Extensions for young Brewers?

Tom Haudricourt mentions today that Doug Melvin and the rest of the management team are going to seriously be thinking about tying up some of the Brewers' young studs for multiple years. They are specifically going to be looking at Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, and Corey Hart. Since they will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season, Melvin will be looking to lock them up at some type of a discount. This is because salaries consistently jump large amounts in the first year of arbitration-eligibility.

While many fans are quick to say that the Brewers should lock up these players for a long time, there are some significant drawbacks. Here are a few:

1. If Milwaukee sign these players to a large contract extension, they will be committed to these players even if their production drops off. There is a reason why young players normally do not get contract extensions. The players do not have enough time in the majors to prove some type of consistency for the most part. Weeks, Fielder, and Hart all have spent plenty of time in starting roles, but do Melvin and company think this will continue? Weeks certainly went through a prolonged slump last year. Do the Brewers want to be stuck paying him a large amount of money for mediocre play?
2. Prince Fielder is a Scott Boras client. Boras clients do not normally sign extensions when they have the opportunity to take a one-year deal and strike it big in free agency. As much as fans love Prince, they will have to realize that Milwaukee cannot afford the paycheck he will be asking for and still craft a quality team around him. Eventually, Prince will be traded for a lot of quality prospects. This is a good thing, however. Don't forget that the Brewers have Matt LaPorta in the system that can switch to 1B very easily. He's got quite the power-stroke too.
3. Finally, the Brewers are a small market team. Every time a good player comes through Milwaukee, management will eventually have to let him go to a different team because the Brewers cannot afford it. This is not popular with the fan base, but fans need to realize that trading superstars for stars of the future is a pretty good deal. That's how the Oakland A's and the Florida Marlins field competitive teams too. Heck, the Marlins won a World Series, didn't they? I would gladly take five years of losing to go to the World Series every six years. It's not popular, but fans need to look at the big picture.
   

With all of that said, Melvin will most likely put a fair offer on the table for Prince this offseason. Unfortunately, Boras will probably make Prince reject the deal in favor of arbitration. Weeks could be a candidate for a long-term contract, but don't forget that Hernan Iribarren is a quality prospect that has hit well everywhere he's played. Iribarren could step in for Weeks in a few years. Hart, however, seems to be the likely candidate for a long-term deal. Why? He'll be the cheapest one of the three to sign, and he has the potential to have a breakout year still. If the Brewers sign him before he has the chance to put up big numbers, they will be saving a lot of money.

What are your thoughts?

NL Central predictions

With Abraham Nunez as the most intriguing story right now, here are a couple articles covering the Brewers that could interest you:

• http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2008/01/23/the-2008-milwaukee-brewers-growing-pains/
• http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7684706

On a separate note...

I've still been hearing a lot of grumbling about the defensive switches in store for Bill Hall and Ryan Braun. After some thinking, here's another possibility.

Melvin is obviously improving our defense from last year by moving Billy to 3B and Braun to LF. I'm not saying that Braun would never have been a solid third baseman, as Braun's athleticism and some patience by the Brewers faithful would have allowed Ryan to eventually corrected his footwork. Melvin could simply be thinking about the future of the franchise by moving Braun to the outfield. Two of the Brewers' best prospects were blocked at 3B when Braun was there (Mat Gamel and Tyler Green). Unless Hall has an offensive rejuvenation, the Brewers will either be looking to trade him, or simply lose him to free agency in a couple years. By that time, Melvin could be banking on Gamel or Green being ready for the big show. While it doesn't seem like it could be this way on the surface, moving Hall to 3B could actually be opening it up for prospects down the road.

On the other hand, Braun still has something to prove in left field. It's not as easy as many people are making it out to be, but Braun's athleticism should allow him to make the switch. Ryan's speed and his arm should allow him to flourish in the outfield. Eventually, however, Braun will most likely be moving to right field to make room for Matt LaPorta, who has been showing great power in the minors already. This would move Hart to center. The Brewers do have many outfield options in the minor leagues, but I doubt Melvin and company can find a better outfield trio than LaPorta/Hart/Braun. Match those three with Fielder, Weeks, and Hardy, and the Brewers have a lineup absolutely stacked with firepower.

All in all, I think the Cameron move was made to help our defense improve in the short-term, yet Melvin may have solved our positioning problems down the road too. Maybe this Cameron signing isn't so bad after all...