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12-12-2004, 03:33 AM
<b>After acquiring Capellan, team takes aim at hitters</b>
ANAHEIM -- The Brewers landed a power arm. Is a power bat next on the wish list?
On Day 2 of the Winter Meetings, the Brewers traded All-Star closer Dan Kolb to the Braves for 23-year-old right-hander Jose Capellan, Atlanta's top pitching prospect.
By parting with Kolb, who was arbitration-eligible, Milwaukee cut $2-$3 million in 2005 salary while adding one of the game's most intriguing power arms to the starting rotation. Milwaukee may now focus on trading for a power bat to plug into the middle of the lineup, even if it means spending Troy Glaus-type money to get it, according to the team's new owner.
Glaus, one of Brewers general manager Doug Melvin's early free agent targets, agreed on Thursday to a four-year, $45 million contract with Arizona.
"You would be surprised about some of the trades we are looking at for players up at that end of the range," said presumptive new owner Mark Attanasio, who met with club officials on Saturday and listened to some of the potential trades being discussed. "We have looked at some players who are in that price range as part of a trade."
Melvin & Co. declined to name their targets, but Brewers brass fielded phone calls from other clubs all day in the team's hotel suite. Colorado has been actively shopping outfielder Preston Wilson, who will earn $12 million next season, but Brewers manager Ned Yost said, "He's not the answer."
In a perfect world, the Brewers would acquire a third baseman or right fielder who hits right-handed and could fit into the cleanup hole between first baseman Lyle Overbay and left fielder Geoff Jenkins, a pair of lefties.
Kolb, center fielder Scott Podsednik and infielder Keith Ginter were among the players drawing interest from other teams. The Chicago Cubs were reportedly among the clubs showing interest in Kolb, and San Francisco may be a fit for Podsednik.
"We need a big hitter in there somewhere in the middle of our lineup," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "Somewhere between Jenkins and Overbay, we need somebody else, preferably a right-handed hitter, for protection."
The prototypical fit would also be relatively young. Citing up-and-comers like infielders Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy and pitchers Capellan and Ben Hendrickson, Melvin admitted that the Brewers are still a year or two away from serious contention. But the days of shipping out established players for groups of low-level prospects may be over in Milwaukee.
"These guys aren't A-ball players that we're talking about," Yost said. "These guys are Major League-ready or on the brink."
Yost also said that the team needed to improve defensively, especially on the infield, but it was the team's anemic offense that was mostly to blame for the Brewers' shaky second half in 2004.
ANAHEIM -- The Brewers landed a power arm. Is a power bat next on the wish list?
On Day 2 of the Winter Meetings, the Brewers traded All-Star closer Dan Kolb to the Braves for 23-year-old right-hander Jose Capellan, Atlanta's top pitching prospect.
By parting with Kolb, who was arbitration-eligible, Milwaukee cut $2-$3 million in 2005 salary while adding one of the game's most intriguing power arms to the starting rotation. Milwaukee may now focus on trading for a power bat to plug into the middle of the lineup, even if it means spending Troy Glaus-type money to get it, according to the team's new owner.
Glaus, one of Brewers general manager Doug Melvin's early free agent targets, agreed on Thursday to a four-year, $45 million contract with Arizona.
"You would be surprised about some of the trades we are looking at for players up at that end of the range," said presumptive new owner Mark Attanasio, who met with club officials on Saturday and listened to some of the potential trades being discussed. "We have looked at some players who are in that price range as part of a trade."
Melvin & Co. declined to name their targets, but Brewers brass fielded phone calls from other clubs all day in the team's hotel suite. Colorado has been actively shopping outfielder Preston Wilson, who will earn $12 million next season, but Brewers manager Ned Yost said, "He's not the answer."
In a perfect world, the Brewers would acquire a third baseman or right fielder who hits right-handed and could fit into the cleanup hole between first baseman Lyle Overbay and left fielder Geoff Jenkins, a pair of lefties.
Kolb, center fielder Scott Podsednik and infielder Keith Ginter were among the players drawing interest from other teams. The Chicago Cubs were reportedly among the clubs showing interest in Kolb, and San Francisco may be a fit for Podsednik.
"We need a big hitter in there somewhere in the middle of our lineup," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "Somewhere between Jenkins and Overbay, we need somebody else, preferably a right-handed hitter, for protection."
The prototypical fit would also be relatively young. Citing up-and-comers like infielders Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy and pitchers Capellan and Ben Hendrickson, Melvin admitted that the Brewers are still a year or two away from serious contention. But the days of shipping out established players for groups of low-level prospects may be over in Milwaukee.
"These guys aren't A-ball players that we're talking about," Yost said. "These guys are Major League-ready or on the brink."
Yost also said that the team needed to improve defensively, especially on the infield, but it was the team's anemic offense that was mostly to blame for the Brewers' shaky second half in 2004.