I was thinking some more about (the folly of) not giving arbitration to Felipe Lopez, and how I would have considered offering arbitration to Mike Cameron.  That got me wondering: in all the talk about the Carlos Gomez trade, does anyone remember seeing anything reported about DM calling Cameron to let him know of what had transpired?

After the season, there were reports that Cameron would be willing to re-sign with the Brewers on something of a discount, on offer that was moot when we traded for Gomez.  Usually, when there is a story on a big trade like JJ Hardy for Gomez, there'll be a line about how Melvin or Gord Ash would have called Cameron to explain what was going on.  I don't remember reading that in the JSOnline or MLB reports.

I remember reading that it's not uncommon for teams to work out with its departing FA agreements to not accept arbitration if offered, something that would especially make sense when you're a Type B FA and your status has no effect on where you might be signed.  Given that Cameron has already expressed a desire to be starting, something he wouldn't be doing in Milwaukee after the controversial JJ trade, I think it would have been unlikely for him to accept arbitration.  Assuming that Cam and the Brewers were still on good terms, I wonder if such an agreement could have been worked out.

In other words, I think a more talented GM would have gotten two supplemental picks from our departing free agents instead of one, or in our case, none.