MILWAUKEE -- Unsure whether they could retain him beyond the end of the season, the Brewers instead traded outfielder Carlos Lee, their best offensive player, after deliberating all day Thursday.
The club has sent Lee and top outfield prospect Nelson Cruz on Friday to the Texas Rangers for reliever Francisco Cordero, outfielders Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix and Minor League left-hander Julian Cordero. Lee was on the way to another career year -- he led the Brewers this season with 28 home runs and 81 RBIs -- but Mench presumably will replace Lee in a still-deep Brewers' outfield and Cordero should help a bullpen that surely needs it.
Mench and Francisco Cordero are expected at Miller Park on Friday night, when the team begins a key three-game series against the Reds. Nix will head to Triple-A Nashville, and Julian Cordero is headed to Class A West Virginia.
Since the Brewers acquired him from the White Sox at the 2004 Winter Meetings, Lee has played in 264 straight games, 10 shy of Robin Yount's Brewers record. He has played in 274 straight games including the end of his last season in Chicago, the fifth-longest active streak in the Majors, and Lee is well on the way to his fourth straight 30-homer, 99-RBI season.
In other words, the Rangers know what they are getting, at least for the next two months.
Lee is eligible for free agency after the year and the Brewers had been negotiating with agent Adam Katz since Spring Training. Lee's starting point was five-years, $75 million and the Brewers reportedly offered four years and $40 million, a figure that both Melvin and owner Mark Attanasio would not confirm or deny. Lee said repeatedly he wanted to re-sign with Milwaukee and that, "it's up to Doug Melvin." But according to several sources Lee may have been feeling pressure from Katz and the Players Association to help set the free agent market for marquee outfielders.
The players headed to Milwaukee arrived with plenty of question marks. Can Cordero, an All-Star in 2005, continue his stretch of success since moving from the Rangers' closer role to setup in late April? Can Mench produce as an everyday player? Can Nix finally reach his potential? Who is left-hander Julian Cordero?
Francisco Cordero, 32, allowed four runs to the New York Yankees in the eighth inning of an eventual 8-7 loss on Wednesday, but he has been solid since Showalter made Akinori Otsuka the closer and moved Cordero to a setup role. Before Wednesday, Cordero had not given up multiple runs in an outing in more than two months.
The Brewers could use a steady hand in what has been an inconsistent bullpen.
Mench, 28, has been on the trading block for weeks. He grabbed national attention by hitting a home run in seven straight games in April, a new club record and one short of a Major League mark, but he has just five homers and 29 RBIs in 248 at-bats since the streak ended April 28.
<A href="http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/trade_deadline/index_06.jsp">
"Well, just not playing every day," Mench told MLB.com on Thursday at a charity event. "I've felt, over the last few years, I've deserved to play every day. Everybody goes through slumps, [especially when you] get platooned like I have the last few years, but that's how it goes I guess."
Overall, he is hitting .281 with 12 home runs and 47 RBIs. Nicknamed "Shrek" because of his size 8 hat, Mench was popular since being drafted in the fourth round of the 1999 First-Year Player Draft.
"There hasn't been much in-between on Kevin," Showalter said. "We know what he's capable of, and it's been frustrating for him and us. We ran him out there, and he's probably had as healthy a year as he's had for us in a long time. And that's what has been frustrating for us, he's been hurt some in the past. But I like where he is right now." Nix, once considered a top Rangers prospect, has spent all of 2006 at Triple-A and is batting.269 with a .323 on-base percentage and 77 strikeouts in 286 at-bats. Julian Cordero, a 21-year-old left-hander, is 2-5 with a 2.91 ERA in 27 games, five starts, at the Rangers' low Class A affiliate.
The club has sent Lee and top outfield prospect Nelson Cruz on Friday to the Texas Rangers for reliever Francisco Cordero, outfielders Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix and Minor League left-hander Julian Cordero. Lee was on the way to another career year -- he led the Brewers this season with 28 home runs and 81 RBIs -- but Mench presumably will replace Lee in a still-deep Brewers' outfield and Cordero should help a bullpen that surely needs it.
Mench and Francisco Cordero are expected at Miller Park on Friday night, when the team begins a key three-game series against the Reds. Nix will head to Triple-A Nashville, and Julian Cordero is headed to Class A West Virginia.
Since the Brewers acquired him from the White Sox at the 2004 Winter Meetings, Lee has played in 264 straight games, 10 shy of Robin Yount's Brewers record. He has played in 274 straight games including the end of his last season in Chicago, the fifth-longest active streak in the Majors, and Lee is well on the way to his fourth straight 30-homer, 99-RBI season.
In other words, the Rangers know what they are getting, at least for the next two months.
Lee is eligible for free agency after the year and the Brewers had been negotiating with agent Adam Katz since Spring Training. Lee's starting point was five-years, $75 million and the Brewers reportedly offered four years and $40 million, a figure that both Melvin and owner Mark Attanasio would not confirm or deny. Lee said repeatedly he wanted to re-sign with Milwaukee and that, "it's up to Doug Melvin." But according to several sources Lee may have been feeling pressure from Katz and the Players Association to help set the free agent market for marquee outfielders.
The players headed to Milwaukee arrived with plenty of question marks. Can Cordero, an All-Star in 2005, continue his stretch of success since moving from the Rangers' closer role to setup in late April? Can Mench produce as an everyday player? Can Nix finally reach his potential? Who is left-hander Julian Cordero?
Francisco Cordero, 32, allowed four runs to the New York Yankees in the eighth inning of an eventual 8-7 loss on Wednesday, but he has been solid since Showalter made Akinori Otsuka the closer and moved Cordero to a setup role. Before Wednesday, Cordero had not given up multiple runs in an outing in more than two months.
The Brewers could use a steady hand in what has been an inconsistent bullpen.
Mench, 28, has been on the trading block for weeks. He grabbed national attention by hitting a home run in seven straight games in April, a new club record and one short of a Major League mark, but he has just five homers and 29 RBIs in 248 at-bats since the streak ended April 28.
<A href="http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/trade_deadline/index_06.jsp">
"Well, just not playing every day," Mench told MLB.com on Thursday at a charity event. "I've felt, over the last few years, I've deserved to play every day. Everybody goes through slumps, [especially when you] get platooned like I have the last few years, but that's how it goes I guess."
Overall, he is hitting .281 with 12 home runs and 47 RBIs. Nicknamed "Shrek" because of his size 8 hat, Mench was popular since being drafted in the fourth round of the 1999 First-Year Player Draft.
"There hasn't been much in-between on Kevin," Showalter said. "We know what he's capable of, and it's been frustrating for him and us. We ran him out there, and he's probably had as healthy a year as he's had for us in a long time. And that's what has been frustrating for us, he's been hurt some in the past. But I like where he is right now." Nix, once considered a top Rangers prospect, has spent all of 2006 at Triple-A and is batting.269 with a .323 on-base percentage and 77 strikeouts in 286 at-bats. Julian Cordero, a 21-year-old left-hander, is 2-5 with a 2.91 ERA in 27 games, five starts, at the Rangers' low Class A affiliate.
I am not sure if I am happy about this deal or not...I mean LEE was the man this year for the CREW!! I guess the good news is we did get Sheets and Okha back...I just would have figured they could have gotten a better player than Lance Nix who will be a minor leaguer..although Mench is servicable. Career numbers arent to bad and not to eye popping either. OH hell I wouldnt be a true fan if I didnt say this deal BLOWS!!! What a teaser year for the Crew coming off .500 season and then now only 5 games out of the wildcard..they go and trade the lifeline of the team...WAY TO GO MELVIN!! I thought you were better than this....I hope the hell this deal proves me wrong.
