Trevor Hoffman to Milwaukee (1 year, 6 million)

[cubswin2009]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9044754/Sources:-Hoffman-appears-headed-to-Milwaukee

Trevor Hoffman's preference was to remain on the West Coast. Instead he appears headed to the Midwest.

 

The Brewers have emerged as the front-runner to sign Hoffman, according to major-league sources.

Both the Brewers and Dodgers made initial one-year offers with a club option for 2010. It is not known whether the Brewers agreed to guarantee the second year.

 

The Dodgers were believed to be Hoffman's first choice because of the proximity of Los Angeles to his home in San Diego.

 

But Hoffman, 41, is leaning toward the Brewers, sources said. The Brewers have a clear vacancy at closer, while the Dodgers are grooming Jonathan Broxton for that role.

Edited January 8, 2009 by cubswin2009

[Cubswin11]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9044754/Sources:-Hoffman-appears-headed-to-Milwaukee

Trevor Hoffman's preference was to remain on the West Coast. Instead he appears headed to the Midwest.

 

The Brewers have emerged as the front-runner to sign Hoffman, according to major-league sources.

Both the Brewers and Dodgers made initial one-year offers with a club option for 2010. It is not known whether the Brewers agreed to guarantee the second year.

 

The Dodgers were believed to be Hoffman's first choice because of the proximity of Los Angeles to his home in San Diego.

 

But Hoffman, 41, is leaning toward the Brewers, sources said. The Brewers have a clear vacancy at closer, while the Dodgers are grooming Jonathan Broxton for that role.

Probably a marginal upgrade over Torres, but they needed to make a move to help them in their bullpen. It really doesn't matter who they have closing though if they don't add another starter they won't be competing this year.

[E.J.]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9044754/Sources:-Hoffman-appears-headed-to-Milwaukee

Trevor Hoffman's preference was to remain on the West Coast. Instead he appears headed to the Midwest.

 

The Brewers have emerged as the front-runner to sign Hoffman, according to major-league sources.

Both the Brewers and Dodgers made initial one-year offers with a club option for 2010. It is not known whether the Brewers agreed to guarantee the second year.

 

The Dodgers were believed to be Hoffman's first choice because of the proximity of Los Angeles to his home in San Diego.

 

But Hoffman, 41, is leaning toward the Brewers, sources said. The Brewers have a clear vacancy at closer, while the Dodgers are grooming Jonathan Broxton for that role.

Probably a marginal upgrade over Torres, but they needed to make a move to help them in their bullpen. It really doesn't matter who they have closing though if they don't add another starter they won't be competing this year.

 

What is the Brewer's starting rotation this year? Can't be good at all. Parra and who?

[Cubswin11]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9044754/Sources:-Hoffman-appears-headed-to-Milwaukee

Trevor Hoffman's preference was to remain on the West Coast. Instead he appears headed to the Midwest.

 

The Brewers have emerged as the front-runner to sign Hoffman, according to major-league sources.

Both the Brewers and Dodgers made initial one-year offers with a club option for 2010. It is not known whether the Brewers agreed to guarantee the second year.

 

The Dodgers were believed to be Hoffman's first choice because of the proximity of Los Angeles to his home in San Diego.

 

But Hoffman, 41, is leaning toward the Brewers, sources said. The Brewers have a clear vacancy at closer, while the Dodgers are grooming Jonathan Broxton for that role.

Probably a marginal upgrade over Torres, but they needed to make a move to help them in their bullpen. It really doesn't matter who they have closing though if they don't add another starter they won't be competing this year.

 

What is the Brewer's starting rotation this year? Can't be good at all. Parra and who?

If the season started today probably...

 

Gallardo

Parra

Suppan

Bush

Villanueva/McClung

 

Gallardo has ace stuff, but he has yet to pitch a full season and I doubt they push him more than 180-190 innings this year, Parra hit a wall in the 2nd half but could be a legit 2/3 in a year or so and Bush/Suppan are similar, they are back of the rotation starters that will have games where they go 6-7 innings and then they have games where they get blown up and are out by the 2nd/3rd. Villanueva/McClung are probably best suited for the bullpen. Probably average to a bit above average NL rotation, but they really are lacking depth those are really their only starting options and they could be SOL'd if one or more of those guys get hurt and they don't add someone.

[cubsfan26]

Gallardo, Parra, Bush, Suppan and Capuano/McClung right now. But they will probably still add another starter though. They been rumored to have alot of interest in Braden Looper. As for Hoffman, I would rather have him go to the Dodgers then Brewers, but I don't think he helps them all that much.

[Gingerballs Lives]

Good move for the Crew.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Interesting. Shouldnt they first add a quality starter before an aging reliever? Of course, if the Dodgers really want him, they'll snake him. They've done it before.

[Southpaw191679666239]

Done deal:

 

Brewers Agree To Terms With Trevor Hoffman

By Tim Dierkes [January 8 at 9:42am CST]

9:42am: ESPN's Buster Olney says the Brewers have agreed to terms with Hoffman on a one-year deal with an option.

 

9:20am: Bloom and McCalvy say the Brewers faxed a term sheet to Hoffman's agent.

 

8:36am: MLB.com's Barry Bloom and Adam McCalvy heard from a source that the Brewers are nearing a deal with Trevor Hoffman. The AP says the same. The deal would be for one year with an option for 2010 and is "pretty close" to happening according to the source.

 

[Little Slide Rooter]

Will Julio and Hoffman be any better than Mota and Gagne? Tune in this Spring and Summer to find out.

[Ball And Glove]

I like the deal...he should be a bit better than Torres was last year even though he's 41 and pitching outside of Petco. The bullpen should be improved just by not having to deal with Gagne and Turnbow.

 

Another starter would be nice. I don't think Gallardo/Parra/Bush/Suppan/McClung would be a bad rotation (teams like the Cards and Phillies have certainly done more with less), but you're counting on two young guys who haven't pitched a full season in the majors yet to make The Leap and you don't have much injury insurance. It'd be nice if Capuano performed well enough in the minors to get a call up and take the 5th spot, but even someone like Looper to bump McClung into a bullpen role would make me feel better. Getting Sheets to realize he made a mistake by declining arbitration and getting him on a one year deal would be a dream scenario, but I'm still pessimistic about that happening.

[rchap24]

It's an upgrade to what they've had the last few seasons, but it won't make or break this team

[cubsfan26]

This is a good but I dunno if it really upgrades the Brewers bullpen all that much. Salomon Torres was pretty good for them for most of last season, even though he ran out of gas late in the year. I guess it all depends on what Hoffman shows up next year. But at age 41 and leaving Petco, you would think his numbers wouldn't be as good next year. The Brewers bullpen still looks very bad right now with Riske, Villanueva/McClung, Stetter, Tom Coffey and maybe Mark DiFelice. You would think their still planning on adding another reliever or two.

[Soul]

This is a good but I dunno if it really upgrades the Brewers bullpen all that much. Salomon Torres was pretty good for them for most of last season, even though he ran out of gas late in the year. I guess it all depends on what Hoffman shows up next year. But at age 41 and leaving Petco, you would think his numbers wouldn't be as good next year. The Brewers bullpen still looks very bad right now with Riske, Villanueva/McClung, Stetter, Tom Coffey and maybe Mark DiFelice. You would think their still planning on adding another reliever or two.

 

I don't like their starting rotation either. Parra melted down as the #3 last year, is he really going to be expected to be the #2?

[nilodnayr]

This is a good but I dunno if it really upgrades the Brewers bullpen all that much. Salomon Torres was pretty good for them for most of last season, even though he ran out of gas late in the year. I guess it all depends on what Hoffman shows up next year. But at age 41 and leaving Petco, you would think his numbers wouldn't be as good next year. The Brewers bullpen still looks very bad right now with Riske, Villanueva/McClung, Stetter, Tom Coffey and maybe Mark DiFelice. You would think their still planning on adding another reliever or two.

 

I don't like their starting rotation either. Parra melted down as the #3 last year, is he really going to be expected to be the #2?

 

Its not great, but its not terrible. They probably have a slightly below average rotation. They OK, but missing a frontline starter. They are looking like a .500 team, which is good considering what our team is shaping up to be.

[Ball And Glove]

This is a good but I dunno if it really upgrades the Brewers bullpen all that much. Salomon Torres was pretty good for them for most of last season, even though he ran out of gas late in the year. I guess it all depends on what Hoffman shows up next year. But at age 41 and leaving Petco, you would think his numbers wouldn't be as good next year. The Brewers bullpen still looks very bad right now with Riske, Villanueva/McClung, Stetter, Tom Coffey and maybe Mark DiFelice. You would think their still planning on adding another reliever or two.

 

I don't like their starting rotation either. Parra melted down as the #3 last year, is he really going to be expected to be the #2?

 

He's certainly the second most talented pitcher in the rotation as it currently stands, but you could probably argue Bush as being the second best pitcher in that rotation if you factor in performance down the stretch last year. Bush finished the year hot (one of the few pitchers that shut down the Phils in the playoffs last year), while Parra struggled. I think it's fair to assume Parra's meltdown had more to do with fatigue than anything else -- he pitched many more innings than he was supposed to last year due to the playoff push, and as a result he made more mistake pitches and got rocked for it. He wasn't pitching poorly, though, by most measures...his walks were down and strikeouts were up. Unfortunately, the BABIP skyrocketed. I think he could be a very good pitcher once he starts attacking hitters a bit more (even when he was pitching well early in the year, he had the tendency to nibble). Suppan's probably the 6th or 7th best starter in the organization right now, but unfortunately his contract will keep him in the rotation. The rotation itself doesn't look horrible to me, but an injury could be crippling (given Parra's history of arm problems and Suppan's age, it doesn't look good).

 

As far as the bullpen goes (I'll just quote both messages since I'm addressing both), I think it looks pretty average. Even though last year's bullpen got a lot of bad press, by the end of the year it wasn't all that bad. Riske pitched much of last year hurt, and was actually pretty decent pre-injury. If he can bounce back to pre-injury levels, he should be a solid middle reliever. Shouse is gone as the lefty, but I think Stetter's more valuable since he's not just a LOOGY and has better stuff (but he does need to cut down on the walks). Villanueva was very good out of the bullpen last year, but his failed stint as a starter at the beginning of the year didn't make his final numbers look great. Really, the only guys slated for the bullpen now that I could see having Turnbow/Gagne/Mota gas can levels are Julio and Coffey, and both guys are pretty easily replaceable.

 

I'll agree that it's looking like a .500ish season next year, maybe creeping up to as high as 86 wins with some pixie dust. The lack of depth in the rotation and the fact that Ken Macha is the manager are my biggest concerns right now.

[Keeper]

Nice analysis, b and g.

[BigbadB]

Do they make out charts for pitchers? It sure seems to me that Hoffman got a lot of warning track fly ball outs in Petco.

 

He still has one of the most wicked change ups in the game, but little else. His fastball is one of the most crushable pitches in MLB.

 

I may end up being wrong, but I don't think this will have been a good signing by the Brewers.

[jersey cubs fan]

I'll never complain about a rival with a limited budget spending valuable resources on a 41 year old reliever with the "closer" tag.

[haubrich91]

Nice move. You'd have to wonder if he can stay healthy though.

 

It'll be strange seeing him in a Brewer jersey.

[TruffleShuffle]

I'll never complain about a rival with a limited budget spending valuable resources on a 41 year old reliever with the "closer" tag.

 

yeah i don't think he's very good any more either. lh batters hit him well the last two years.

[SpongeWorthy]

It's amazing he's still effective as he is. Every fastball he throws (85 and straight as an arrow) looks like a meatball. We'll see how he does away from Petco.

[Keeper]

Pretty much every fastball is a meatball, but when your changeup is that good, it doesn't really matter. A good changeup is probably the most effective and undervalued pitch in baseball.

 

And, of course, I'll be flamed for saying that by the usual crowd.

[wekse]

i agree that a good changeup is an undervalued pitch by some...but a changeup isn't necessarily as effective when you're only throwing 84 with your fastball.

[jersey cubs fan]

And, of course, I'll be flamed for saying that by the usual crowd.

 

Lose the pariah complex.

[Sammy Sofa]

And, of course, I'll be flamed for saying that by the usual crowd.

 

AKA

 

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