Jim & Bob's Palatial Baseball Blog

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Big Trade in Milwaukee...Natura-Lee

Friday was a dark day for the Brewer Fans I know. I don’t think I’ve seen them so low since Billy Jo Robidoux was let go...

This time, Brewer Fan is bidding adieu to Carlos Lee. Lee, of course, went to Texas for Kevin Mench, Laynce Nix, Francisco Cordero, and a minor league pitcher. Allegedly, Lee turned down a four year, $48 million extension the day before the trade.

Was the trade a good one for the Brewers? It depends on what direction you think the team should go.

Since Lee turned down that four-year extension, I think it’s fair to assume that either Lee didn’t want to come back to Milwaukee, or that the Brewers weren’t willing to pay what Lee wanted in order to keep him. With Lee’s departure a foregone conclusion, the choice boils down to losing Lee as a free agent and getting a couple draft picks as compensation, or trading Lee and having some say in who you’re getting back.

Brewers GM Doug Melvin obviously wanted to have his say. Ironically, he traded for Mench, Nix, and Cordero when he was Rangers GM back in the day.

On the plus side, the Brewers get three guys with some Major League history. Mench will take over in left, Nix might play his way into the center-field mix, and Cordero is insurance if Derrick Turnbow continues to meltdown. The team can control Mench for two more years and Nix for three. Cordero has a $5 million option for 2007 (relatively cheap for a closer-type).

Of course, if you don’t think that Mench or Nix is as good as Lee, then the trade doesn’t look too good for the Brew Crew. Brewer Fan can take some solace, knowing that El Caballo t-shirts will soon be 50% off at the souvenir stands.

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