|
With reliever Armando Cruz among a small batch of arbitration eligible Brewers as we enter the off-season, and given that we have such a surplus of talent in that area while Cruz continues to struggle with control to the extent that he is not a trusted arm and spent much of the second half of the season down at AAA Chester, I decided to look into the idea of trading him.
And I was shocked at the number of aging stars I was offered in return. It seems a lot of teams around the WPK are looking to unload some salaries before the new batch of free agents hit the market.
Among the players offered are a former Pitcher-of-the-Year award winner, Juan Soto, who in spite of being 37 now was still a valuable pitcher this season (13-10, 2.68, 5.4 WAR). Also on offer, 3-time All-Star and power-hitting rightfielder Josh Ackland. At age 35, Ackland can still mash with the best, but he's a liability in the field, other than his cannon arm, and on the base paths. San Francisco dangled 33-year old centerfielder Antonio Sosa. He's a fine hitter, with a decent amount of power, and a very gifted fielder. But he's a few years older than Ryan Rodgers, so what would be the point? With the continued offensive struggles of Antonio Puente, we could possibly move one of these veterans to left and trade Puente, but it doesn't really fit in with the Brewers organizational philosophy to unload younger players for players heading towards their declining years.
Ultimately, probably the most appealing offer is another player S.F. has suggested- reliever Eric Singer. Singer is not only a very gifted reliever but at age 31 he should have a few good years left and he's a less expensive option than any of these others. Perhaps just as importantly, he's a very popular player both nationally and locally (he's a fan favorite in S.F.) and our owner wants us to make it a priority to put more fannies in the seats. Getting Singer wouldn't do anything to unclutter our bullpen but with the Brewers trying to get back to the World Series in 1970 he could certainly help in the short-run. It might push the team to try to move a few other younger relievers but with some even better prospects coming up through the system, that might not be such a bad thing.
No decision has been made yet. Stay tuned.
|