There is no doubt that the hottest topic on the Brewers hot stove is CC Sabathia. With word that the Brewers have offered him 100 million dollars for 4 or 5 years depending on who you listen to, it brings up the question... Is he worth it? Honestly, I've gone back and forth on it. That's 20 million dollars a year to one guy on a team who's annual payroll is set to be between 80 and 90 million. That could be 25% to one guy, and 75% divided among the other 24 players. Let's look at one more scary statistic.
These are the 16 highest paid pitchers in baseball.
Johan Santana, $22,916,667 (2008-13)
Carlos Zambrano, $18,300,000 (2008-12)
Barry Zito, $18,000,000 (2007-13)
Jake Peavy, $17,333,333 (2010-12)
Andy Pettitte, $16,000,000 (2008)
Jason Schmidt, $15,666,667 (2007-09)
Mike Hampton, $15,125,000 (2001-08)
Roy Oswalt, $14,600,000 (2007-11)
Mark Buehrle, $14,000,000 (2008-11)
John Smoltz, $14,000,000 (2008)
Roy Halladay, $13,333,333 (2008-10)
Pedro Martinez, $13,250,000 (2005-08)
Randy Johnson, $13,000,000 (2007-08)
Chris Carpenter, $12,700,000 (2008-11)
Bronson Arroyo, $12,500,000 (2009-10)
Kevin Millwood, $12,000,000 (2006-10)
With the exception of Halladay, Santana and Peavey, would you want any of those guys on your team? I'll give a maybe to Oswalt, Zambrano.
Bronson Arroyo? Kevin Millwood? Mike Hampton? Jason Schmidt? Injuries have derailed a lot of these guys, and that's a risk you have to consider when offering a pitcher one of these massive contracts. Make sure you look at how long some of these guys are still going to be paid these massive dollars as well. Scary.
I'm starting to think the Brewers pitching staff might be in better shape by signing a Jon Garland type. Garland has pitched no less that 190 innings in every year since 2002 and has one no less than 10 games in any of those years, including two seasons with 18 wins. All in the American League. A move to the National League may lower that career 4.47 ERA. Pay to get Joe Beimel from the Dodgers. Chad Cordero has suffered through arm injuries, but should be ready for Spring Training. He's only 26 and will come cheaper than a guy like Brian Fuentes. I think one more name to consider for the Brewers is Carl Pavano. I understand that his time with the Yankees bordered on embarrassing. He was hurt pretty much the entire time and ineffective in the rest of the time. But remember, Doug Melvin has a history of grabbing guys off of the scrap heap and having them succeed in Milwaukee (Joe Dillon, Gabe Kapler, Brian Shouse, Guillermo Mota, even Salomon Torres to an extent). Pavano was a guy who didn't walk many people, and was an All-Star in 2004 and was excellent for the Marlins in the 2003 Post-Season (2-0, 1.40 ERA in 19.1 innings). He could be a steal if he could regain those numbers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I chuckled when I saw the name Barry Zito. Stellar.
Can you imagine if the Brewers wasted 136 Million on him. They would be set back 10 years... It's scares me
Then your point here is well made. I would have to agree with you. They spend all that cash on one player and risk the possibility of injury or dip in performance. That in turn would have a long term effect on them (small market team). However, by making this initial offer to CC the Brewers are showing other free agents and teams that they will spend the money for the right guy. So, free agents like Orlando Hudson and Brian Fuentes beware!
Post a Comment