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Where do Brewers go from here?

Offseason could be as eventful as breakthrough 2008 campaign

Dennis Punzel  —  10/07/2008 9:39 am

MILWAUKEE -- When Doug Melvin took over as general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers six years ago, he had a vision for how he wanted to turn one of baseball's biggest losers into a contender.

He knew it would require some time and patience to assemble and develop a core of championship-caliber players in a place that had known mostly journeymen and flops.

That core -- some of which was already in the system, and some of which would be brought in along the way -- would come to include first baseman Prince Fielder, second baseman Rickie Weeks, shortstop J.J. Hardy, third baseman-turned-left fielder Ryan Braun, right fielder Corey Hart, and pitchers like Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra, who would join holdover Ben Sheets in the starting rotation.

According to the plan, that group of players would come along at roughly the same time and mature into the kind of team that would make Brewers fans forget all the years they had to endure the likes of Ronnie Belliard, Jose Hernandez, Jeffrey Hammonds and Scott Karl.

And it pretty much worked out according to plan. That core of players is primarily responsible for the Brewers becoming contenders the past two seasons. They faltered down the stretch in 2007 and fell two games short of the playoffs. They stumbled again this season before rallying behind the heroics of Fielder, Weeks, Braun and imported ace CC Sabathia in the final week to win the wild card and end a 26-year playoff drought.

The question now is, where do they go from here? That core of players, which has provided low-cost production through its early years, is about to become considerably more expensive to maintain as players reach arbitration eligibility and approach free agency.

Going forward, it would appear that only two members of that core -- Braun and Gallardo -- are guaranteed of their status.

Jack Zduriencik, the Brewers' scouting director and the man responsible for identifying much of the young talent, recognizes that the Brewers are facing a new phase.

"We're going to have a lot of decisions to make this winter," he said. "We still like our core of players, but we have a lot of options we have to look at. We'll sit around and throw around all the possibilities."

The list of those possibilities is a long one as they contemplate the future makeup of that core:

* Is Sabathia affordable? Sabathia clearly enjoyed his three months in Milwaukee and went out of his way to say he's open to returning. But at what price tag? Would he take $110 million for five years from the Brewers over $150 million for six years from the New York Yankees? And even if he would take less to stay, what implications would it have on the Brewers' payroll if $22 million or so per year went to one player?

* Is Sheets, the senior member of the core, worth making a bid on to retain? Sure, he's injury-prone, but none of his myriad aches and pains have had long-term consequences. His latest elbow problem might keep his price tag down on the free agent market, both in terms of dollars and length of commitment. Or has he simply run his course in Milwaukee after eight seasons?

* Is Fielder's power production and presence in the middle of the lineup still an essential part of the team's makeup? Or is all that outweighed by his defensive shortcomings, ballooning upper body and the virtual guarantee that as a Scott Boras client, he will be pushing the salary envelope over the next three years in arbitration before he inevitably becomes a free agent bound for the highest bidder?

* Is Weeks just a late bloomer who needs a little more time, a la Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips, to emerge as a top talent? Is he really a second baseman, or a center fielder, or a third baseman?

* Hardy, entering his second year of arbitration, would seem in line for a long-term contract after two straight solid seasons during which he probably has been the team's most consistent all-around player. But is he the shortstop of the future, or will he be shifted to third or second base to make way for minor league defensive whiz Alcides Escobar? Or, as one of the few Brewers whose value is at a peak, will he be traded for pitching help?

* Can the Brewers find a taker for Bill Hall, whose second straight disappointing season makes it apparent that his 2006 breakout year was just a fluke? That will be a tough task, given that he's due to make more than $15 million total over the next two years.

* Is Corey Hart the dynamic 20-20 player he appeared to be through August, or is he the clueless free-swinger who symbolized much of the team's September frustrations? Can a team determined to improve its pitch selection have a player in the middle of the lineup who just walked 27 times in a season?

* Is Mike Cameron, at age 36 next season, worth the $10 million option it will take for the Brewers to retain him in the middle of their outfield?

Along the way, Melvin and his staff will have to find a legitimate leadoff hitter, revamp the bullpen and presumably come up with a new closer to supplant Salomon Torres.

Before he does any of the above, Melvin will have to decide whether to give interim manager Dale Sveum the job on a permanent basis.

And when he's done with all that, he'll probably want to sit down with owner Mark Attanasio and talk about an extension on his own contract, which is set to expire after next season.

All things considered, it figures to be an offseason as intriguing and significant for Brewers fans as the 2008 season itself. And the players are as curious as everyone else as to what will happen.

"I don't know what's going to happen," Hardy said. "I'll leave it to Doug Melvin and everybody in the front office to figure out these changes. I think the core here is pretty good, so I don't know if you want to break it up or not."

Dennis Punzel  —  10/07/2008 9:39 am