Las Vegas - After an unexpected morning hiccup in negotiations, talks were back on track later Thursday for a trade that will send Milwaukee Brewers centerfielder Mike Cameron to New York for Yankees centerfielder Melky Cabrera.
Asked to assess the status of negotiations, Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said there was "a strong possibility it could still happen." Perhaps as early as today, the deal could be completed, with the possibility of a second player going to the Brewers. Melvin said the financial aspects of the deal had been settled but talks continued on that second player coming from New York.
Shortly after the Yankees signed CC Sabathia for $161 million Wednesday, trade talks resumed. But the Yankees asked the Brewers to pick up some of Cameron's $10 million salary for 2009, a somewhat shocking request considering the amount of money New York lavished on Sabathia to snatch him away from Milwaukee.
The incredulous Brewers balked and talks broke off in the early morning. But later in the day, Melvin said that financial issue had been settled and the trade was alive again.
The sides were unable to complete the deal before the winter meetings concluded at the Bellagio because Yankees general manager Brian Cashman departed at midday. Melvin said he reached Cashman via telephone at the local airport and it was agreed to resume talks today.
The Cameron-Cabrera trade originally was broached at the general managers' meetings in early November. But the Brewers wanted to hang on to Cameron until they saw what happened with Sabathia, a good friend.
The Yankees were down on Cabrera after he slumped to a .249 average with eight homers and 37 RBI in 129 games last season and wanted an established replacement.
The Brewers believe the switch-hitting Cabrera can hold his own in center while giving them a much-needed left-handed bat against right-handed pitchers. Should Cabrera not live up to those hopes, the Brewers think center-field prospect Lorenzo Cain could be ready for the majors in 2010.
Cabrera, 24, had an unacceptable .301 on-base percentage last season and a poor .341 slugging percentage, eventually leading to a demotion to the minors. The Brewers think he can bounce back because he puts the ball in play more than Cameron (only 58 strikeouts in 414 at-bats).
Cameron, who will be 36 in January, batted .243 with 25 homers and 70 RBI in 120 games for the Brewers last year. He was suspended for the first 25 games after testing positive for a banned stimulant the previous season at San Diego.
Cameron made only one error but led the club with 142 strikeouts.
At one point, the Yankees also inquired about Brewers third baseman Bill Hall. But because Hall has $15.2 million left on his contract, the Yankees wanted to send the Brewers unproductive left-hander Kei Igawa (2-4, 6.66 earned run average in 16 big-league games), who has $12 million left on his contract.
That sideshow quickly ended.
Melvin said some of the money saved in Cameron's contract would be used to go out and replenish the team's thinned pitching. Cabrera made $461,200 last season and is just coming up on his arbitration years.
"The goal is to try to get back flexibility to be able to do some things that way since there is still a pool of talent out there," Melvin said. "It's not as large as everybody thinks it is, from my perspective.
"But there are still some talented players there. We want to have the flexibility to pursue and add depth to our organization."
Melvin listed the free-agent pitchers the Brewers are pursuing, which resembled something of a Baseball "senior tour." Melvin said he talked with the representatives of Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer, John Smoltz and Randy Wolf.
Of that foursome, only Wolf, 32, is not in his 40s. Thus, he wants more money and more years to sign. The others would probably settle for one-year deals.
The most interesting name is Smoltz, 41, who had what some thought would be career-ending shoulder surgery in June. Having shifted back and forth from starter to closer during his career, Smoltz is throwing again and has sent videos of his workouts to interested parties, including the Brewers.
"We've seen the videos," assistant general manager Gord Ash said. "He's doing OK."
Smoltz, obviously, would have to take an incentive-laden deal because of the health uncertainty.
"That's what's on the list," Melvin said. "Jamie Moyer was 16-7 last year (for Philadelphia). We're talking to those guys. We weren't going to go out and get A.J. Burnett or Derek Lowe because they didn't want to come here."
Reliever drafted: The Brewers hope they added an economical and dependable arm to their bullpen when they drafted right-hander Eduardo Morlan from the Tampa Bay Rays in the Rule 5 draft of unprotected minor-leaguers.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Morlan, 22, pitched last season at Class AA Montgomery, going 4-2 with a 3.64 ERA in 30 relief appearances. In 47 innings, he allowed 44 hits and 15 walks and struck out 45.
Morlan first jumped on the Brewers' radar at the All-Star Futures Game in July in New York. Special assistant Dick Groch said the Brewers targeted Morlan for the Rule 5 draft and were pleased when he was still available when they made the 16th pick.
"It's always a stretch (to jump two levels) but we're looking for a guy who can come in and throw strikes," Groch said. "He's aggressive in the (strike) zone. He was our No. 1 guy."
Groch said Morlan threw regularly in the 92- 93-mph range, sometimes reaching 94 mph, with good command. The Brewers envision him in the seventh- or eighth-inning role that Guillermo Mota occupied last season.
Morlan was a third-round draft pick by Minnesota in 2004 and was sent to the Rays last winter in the Delmon Young-Matt Garza trade.
Palmisano drafted: The Brewers lost Lou Palmisano, who once was their top catching prospect, in the Rule 5 draft when he was selected by the Baltimore Orioles, who traded him to Houston. Palmisano, 26, missed most of the 2008 season after knee surgery but played well in the Arizona Fall League.
Ash said the plan was for Angel Salome to be the No. 1 catcher at Class AAA Nashville and it didn't make sense to send Palmisano back to Class AA Huntsville. The Brewers want another top catching prospect, Jonathan Lucroy, to catch there.
Mike Cameron'S CAREER STATISTICS
Team Year G AB AVG OBP R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB E
Chicago (AL) 1995 28 38 .184 .244 4 7 2 0 1 2 3 15 0 0
Chicago (AL) 1996 11 11 .091 .167 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0
Chicago (AL) 1997 116 379 .259 .356 63 98 18 3 14 55 55 105 23 5
Chicago (AL) 1998 141 396 .210 .285 53 83 16 5 8 43 37 101 27 4
Cincinnati 1999 146 542 .256 .357 93 139 34 9 21 66 80 145 38 8
Seattle 2000 155 543 .267 .365 96 145 28 4 19 78 78 133 24 6
Seattle 2001 150 540 .267 .353 99 144 30 5 25 110 69 155 34 6
Seattle 2002 158 545 .239 .340 84 130 26 5 25 80 79 176 31 5
Seattle 2003 147 534 .253 .344 74 135 31 5 18 76 70 137 17 4
New York (NL) 2004 140 493 .231 .319 76 114 30 1 30 76 57 143 22 8
New York (NL) 2005 76 308 .273 .342 47 84 23 2 12 39 29 85 13 6
San Diego 2006 141 552 .268 .355 88 148 34 9 22 83 71 142 25 6
San Diego 2007 151 571 .242 .328 88 138 33 6 21 78 67 160 18 5
Milwaukee 2008 120 444 .243 .331 69 108 25 2 25 70 54 142 17 1
Totals 1680 5896 .250 .340 935 1474 330 56 241 856 750 1642 289 64
MELKY CABREARA'S CAREER STATISTICS
Team Year G AB AVG OBP R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB E
New York (AL) 2005 6 19 .211 .211 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
New York (AL) 2006 130 460 .280 .360 75 129 26 2 7 50 56 59 12 2
New York (AL) 2007 150 545 .273 .327 66 149 24 8 8 73 43 68 13 4
New York (AL) 2008 129 414 .249 .301 42 103 12 1 8 37 29 58 9 4
Totals 415 1438 .268 .329 184 385 62 11 23 160 128 187 34 10
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Tom Haudricourt post news, notes and analysis at blogs.jsonline.com/Brewers
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