Brewers decline arbitration

[gvsu96]

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The Milwaukee Brewers did not offer salary arbitration to any of their five ranked free agents on Tuesday, clearing the way for other teams to sign them.

All of Milwaukee's arbitration-eligible players were Class B free agents, meaning that if the players declined arbitration, the Brewers would receive one compensation pick if they signed elsewhere.

Center fielder Mike Cameron, catcher Jason Kendall, second baseman Felipe Lopez, right-hander Braden Looper and right-hander David Weathers are free to negotiate with other teams.

Milwaukee could still make offers to any of the five, but general manager Doug Melvin has said that the club's first priority is to improve a starting pitching staff that ranked last in the majors in ERA.

 

[zookerman182]

Melvin is a moron. That being said, this was pretty expected.

 

[hive17]

Lopez? ::facepalm::

I agree with declining the others, but what is wrong with possibley retaining Lopez if you're clearing the kind of payroll space you are? ($10 Mil. and rising on Cammy, $5 Mil. and rising on Kendall, $6 Mil. on Looper and $3.4~ Mil on Weathers) Add in the fact that you won't have to pay up on Hardy's contract and you're saving even more money.

PLUS, Lopez had a good year. You could almost call it a contract year. And there was no evidence of an attitude problem that i think he used to have. Some other team would have made him a decent offer and he would have been gone.

Guess Melvin thinks 2 years of extra draft picks was enough and wants to go back to a zero-defect draft.

 

[Mudcatsfan]

I've heard that most teams will be declining arbitration this year because they feel the market will allow them to resign players at a much lower discount than the 20% less they could offer salary arb players.

 

[mredsox89]

I've heard that most teams will be declining arbitration this year because they feel the market will allow them to resign players at a much lower discount than the 20% less they could offer salary arb players.

That may be true, but by risking that 20% they could lose out on a 1st or 2nd round draft pick.

 

[Mudcatsfan]

I've heard that most teams will be declining arbitration this year because they feel the market will allow them to resign players at a much lower discount than the 20% less they could offer salary arb players.

That may be true, but by risking that 20% they could lose out on a 1st or 2nd round draft pick.

Well what they're doing is thinking that they can offer guys more like 50% of their salary and less. If a guy is due 4 mill and they're only able to offer him 3.2 mill, and he might make as much as 4.8 mill.

if they offer him arb and he takes it and wins, they pay him 4.8 million when on the open market he'd be worth more like 2 million. Thus by offering arb,and losing they not only dont get prospects, but they overpay by 240%

 

[gonzagacubs]

Cameron would be a good fit for the Cubs, but of course that's just my opinion.