Vargas signs a one-year contract

Claudio Vargas has reached an agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers for a one-year, $3.6M contract. This is quite the raise from last year's $2.5M. I suppose that's what an 11-6 record will get you nearing arbitration.

I understand that his record is fine and all, but he had a 5.09 ERA and the largest run-support of any Brewers' starter. His record seems more of a coincidence than something he earned. Granted, Vargas worked himself out of many jams early in the season with some flair, but it caught up to him by the end of the season.

Vargas gets killed by left-handed pitching, as they hit .320 against the hurler last year. He also only pitched over 6 innings twice last year. High pitch counts contributed to that immensely, and it made many of the relievers have to work more than they should have. Brewers' starters not going deep into games was a large reason the bullpen collapsed last year. He didn't get past the 4th inning five times last year.

If the Brewers do not see him contributing to the starting rotation next year, I can see the Brewers trading Vargas and perhaps a prospect. Tim Dierkes speculated today that the Brewers could use their excess pitching to trade for the young, and highly-touted catcher from Seattle, Jeff Clement. That sounds awfully nice.