money to stay there, but Brewers' fans found out how much of a difference $3 million can make when Carlos Lee bolted for Houston.
Having shed themselves of the burdens that were Geoff Jenkins' and Corey Koskie's contracts, the Brewers have opened up plenty of money to work with while staying near last year's payroll, but taking on the largest contract in team history may limit their options.
They were originally named as one of the front-runners for Aaron Rowand, but GM Doug Melvin has said the Brewers will not move Bill Hall from center field, which, unless the Brewers trade Hall -- as has been rumored -- negates any possibility of them signing Rowand.
This also opens a glaring hole in left field. I don't believe the Brewers have enough confidence in Kevin Mench to be their everyday left fielder, and may not even keep him for the 2008 season, as he is arbitration eligible. Tony Gwynn Jr. is a possible candidate, as is Joe Dillon, who played very well at the end of the season, and Gabe Gross. With this in mind, the chances of seeing Matt LaPorta in Spring Training are increasing by the day, although it is unlikely he will be the one to fill in the everyday left field position, unless he starts bringing that .226 AFL average up.
Melvin made it clear that he was unhappy with missing the playoffs, and hinted at the possibility of trading for improvements.
Should the Brewers not resign Cordero, signing someone to play left field becomes easier, but promoting a closer from within seems dangerous. With his struggles last season, Derrick Turnbow is an unlikely candidate to get his old job back, Matt Wise appears on his way out with the team, and Scott Linebrink presents two problems: he is a free agent and will be one of the most sought after middle relievers, and he has little closing experience.
If the Brewers do choose to promote from within, Yovani Gallardo and Carlos Villanueva have proven to be as if not more effective than the other starting pitchers, giving the Brewers the option of moving one of their starting pitchers to the closer role. The most likely of these candidates is Dave Bush, who was a closer at Wake Forest before being converted to a starter in the Blue Jays organization.
With the rest of the team being nailed down for at least a few more years to come, the Brewers need to do the same at the left field and closer positions before we can call them contenders for 2008.
