• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Brewers approaching payroll limits

MILWAUKEE — The assumption by many in Brewer Nation is that general manager Doug Melvin will follow the signing of closer Trevor Hoffman by landing one of the higher profile starting pitchers remaining on the free-agent market.

Don’t count on it.

First, forget the rumors that the Brewers are in the hunt for Derek Lowe. He doesn’t fit into the team’s budget for next season and beyond, and Melvin isn’t going to forfeit a first-round draft pick in June by signing a Class A free agent.

“I haven’t even talked to Scott Boras,” said Melvin, referring to Lowe’s agent.

Melvin wouldn’t reveal his exact budget for 2009, but including projections of the team’s six looming arbitration cases, the signing of Hoffman ($6 million) pushed the Brewers close to the $80 million payroll level at which they began last season. Thus, they’d have to stretch their finances to sign a starting pitcher of any note.

“I do like to keep some (payroll) flexibility in the case of injuries,” said Melvin. “And teams are going to move players at some point.

“Right now, I don’t anticipate (a major signing of a pitcher).”

Considering the money they’re seeking, Melvin isn’t exactly bowled over by the established starting pitchers remaining on the free-agent market. Left-hander Randy Wolf was 12-12 with a 4.30 ERA last year and has a career ERA of 4.26.

Left-hander Oliver Perez, a Class A free agent who would require the forfeiture of a first-round pick to sign, led the National League with 105 walks last year, has a 1.42 career WHIP (walks and hits per inning) and never has pitched 200 innings in one season.

Braden Looper, whom the Brewers flirted with briefly, is 24-26 with a 4.52 ERA in two seasons as a starting pitcher in the NL. Jon Garland was 14-8 for the Angels last season but had a 4.90 ERA and 1.51 WHIP.

Melvin would rather wait to see how the market shakes out before signing any of those pitchers at this time. He’ll also monitor trading opportunities for a pitcher.

The one exception could be Ben Sheets, who might have made a mistake by turning down the Brewers’ offer of arbitration, which would have guaranteed a salary of at least $12 million in 2009. There have been no reports of a team making the multi-year offer that Sheets figured he’d get on the market.

If the injury-prone right-hander comes back to the Brewers and proposes a reasonable deal to return, what would be their response?

“I don’t know,” said Melvin. “We’d have to look at that and see. It’s a possibility (to work something out). He seems to be a real mystery on the market right now. You don’t hear much about him.“

Before signing Hoffman, the Brewers had shown interest in reliever Juan Cruz. But Cruz is a Class A free agent and the Brewers would have to surrender a first-round draft pick to Arizona to sign him.

Melvin was willing to sacrifice a first-rounder when he thought he’d be getting one in return from New York as compensation for losing CC Sabathia. But when the Yankees signed a higher-ranked Class A free agent, Mark Teixeira, the Brewers were bumped back to receiving a second-round pick from New York.

“The CC thing hurt us,” said Melvin. “I don’t want to give up a first-rounder now. We have to continue to build from within.”

The Brewers still get a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds for losing Sabathia. It remains to be seen what they’ll get if Sheets signs elsewhere. If it’s a team ranked in the bottom half of the 30 clubs in terms of won-loss record in 2008—such as Texas—the Brewers will get a second-rounder.

If Class B free agent Brian Shouse signs with another club, the Brewers would get a sandwich pick.

The Yankees still have interest in acquiring Brewers centerfielder Mike Cameron after talks broke off in late December. They recently floated the idea of swapping first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher for Cameron.

Acquired earlier in the winter from the Chicago White Sox, Swisher was targeted to play first base for the Yankees before they signed Teixeira. He has approximately $21 million left on his contract over the next three seasons and is not considered a top-notch centerfielder despite seeing considerable action there last year in Chicago.

Having lost two strikeout pitchers in Sabathia and Sheets, Melvin figures more balls will be put in play off the Brewers’ staff this year. Thus, he’s inclined to keep Cameron despite his $10 million price tag.

“I’m not motivated to move him,” said Melvin, who promised Cameron he would only trade him to a contender. “Having a good defensive centerfielder is valuable.”

Cameron, who turned 36 on Thursday, said he took the trade talk with New York in stride and is looking forward to another season in Milwaukee.

“As far as I’m concerned, I’m a Brewer until somebody calls me and tells me otherwise,” he said. “I have no control over that. Doug talked to me and told me what was going on, and I appreciate that.

“If I’m back in Milwaukee, that’s cool with me.”

Cameron said he got lots of chuckles out of reports that the Brewers only kept him to see if it would convince Sabathia, a good friend, to stay in Milwaukee, and that the Yankees wanted him to help lure Sabathia to New York.

“That was kind of crazy when people talked about me being his caddie,” said Cameron. “I talk a lot with CC and we laughed about it. I don’t think he needs me on his team to decide what’s best for him.”

Tom Haudricourt is a baseball writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.