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I’m having a hard time deciding if the Milwaukee Brewers or San Diego Padres have had the worst offseason thus far. I certainly wouldn’t want to be a fan of either club at this point, although both teams have an excellent case to argue in terms of what’s transpired since the season ended.
Don’t get me wrong, the Seattle Mariners and a few other teams deserve mention as well, but come opening day, I’d rather be rooting for anyone besides Milwaukee and San Diego.
I’ll make a case for the Brewers having the worst offseason first. It seems like a case of anything that can go wrong, will go wrong mixed with front office incompetence.
The offseason woes began when CC Sabathia left via free agency to pitch for the New York Yankees. They traded an excellent prospect in Matt Laporta to essentially rent Sabathia for half of the season.
While he got them to the playoffs, they ended up losing the first round draft pick that Sabathia would have netted them if he had signed with any other club but the Yankees. Since the Bronx Bombers signed Mark Teixeira, the highest rated free agent on the market, the Los Angeles Angels will get the Yankees first round pick. The Brewers will get a second-round pick, which comes after the sandwich round, so they can forget about signing any of the elite players in the draft.
Aside from gutting their farm system for almost no return, they went out and signed Trevor Hoffman to a multi-million dollar deal. I’m still scratching my head on this one. There are younger alternatives on the market, such as Brandon Lyon and Juan Cruz, both of whom aren’t coming off of mediocre years.
They also lost Guillermo Mota’s arm from their bullpen, as well as starter
Ben Sheets.
As it stands now, the Brewers will field a patchwork rotation of pitchers who belong at best as back of the rotation starters. That is on top of a bullpen that is even more depleted than it was in 2008, spearheaded by a 41-year-old closer, who in 2008, put up his worst ERA since 1995.
The Brewers are also being forced to deal with slugger Prince Fielder who is in line for a hefty raise via league arbitration. They lose control of him after the 2011 season, and I’d be surprised to see Fielder take the field for Milwaukee at the start of 2012.
While the Brewers made the playoffs last year, the Padres finished with a deplorable record of 63-99—21 games behind the first place Los Angeles Dodgers.
They entered the offseason while the owner was in the midst of a nasty divorce, which seemed to be taking the team with it. They dealt shortstop Khalil Greene to the St. Louis Cardinals for a relief pitcher who put up decent numbers in AAA ball, but got lit up in four appearances for St. Louis in 2008.
Their offense does still have Brian Giles and Adrian Gonzalez, but aside from those two players, who else is there? In 2008, the Padres were last in runs scored, and without Greene, things aren’t looking any better.
Staff ace Jake Peavy has been on the trade block since the close of the season, but talks with the Braves and Cubs have fallen apart. Ken Rosenthal and numerous people on ESPN say that the Padres front office has told them that Peavy will be with the club at the start of the 2009 season, but they’re still willing to trade him. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him dealt to a contending team around the trade deadline to help rebuild their
farm system.
Additionally, the Padres didn’t have a single starting pitcher in 2008 with at least 10 starts who had a winning record.
Either way, both teams are looking at ugly seasons in 2009. The Brewers are in shambles after trading for the necessary components for a playoff run, and now they don’t even have the draft picks to help restock the farm system.
The Padres hit rock bottom in 2008, and things only look like they can get worse from here. They recently signed Chris Burke and his anemic bat to a deal, and it looks like he’ll be a starting infielder for the friars. You know you’re in trouble when a guy like Burke is starting for you.
Both sides have valid cases, but in the end, I’m going to have to pick Milwaukee. The team is in ruins, and they’re in a unique position to lose out on yet another draft pick depending on where Ben Sheets signs. He’s been connected to the New York Mets, according to the good people over at MLBtraderumors.com, and if they were to sign him, the Angels would have succeeded in taking another draft pick away from the Brew Crew, as closer Francisco Rodriguez is rated higher as a free agent than Sheets is.
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