SB Nation - Brandon Morrow

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:19:53 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

Here's a photograph of Chris Waters, the free agent pitcher the Brewers signed without any of us noticing.

Some things to read while cleaning up the mess this will make.

Tom Haudricourt noted this morning that $4 million of Randy Wolf's 2010 salary has been deferred, meaning his impact on next season's payroll is only $5.25 million. He cites that as evidence that the Brewers are closing in on the top of their budget, but it's also possible that savings could be used on another move.

Meanwhile, a couple of minor signings slipped through the cracks over the last week or so: Baseball America's Minor League Transactions notes the Brewers signed pitcher Chris Waters and shortstop Anderson Machado to minor league deals. Waters has started 12 games for the Orioles over the last two seasons, posting an ERA over 5. He's also made 53 appearances (42 starts) in the minors over that time, mainly in AAA.

Machado is likely little more than minor league depth: 2010 will be his 12th minor league season, and the Brewers will be his seventh organization. With that said, he's a shortstop, and the Brewers don't have much depth at the position in the upper levels of the minors.

Baseball Musings is working their way from A to Z this offseason, producing a quick bio of each major league player. Yesterday, Dave Pinto had this post on Ryan Braun and some of his early accomplishments.

I know we love Prince Fielder around here, but I'm still not sure he's getting the attention he deserves nationally as one of the game's elite hitters. The B-Ref blog notes that there have only been 14 players over the last three seasons to average .8 or more total bases per out made. Fielder is one of just three players to do it twice in that span. (Chipper Jones and Albert Pujols are the others.)

Fielder is also the Brewer representative in The Walkoff Walk End Of Decade Personality Compendium Infocaps.

If you're feeling nostalgic as we approach the end of 2009, Adam McCalvy has a list of Brewer highlights from the past season. There certainly were plenty of memorable moments: McCalvy listed 21, but Jason Dondlinger and I picked up on two more he forgot.

You have until 4 pm today to vote for a #2 starter for our BCB All Decade Team. At the moment, CC Sabathia leads the field by a wide margin. You also have until 4 pm Saturday to select our final position player.

In the minors: Lorenzo Cain had a somewhat puzzling run with the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League, and there's some positive and some negative to take away from it. At the very least, he saw a lot of pitches, as demonstrated by the fact that he was among the league leaders in both walk and strikeout percentage.

Around baseball:

Braves: Acquired Melky Cabrera, pitcher Mike Dunn and a minor leaguer from the Yankees for pitchers Boone Logan and Javier Vazquez.
Mariners: Will reportedly receive outfielder Johermyn Chavez as the prospect in the Brandon Morrow/Brandon League deal.
Mets: Are reportedly close to a minor league deal with R.A. Dickey.
Royals: Signed outfielder Brian Anderson to a one year deal.

We've spent more than enough time this offseason discussing draft pick compensation for players, the risks involved in offering arbitration and whatnot. With that said, Beyond the Box Score has a great conversation starter discussing the value of expected compensation picks and comparing it to the value of available prospects. (FanShot)

Ever wonder what it's like to be a beat reporter on the road with the team? El Lefty Malo has a great interview with Giants beat reporter Henry Shulman, covering topics like objectivity, burnout and the offseason.

Another former Brewer has landed on his feet: Rattler Radio noted that the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League will have 1987-1991 Brewer Chuck Crim as their pitching coach next season.

I'll warn you in advance: Don't click the link unless you've got half an hour to spare, but if you have the time Joe Posnanski's piece on Strat-o-Matic and the Negro Leagues is a must-read. Even as someone who doesn't know all that much about the Negro Leagues and has never played Strat-o-Matic, I got started reading the post and couldn't put it down until I'd finished it. This morning's Mug is significantly later as a result.

On this day in 2000, the Brewers signed Jeffrey Hammonds to a three year, $22.2 million deal. If we held a poll today, Jeff Suppan's contract would almost certainly be voted the worst deal in franchise history, but Hammonds merits consideration: he missed most of the 2001 season, posted a 93 OPS+ the 2002, and was released after getting off to a .158/.220/.289 start in 2003.

We're awash in Brewer birthdays today:

Brad Nelson, who unfortunately will likely be most remembered for his 0-for-21 start to the 2009 season, turns 27 today.
Jesus Colome, who pitched in five games for the 2009 Brewers, turns 32.
1985-1986 Brewer Tim Leary turns 51.
Dave May, 1970-1974 Brewer and 1973 All Star, turns 66.

Oh, and if you still need a Christmas gift, might I humbly suggest a TMNT Snuggie?

Drink up.

More on Brandon League

Matthew — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:30:14 -0000

There have been some passing comments mentioned about Brandon League possibly being a starter down the line so I thought I would address that along with a more thorough review of what he is as a player. League was drafted out of college a few years ago where he was a part time starter until his final season in which he finally was made a full time starter and pitched just under 100 innings.

Since being drafted, League has spent the majority of his time in the bullpen, with occasional attempts in the rotation to see if he could stick there. Unfortunately, his over-reliance on his fastball has made him a poor fit so far, though he does has a secondary pitch that he's been working on for a while and has shown flashes at times of being useful.

Yes, League has shown some electric stuff at times. That secondary pitch he's shown off can be superb breaking ball and he has a fastball that can touch 100. His issues have always been spotty command and frankly, it's shown little to no improvement over the past three seasons.

To be a successful starter, League needs time to develop those secondary offerings for sure, but working on those means working on his fastball less and it's not like his fastball is a finished product. It gets some good movement and it certainly has velocity, but his control over it has been come and go, at best.

In addition to the one-sidedness of his pitching repertoire, League would also need to prove that he can handle a bigger work load. He's never thrown more than 120 innings combined in any one season and even then has battled arm injuries so his future as a possible starter seems washy. If you wanted to try him there, one gets the impression that he might need a complete reboot, put into the Double-A rotation and pretend like the last couple years never happened.

League has upside, for sure. Somebody with that kind of stuff always will. Unless he takes a step forward with both his durability and his control however, he likely tops out as a 0.5-1 WAR player either in the pen or rotation.

Wait, one more thing...

I got my Brandons mixed up. Everything I wrote above is about Brandon Morrow.

It's common for us, as fans, to overvalue the potential of our prospects. Brandon Morrow's upside has been bandied about a lot post trade, and in the interest of fairness, I wanted to dump some reality* on the picture. People imagine Morrow as he was during his first start against the Yankees. Sure, he has that potential. But he also has Edwin Jackson potential. The Edwin Jackson that took years to show any real improvement.

*In full disclosure, reality may contain large amounts of rationalization.

Yes, Brandon Morrow has potential to be a dynamite #2 rotation guy. But the odds that he would turn into that while under team control are just so far out there. The notion that Morrow's a starter is basically been built out of 14 starts he made in 2005-6 and that he has a good fastball. He's never shown that he can handle the innings. His fastball, the one pitch he constantly sticks with, hasn't gotten better. He walks a ton of people and he's been put through the wringer as far as confidence goes.The far more likely outcome is that Brandon Morrow becomes about as valuable as Brandon League is right now.

To be clear, I am not enamored with this trade. But giving up on Morrow is not like giving up on Adam Jones. It's like giving up on Matt Thornton or Francisco Cruceta. Sometimes it bites you in the ass, sometimes the guy never takes that step forward or he gets hurt.

Furthermore, there's a decent chance that Brandon League is more valuable to the team in 2010 than Brandon Morrow would be. First of all, League is a better reliever. He balances a few less strikeouts with notably better control and an extreme advantage in ground balls. And if he maintains the gains he took in 2009 with his new splitter, then watch out, he's better than Aardsma. League comes with his own injury and regression concerns as well of course, but the injury seems to have been of a more isolated nature and was muscular, not ligament-related. And the dramatic difference in pitch selection in 2009 lends one hope of avoiding performance regression.

Morrow's slot in the rotation is now open, for now occupied with one of our plethora of back end fringey types like Jason Vargas or Doug Fister. There's also now a stocked bullpen which means Z's attention probably turns toward picking up one of the handful of veteran or injury-risk starters still hanging around, any of whom are likely better bets than Morrow.

It's not a fabulous trade, but if you are rational about what Brandon Morrow is, then I think you'll see this isn't a fleecing. A dynamite #2 rotation guy is what Morrow's ceiling was when drafted, I'm not sure he's any closer to it now then he was then and other teams know that too.

Blue Jays close to acquiring Brandon Morrow

Eli Greenspan — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:51:39 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

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The Blue Jays and Mariners have worked hard to revamp their rosters, making another move early this morning for a former top prospect.

The Mariners have agreed to send starting pitcher Brandon Morrow to the Blue Jays in exchange for pitcher Brandon League, another reliever, and a prospect to be named later.

Morrow's ERA in 197 2/3 career innings sits at 3.96, and he has averaged more than a strikeout per inning. Putting him in a situation where he can know his role is key to the young pitchers development.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:41:40 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

I wasn't able to find a picture of Gregg Zaun blocking a pitch, but here's one of him blocking the plate from a baserunner. You get the idea.

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Some things to read while coming so close.

Thanks to Rubie for filling in yesterday while I was on my way back from a long travel weekend. I'm home now and will also write Mugs tomorrow and Thursday, health permitting: Somewhere on my travels, I managed to pick up a cold. If today's Mug drifts off into incoherence, now you know why.

The holiday week is usually a quiet one for transactions, but Adam McCalvy said the Brewers likely aren't done adding players in a recent Inbox. He also handled questions on a possible Opening Day lineup, Zach Braddock, and the roof at Miller Park.

Further proof that Gregg Zaun is a better catcher than Jason Kendall, at less than half the price: Beyond the Box Score's Catcher Block Percentage rankings have Zaun listed as the best catcher in baseball at preventing wild pitches and passed balls, adding roughly seven runs per 120 games to his value. Jason Kendall was worth roughly two runs, while Mike Rivera projected out to 5.5 runs per 120 games.

Speaking of Rivera, he's signed a minor league deal with the Yankees, with an invitation to spring training.

Meanwhile, LaTroy Hawkins has probably already finished packing and moving, because he's got plenty of experience in the field. The Northwest Indiana Post-Tribune notes that the Brewers will be Hawkins' eighth team.

Speaking of much traveled pitchers, Adam Foster of Project Prospect had an interesting note on John Halama: He faced 210 batters in winter ball and issued just three walks. Halama's Dominican team has been eliminated from postseason contention, along with Alcides Escobar and Hernan Iribarren's Venezuelan team. For more on that, plus notes on several new Brewers and the winter ball debut of Angel Salome, check out today's oversized Winter League Update.

And, while I'm self promoting, you have until 4 pm today to vote for a fifth outfielder and 4 pm tomorrow to vote for a #2 starter on our BCB All Decade Team. Also, follow us on Twitter.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Have reportedly reached a deal to acquire Brandon Morrow from the Mariners for pitcher Brandon League and a minor leaguer.
Braves: Signed infielder Joe Thurston to a minor league deal.
Indians: Acquired pitcher Mitch Talbot as the PTBNL in the Kelly Shoppach deal, and signed reliever Saul Rivera to a minor league deal.
Marlins: Signed utilityman Danny Richar to a minor league deal.
Nationals: Signed Jason Marquis to a two year, $15 million deal.
Padres: Acquired catcher Dusty Ryan from the Tigers for a PTBNL or cash.
Phillies: Announced plans to exercise Jimmy Rollins' option for 2011.
Pirates: Signed reliever Javier Lopez to a one year deal.
Rangers: Signed Darren Oliver to a one year deal.
Reds: Re-signed Laynce Nix and restructured and extended Scott Rolen's contract.
Tigers: Signed pitcher Phil Dumatrait and catcher (and former Brewer minor leaguer) Andy Bouchie to minor league deals.
White Sox: Claimed pitcher Freddy Dolsi off waivers from the Tigers.

I've mentioned this topic several times: sorry if you don't think it's interesting, but I find it fascinating. The Blue Jays are apparently bucking the minor league per diem trend and giving their players $25 dollars a day for meal money instead of $20 next season. The change will cost the team less than $50,000, but could go a long way towards helping their prospects get proper nutrition.

With 93 career wins, a Cy Young Award, and six straight seasons with an ERA under 4, Pete Vuckovich has a lot to be proud of from his major league career. Of course, all of that pales in comparison to his induction into the MLB Mustache Hall of Fame.

Happy birthday today to:

2003-2005 Brewer Wes Obermueller, who turns 33.
1992 Brewer Andy Allanson, who turns 48.

And a couple of belated ones I missed over the weekend:

Chris Narveson turned 28 on Sunday.
LaTroy Hawkins turned 36 yesterday.

Drink up.

Jays Trade Brandon League, Acquire Brandon Morrow

hugo — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:54:16 -0000

More photos » by Reinhold Matay - AP

The Jays exchange Brandon League for a new erratic-pitching Brandon (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)

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Ken Rosenthal reported last night that the Jays traded sometimes-brilliant, occasionally-frustrating pitcher Brandon League to the Seattle Mariners for sometimes-brilliant, occasionally-frustrating pitcher Brandon Morrow. The Jays also included a "prospect" in the deal but we don't know who that is - although according to MLB Trade Rumors, it should be someone pretty good to make it a fair deal.

Morrow, the 5th overall draft pick in the 2006 draft, was rushed to the majors, as per Seattle's organizational philosophy and made the team's opening day roster in 2007 as a reliever. He has made a few starts since then, but things have kept pushing him back into the bullpen - from the acquisition of Erik Bedard to various arm problems to his own erraticness. His pitching for the past three seasons has been marked by respectable overall numbers other than sky-high walk rates, which have really hurt him. There's no doubt that there is significant upside in Morrow - the walks are a huge problem but at 25, there's still a chance Morrow can put it behind him. Morrow is eligible for arbitration. It's hard not to like someone with a career 9.3 K/9 at 25, but there's also a significant history of arm problems. I really hope the Jays make him a starter this season and just leave him there - if the Jays trade League and one of their top prospects for a reliever I won't be happy with the deal.

As for League, he put up fantastic peripheral numbers last year (3.6 K/BB and a strong groundball rate) but they didn't translate into a good ERA. I'm pretty sure it was just bad luck - a reliever's ERA isn't a very good indicator of true performance because the sample size of innings is too small and a reliever's ERA is very dependent on the pitching of others (since they often leave or enter in the middle of an inning). The surfing Yonsei is one of just a few pitchers I have seen who I would say are truly one-of-a-kind. I would have liked to just stick League in the closer's role in 2010 and let him run with it, with Downs and Frasor likely to leave after this season, but if the Jays think they can make Morrow into a starter and didn't give up too much else in the deal, I'm okay with him leaving. I won't be surprised if League has a fantastic season for the Mariners though, and becomes a key piece of their bullpen in a season in which they hope to contend. League is under team control through 2012.

Ultimately, this deal will come down to who the prospect is, and we'll update as soon as we know (or feel free to do it for us in the comments, as well as let us know what you think of the deal)

Leaguer, if this is it, it's been fun having you on the Jays. You often amazed, occasionally frustrated with your crazy sinker and constantly morphing mechanics. Your tattoos gave hope to Asian-Americans everywhere that they could be thought of as cool. Good luck and enjoy the West Coast!

Update: Jays outfield prospect Johermyn Chavez was the prospect included in the deal. Chavez had a very nice season last year in A ball but is still a ways off from the majors.

Morrow On the Move?

Matthew — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:50:11 -0000

Update 23:02 - Brandon League confirms he's flying to Seattle for a physical.

You know, I was rather looking forward to working on some stuff that's been piling up for some time now, but our GM just keeps making moves. The latest, so it is being talked about by Ken Rosenthal, is that Brandon Morrow is being shipped to Toronto in exchange for Brandon League and an unknown prospect.

Stay tuned for any word on the validity of this, any mention of the prospect involved and some analysis on Brandon League. It seems like an odd one, so try to avoid getting too worked up until we hear more and/or from another source.

League, a right-hander, enters his age 27 season in 2010 and his second (of four) arbitration years. He's a free agent after the 2012 season. Morrow, meanwhile, is under team control through 2013. Known for his velocity, League spent some time on the shelf in 2007 after a great year in '06. He split 2008 between Triple-A and Toronto and was solid and was with Toronto all of 2009, posting an outrageous 14.3% swinging strike rate and striking out nearly one-quarter of all batters faced.

League is also a significant ground baller, relying on his mid-to-high-90s sinker as almost his only weapon. He introduced a changeup/splitter this past season to solid success. If you need a quick comparable, Brandon League is basically a groundballing David Aardsma, with more velocity. He instantly becomes a fantastic set up option and a very useful part of the bullpen. Relievers are volatile of course.

Just for funsies, here's CHONE's projections:

League - 60IP, 53K, 21BB, 6HR, 3.78 FIP
Morrow - 63IP, 60K, 33BB, 6HR, 4.10 FIP

Obviously, CHONE discounts Morrow's potential as a starter.

Thinking About The Possible Trade Package For A Moment

Jeff — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:07:42 -0000

Note: if Happ and/or Blanton are involved, and they're coming here, then that would change things, but I'm not going to speculate any more than I have to.

So, we can't yet be sure what we're going to be giving up here, but that doesn't mean we can't make some educated guesses and speculate.

The big key, for me, is Michael Saunders. I've made no secret of how much I like Saunders, and how I think he compares pretty favorably to a guy like Randy Winn. Despite his initial Major League flop, Saunders is an athletic 23 year old corner outfielder who runs well, plays easy defense, has a solid idea of the strike zone, and who hits for reasonable power from the left side of the plate. Like Winn, he doesn't excel at any one thing, but he earns good marks pretty much across the board, making him a smart gamble with medium upside. Being that he's under team control for six years, Saunders is a greatly underrated asset, and I would really hate to lose him here. Cliff Lee is awesome, but I'd have a tough time stomaching the sacrifice of six years of Saunders for (probably) one of Lee when the team still isn't that strong.

After Saunders, though...honestly, if you remove Saunders from the equation, it's hard to come up with a package that I wouldn't like. Brandon Morrow would be a loss, but he doesn't have the same team control duration as Saunders, and he's way less dependable. Morrow didn't make any progress last year, he has yet to show any ability to stick as a starter, and his secondary stuff hasn't developed from where it was when he was drafted. Morrow's been blessed with incredible talent, but he hasn't built on it, which makes him easier to lose.

And then you end up talking about minor leaguers, Phillippe Aumont's being the most recognizable name. But, at least as a Mariner, Aumont's in the bullpen. Relievers simply aren't very valuable unless they develop into the best of the best, and the odds are against that happening. While Aumont has great stuff and should make the Majors, it's questionable whether he ever gains the command to reach the upper level. Then you've got guys like Juan Ramirez, a solid but by no means can't-miss starter in high-A, and Tyson Gillies, a slap-hitting speedy outfielder with low upside...these are nice prospects to have, but they're not the sort of prospects you freak out over when you have the opportunity to land a Cliff Lee. Carlos Triunfel would kind of suck to lose, but I don't think he'd be moved after a lost season.

I don't know what the Mariners are going to surrender in this deal. There are plenty of rumors circling around, but no confirmation. With that said, as long as Michael Saunders isn't involved - and I'm guessing that he isn't - I think I'm going to be thrilled. It's weird for a team in Seattle's situation to go after a potential one-year star like Cliff Lee, but when you don't actually have to lose that much of significant value, you seize the chance without a second thought. Let this be a lesson to those of you who thought our front office was too concerned with efficiency to land a big name - Jack Zduriencik is one ballsy son of a bitch.

M's Smart To Turn Down Edwin Jackson Trade Offer

Satchel Price — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:44:30 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

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While it's been known that the Tigers have been looking to shed payroll, specifically star players Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson have been mentioned, it wasn't until yesterday that we had any word on specific demands from Detroit, when Jon Heyman of SI.com reported that the Seattle Mariners turned down a trade offer of Jackson for young right-handers Brandon Morrow and Shawn Kelley.

While Jackson is coming off a relatively impressive season, he also showed major signs of returning to his 2007/2008 level of performance (discussed here as well). While Jackson improved his control and missed more bats, his command was still shaky. In his final 16 starts, he posted a 68/37 K/BB, gave up 18 home runs, and posted a 4.80 ERA in 99 innings, numbers that look much like the ones he posted in Tampa. While he's still a solid fourth starter, he's currently being marketed as more than that thanks to his improved ERA, WHIP and W-L record, although his peripheral statistics indicate that he's likely to regress next season.

Considering this, it seems that the Mariners made a smart decision in turning down Detroit's offer of Jackson for Morrow and Kelley. Morrow, 26 next June, was once an elite power pitching prospect and has split time between Seattle and AAA for three years running, while also switching roles numerous times. He's consistently posted great strikeout rates, including 204 strikeouts in 196 innings in Seattle, but his control has always been consistently shaky as well, he's offset those strikeouts by walking 128 guys in the majors, or about 5.83 per 9 innings. Still, he showed improved control in AAA this year as a starter (3.76 BB/9), albeit with a lower strikeout rate, although that didn't translate upon being recalled to Seattle's bullpen. Considering his blazing fastball, sitting consistently in the 93-97 range, and the potential out-pitch in his slider, if he can develop a third pitch and some better command, he could emerge as one of the best starters in the league. It's a lot of ifs, certainly, but even so, he could become a dominant two-pitch reliever in the back of a bullpen if he doesn't make enough adjustments, and he's under control through 2013 so he has a lot of time to offer value.

Kelley, who turns 26 in April, spent most of 2009 in Seattle's bullpen. While he struggled with the long ball, giving up 9 in 46 innings, he also posted an extremely impressive 41/9 K/BB ratio, indicating that with some improved control he could emerge as a very good reliever. Kelley didn't reach AA until 2008, but he dominated upon his arrival there, and he spent just one game in AAA before joining the Mariners. He combines a solid fastball that sits in the 92-96 range with a good slider that he throws about a third of the time, his slider was rated as the best in Seattle's farm system by Baseball America in 2008. Kelley is also under control through 2014, so he is a potential mainstay in Seattle's bullpen going forward.

I have a tough time disagreeing with Seattle's decision to turn down Detroit's offer. While Jackson could have given the Mariners a solid starter to join Felix Hernandez, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Ian Snell, Lucas French and Carlos Silva, that role will likely be filled by Morrow, who seems fully capable of performing in a similar manner to Jackson if he can stay healthy for 180+ innings. Considering the likeliness that Jackson takes a step backwards in 2010 rather than another step forwards, I just don't see why Seattle should possibly deal four cost-controlled years of Morrow and five cost-controlled years of Kelley for Jackson's final two arbitration seasons. The Mariners are better off letting Morrow take his spot in the rotation and stick him there for the year, rather than shuttling him between AAA and Seattle, and the bullpen and the rotation, similar to how the Cubs have done with Jeff Samardzija. It's stunted Morrow's development as a starter, and at this point I don't see how you can argue that guys like Silva, French and Snell are superior options, even in the short-term.

If the Tigers are looking for that kind of package for Jackson, which is relatively justifiable given his superficial statistics from 2009 and his previous label as an elite prospect, the team that makes that trade will likely be disappointed.

Morning Prowl: Winter Meetings, Suitors For Adam Everett and Brandon Lyon, and Multi-Year Deals For Relievers

Ian Casselberry — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:00:16 -0000

by Charles Krupa - AP

Is Edwin Jackson the most likely Detroit Tiger to be traded at next week's Winter Meetings?

View full size photo »

In his latest column, CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler (former Tigers beat writer for MLive.com) believes the Tigers will be a team to watch at next week's Winter Meetings, and perfectly sums up their will-they-or-won't-they offseason. Besides clearly explaining Detroit's payroll issues and why Edwin Jackson is the most likely Tiger to be traded, Knobler also lends some insight into what the team's budget could be.

(Hat tip to Mack Avenue Tigers)

The Tigers were bound to have some competition for Adam Everett this offseason. One of the teams in pursuit might be the Red Sox. According to WEEI.com, the Sawx have been in contact with Everett, though haven't made any sort of offer. Alex Speier also reports that the Red Sox were willing to offer Alex Gonzalez $3 million, so Everett could probably expect something similar.

Marco Scutaro appears to be the favored free agent shortstop for the Red Sox, however. That is, if they don't move Dustin Pedroia over there.

(via The Cutoff Man)

Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal report that the New York Yankees have shown interest in Brandon Lyon. But the Yanks are likely to show interest in virtually every free agent reliever (probably including Fernando Rodney). Those plans will depend on what the team does with Joba Chamberlain and/or Phil Hughes, however.

So we now know the Mariners didn't want to trade Brandon Morrow and Shawn Kelley for Jackson, but what's the take from the other side? Seattle Times beat writer Geoff Baker thinks the Tigers would've had to throw in another player, at least.

On the MLB.com Hot Stove blog, Jason Beck wonders if the Tigers might offer a multi-year deal to a reliever this offseason. That could be what it takes to re-sign Brandon Lyon or Fernando Rodney. And Dave Dombrowski has given two-year contracts to relievers (Rodney, Todd Jones, Troy Percival) before.

Two bloggers who think the Tigers should've offered arbitration to Placido Polanco: Brian Borawski at TigerBlog believes this shows the team is more interested in cutting costs, and could see season ticket sales affected by that. Baseball Musings' David Pinto thinks a second baseman who can hit is worth more than the relievers who received arbitration offers from Detroit. (Pinto also sees Polanco as a good fit in Boston.)

One reliever you can probably take off Detroit's shopping list - if he was ever on it - is Jose Valverde. The Astros offered him arbitration yesterday. Would the Tigers want him if they have to give up a first-round pick? (Not to mention the guy made $8 million this season.)

Remember how Kelly Shoppach killed the Tigers in 2008 (.333/.404/.905, six homers, 11 RBIs in 13 games)? But then he fell off the table this year (.214/.335/.399 overall), and was likely to be released. Now, he's out of the AL Central, after the Indians traded him to the Rays.

Two FanPosts to check out: john.kmiecik is asking for suggestions to replace his Polanco jersey, now that he'll likely be moving onto another team next year. And NCDee is looking to meet up with some fellow BYBers while she's in Michigan for the holidays.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:30:24 -0000

More photos » by Darren Hauck - AP

Pretty much everyone except Doug Melvin seems to think the Brewers should offer arbitration to Felipe Lopez.

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Some things to read while not getting what you hoped for.

The Brewers have until 11 pm tonight to finalize their plan to offer or decline arbitration to five free agents, and while Tom H. seems to think the Brewers will extend an offer to Felipe Lopez, Adam McCalvy is reporting the team is "leaning against" making the offer to any of the five (FanShot).

All of this is another episode in the "Doug Melvin Moments" series I think most of us are getting increasingly sick of. Doug, we get it. Times are tough for the ever-so-downtrodden small-to-mid market GM with the job many of us would kill for. If the system is really so unbearable, you're welcome to quit and be replaced by someone who will spend more time working with the tools they have and less time bitching about the ones they don't.

Assuming Melvin does eventually get off his soapbox and get back to the task of improving the team, Wisconsin Sports Tap has a guide for prospective new Brewers that can help them avoid becoming the next Jeff Suppan, Bill Hall or Johnny Estrada.

With that said, it might be a while before we have news on Mark Mulder. Roguejim uncovered a story yesterday that sheds some light on Mulder's rehab and situation, and raises the possibility that Mulder will decide not to come back if he's unable to perform at a level he's accustomed to.

We're also probably just about done discussing Kevin Millwood. Rangers beat reporter T.R. Sullivan had this to say about the rumors:

The Rangers wouldn't mind adding pitching but they don't want to subtract it so they are not trying to move Kevin Millwood. Word is the Brewers were interested but Rangers general manager Jon Daniels and Doug Melvin haven't spoke in weeks, That might change at the Winter Meetings but the Rangers still need Millwood's arm far more than they need to move his salary.

Adam McCalvy opened up the mailbag yesterday and answered reader questions on the possibility of a Prince Fielder extension, Dominican prospect Santo Aybar, Lorenzo Cain and Caleb Gindl.

Elsewhere in the minors:

Lisa Winston of MiLB.com has a review of the season for the Brewer minor leagues, and a look at the attempt to build pitching depth in the system.
Project Prospect has Jonathan Lucroy ranked ninth on their list of baseball's top 15 catching prospects. Angel Salome was not ranked.
The Baseball Chronicle has Alcides Escobar as a backup infielder on their 2010 All Prospect Team. Escobar is on the bench behind Rays prospect Reid Brignac and Cubs SS prospect Starlin Castro, who is playing out of position at second base.
Rattler Radio has photos of the construction at Time Warner Field, where they're hard at work adding the new beach seats, boardwalk and bullpens.

Up for some arbitrary list-making today? Miller Park Drunk has a list of the top ten Brewers of the decade. It's worth a click for the picture, if nothing else.

John Axford might have an outside shot at winning a spot in the Brewer bullpen next spring, depending on how rest of the offseason goes. In the meantime, he spent yesterday talking to college students about life in the big leagues and the importance of education.

On the transaction log:

Cardinals: Re-signed catcher Jason LaRue and signed infielder Ruben Gotay to a minor league deal.
Mets: Signed catcher Chris Coste, and re-signed infielder Alex Cora to a one year deal worth $2 million.
Pirates: Signed reliever Wil Ledezma to a minor league deal and released catcher Robinzon Diaz.

Wondering what it might take for the Brewers to acquire Edwin Jackson? Here's a hint: The Mariners reportedly turned down an offer from the Tigers would have sent Jackson to Seattle for pitchers Brandon Morrow and Shawn Kelley. So apparently the price is pretty high.

If the Brewers are serious about making an effort to sign Justin Duchscherer, they may have competition within the division: MLB Trade Rumors says the Pirates are one of the interested teams.

The Brewers probably won't be players in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, but odds are the competition will heat up soon. Halladay has reportedly told the Blue Jays he won't accept any deal after reporting to spring training in February.

With the Winter Meetings coming up, we have more Rule 5 Draft notes: Baseball Time In Arlington has a look at the top ten unprotected pitchers, including former Brewer farmhand Will Inman.

Yesterday I mentioned the voting for the third baseman on the Timber Rattlers' 15th Anniversary team, and left a comment on Rattler Radio asking about the fate of top contender Bo Robinson, who had a few promising seasons in the Mariner organization before dropping off the map in 2002. Within 24 hours the answer was the subject of this week's Mehring Monday. Impressive turnaround time, to be sure.

I'm a few days behind on this one, but I recently discovered Cooperstown Chatter, the MLBlog run by the Baseball Hall of Fame, and this post on Rollie Fingers' 1981 MVP season. It's almost as impressive as Matt Stairs having a street named after him in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

By the way, if you've ever been to the Baseball Hall of Fame, or you haven't but would like to go someday, you can become a fan on Facebook. As an added bonus, Facebook fans get to help in the voting for this year's broadcaster induction.

On this day in 1967, Seattle was awarded an American League expansion franchise. I guess that makes today the Brewers' date of conception?

Happy birthday today to Tom Filer, who posted a 4.32 ERA in 39 appearances as a Brewer during the '88-'90 seasons and turns 53, and to Julio Machado, who spent parts of the 1990 and 1991 seasons as a Brewer before being arrested for murder in Venezuela. He turns 44.

Oh, and I haven't actually watched it yet (no sound on the computer where I write the Mug), but this video has Rammstein and Cookie Monster, so what could possibly go wrong?

Drink up.