Gagne a Brewer?

Eric Gagne declined arbitration from the Red Sox. That's not surprising, as he has been expected to do so for some time. What is surprising, however, is that most teams have no interest in him anymore.

Tom Haudricourt reports that the Brewers have a real shot at landing Eric Gagne. There were supposedly three teams that were interested in Gagne. These were: the Rangers, the Astros, and the BrewCrew. The GM of the Rangers has said that they no longer have interest in their former closer. The Astros are still a contender, but the Brewers would probably be the favorite. This is because Gagne is a Scott Boras client and has ties to Prince Fielder (a fellow Boras client). Haudricourt seems to think that this connection makes the Brewers the favorite for Gagne, and Melvin has not indicated that he has no interest in him. This could be interesting.

What also makes this signing more likely/intriguing is the fact that Salomon Torres is now considering retirement. My guess is that if Torres retires, Gagne will become a Brewer. If Torres does not retire, Gagne still may become a Brewer, though less likely. With Eric Gagne, the Brewers bullpen would be:

Gagne
Turbow
Riske
Torres
Mota
McClung
Shouse
one of (Capuano, Bush, Parra, or Vargas)

Not too shabby, eh?