Braden Looper Watch (update 1)
According to Adam McCalvey, the Brewers have until Saturday to decide what to do with Braden Looper's $6.5 million option. Interestingly, A McC says that even if the Brewers decline to exercise their half, The Loop could exercise his half anyway. I didn't think it worked that way, but I guess it does.
Anyway, stay tuned for updates.
UPDATE 1: There was some confusion about the goofy "mutual option." Adam McC has since clarified:
If the Brewers decline the option, Looper would exercise his half and get a $1 million buyout....Sorry about screwing that up.
So there you go. Adam also said he will come to your house sometime this offseason and make you a fresh stack of banana pancakes, complete with a pat of butter on top in the shape of the mlb.com logo, to atone for his error. Be sure to "tweet" him the dates you are available. (I'm joking, of course. The butter is in the shape of Ned Yost's head.) Anyway, thanks, Adam, for setting the record straight.
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McCalvey's always been good
But this goes against everything that has been reported at the time of the signing and everything report since then. Also, it would be really sad.
Hopefully, he just has it backwards. Looper could decline if the Brewers pick it up, but not the other way around. (According to Cot’s and TH in February)
by The Left Button on Nov 12, 2009 11:17 AM CST reply actions
Hmm...
Either I’m just completely missing it, or he’s taken that bit out.
He calls it a mutual option, but that’s not saying the same thing.
Link?
by The Left Button on Nov 12, 2009 11:29 AM CST up reply actions
Here it is
From his report on DM’s pursuit of Lackey:
Another $5.5 million could be freed if the team chooses to pay a $1 million buyout over exercising Looper’s option, though Looper, who led the 2009 Brewers with 14 wins but also posted a 5.22 ERA and allowed a Major League-worst 39 home runs, could always exercise his half of the deal.
I had thought that the Loop could accept/decline the option if the Brewers picked it up first. It doesn’t seem very mutual if the Brewers are stuck with him after declining the option.
"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"
How did Varitek's work?
After the Sox declined for $5MM, he had a $3MM option to think about. Has anybody emailed Adam to clarify it?
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, "That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
this sounds more like the Varitek thing where both the team and the player have an option, and if the team declines the player can exercise his half.
shouldn't that be called something like a Dual Option or something
rather than a mutual option. Because those two are actually pretty mutually exclusive.
That being said, I’d imagine Looper wants to pitch somewhere. Knowing that he won’t get that oppurtunity here if we decline the option, he’s gotta be unlikely to pick up his end of the deal. I would think he’d want to test the market.
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, "That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
the question is whether or not he'd get more elsewhere
as I see we were both thinking of Tek and his albatross contract at the same time. In Varitek’s situation, no team would pick him up as a starter with corresponding pay when there are younger, better, and/or more durable starting options available (including Kendall.) So he took the safe bet, picked up his player option, and will be backing up Victor Martinez for $3mil in 2010.
Looper may take the safe option of being the swing man in Milwaukee as opposed to taking less pay to do the same thing for another team.
From the way I understand it..
The advantage of the Mutual Option is for the player really. See two examples of how a mutual option works.
Loop signs for 4m with a 6.5m mutual option with a 1 million buy out.
Loop pitches awesome! His value on the FA market goes from 6.5 to 20m.
Loop declines the player option (Mutual) he absolves the club of the buy out.
Loop is free to sign anywhere.
Loops signs for 4m with a 6.5m mutual option with a 1 million buyout.
Loop pitches like Looper. His value plummets to league min.
Brewers decline the club option (mutual). Loop wants the pay out. Accepts the mutual option.
Loop is given 1 million dollars to not play.
if the brewers decline it, why would he accept it, then?
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, "That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
To get a million dollars
Both sides need to accept. If they Brewers tell him we’ll pass, he’d accept to get the money. Basically it’d transform to a club option and payout would happen.
If we accepted the club portion it becomes a player option. IF Looper declines that (Say he can make more in FA) he’d opt out of the money.
I meant to say if the Brewers decline, why would he decline it, then?
Sorry for the misspeak(type)
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, "That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
He'lkl take the buyout
and be an FA.
Basically it’s mutual till one side accepts.
Player accepts first: Club Option.
Club accepts first: Player Option.
Has to be wrong
And the buy out numbers prove it.
If Looper can decide to pick up the option and the Brewers are powerless to stop him, there is no scenario that I can think of in which a buy out could even occur. So the fact there there were variable and oft-quoted buy out numbers makes me think McCalvy is wrong on this.
And that’s only 60% wishful thinking.
by The Left Button on Nov 12, 2009 12:32 PM CST up reply actions
Adam is emending his post as we speak
He says: “If the Brewers decline the option, Looper would exercise his half and get a $1 million buyout.”
I’ve updated the FanPost above.
"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"
Appropriate title
I like that you’ve used the terminology generally used to warn of possible impending natural disasters.
I just hope we don’t get to a Braden Looper Warning.
Ryan Braun: He loves it. *Secretly, I am Carlos Gomez*
by SRB on Nov 12, 2009 12:09 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
While Melvin and Looper actually agree to the 2010 option
I’ll be down hiding in my basement.
"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"
Out of Curiosity
Is there anyone here that wants Looper to return?
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, "That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
I'd be OK with it
For, say, $2 million.
"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"
wouldn't be the first time....
that the Brewers declined an option as a prelude to renegotiating a lower contract. They did it with Counsell this year (sort of.)
I just threw up in my mouth
I don’t have a category for "washed-up guys who may or may not be dominant big-league closers sometime soon."
~Jeff Sackmann
by Charlie Marlow on Nov 13, 2009 8:49 AM CST up reply actions
Count me in...
Finally someone making sense. Looper wasn’t great, yeah, but he was easily the 2nd best SP on our team last year, with 194 IP and 100 K. One year at 6.5 M seems very reasonable for a league-average #3 SP. The gopherballs were his main buggaboo and MIller Park is not best suited for his skills. But I doubt DD or Washburn would come here without multi-year deals and more cash. We’re likely not going to do better than Looper on a 1 yr deal.
I can agree with you that we might be better off with Looper than DD or Washburn
But I don’t think we should sign either of those guys.
Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, "That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
Really?
You don’t think Sheets, Bedard, or Harden could be had on one year deals? I read something that said $7mm might be enough to land Harden.
"I've had the time of my afterlife." --Patrick Swayze
maybe...
Those guys may be gotten by somebody on a 1 YR deal, but not the Mustache. He’s not going to commit 8-10% of his team’s combined salary to a one-man walking injury. In that regard he may actually be smarter than us.
Well, going by WAR/Value, Looper was not only the worst starter on the team last year but was actually the second worst in the major leagues (of pitchers with 100+ IP, Suppan was fourth worst)
That said, his poor second half may have had something to do with his injury and I think he can have a bounceback year and be a decent back of the rotation starter, but I wouldn’t risk $6.5 million on him (he was worth -$4.0 million last year)
Ryan Braun: He loves it. *Secretly, I am Carlos Gomez*
I don't know that you and I can hang out anymore
maybe not even at the same lunch table.
I don’t have a category for "washed-up guys who may or may not be dominant big-league closers sometime soon."
~Jeff Sackmann
by Charlie Marlow on Nov 13, 2009 8:52 AM CST up reply actions
I was firmly in the "DO NOT WANT" camp when we signed Looper.
Nothing that happened last year has caused me to change my allegiance.
I'm not letting a Ned Yost shaped pad of butter anywhere near my pancakes.
Although, it might be fun to really battle my way through the stack, and only be one bite away from getting out of there with my plate clean.
by Rubie Q on Nov 12, 2009 2:09 PM CST reply actions 5 recs
But wouldn't it be rewarding to see his butter shaped head melt into nothing?
She isn't crazy, she's just not impressed.
Oh, and could you get Mike Adams for the bullpen, please?
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Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, "That’s all they need is another home run hitter".
Narveson, Villanueva, McClung, Burns, and Bush?
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