Crank That Offseason Plan: Milwaukee Brewers Edition

What went wrong for the Milwaukee Brewers after making the playoffs in 2008?
Just about everything that involves throwing the ball to the opposing team and staying healthy.

But let's start with the positives.

Perennial All-Stars Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder had monster seasons and return for 2010. Ace Yovanni Gallardo and future Hall-of-Fame closer Trevor Hoffman will also be back on the mound for the Crew next season.

The bad news is that injuries and poor pitching (CC Sabathia took his hefty frame to the Big Apple) buried this team alive.

It's also bad news that trading offensive parts for pitching is murky because the Brewers are forced to sell low on guys like right fielder Corey Hart (injury) and shortstop J.J. Hardy (since traded to Minnesota).

From a prospect standpoint, the Brewers didn't want to part with shortstop Alicdes Escobar or third baseman/first baseman/future designated hitter Mat Gamel.

So here we are: The Brewers are still desperate for pitching and don't have a ton of tradeable parts they are intrested in trading.

So after the Hardy deal that netted newly-minted center fielder Carlos Gomez, the Brewers stand to shed roughly $12-13 million off the payroll by letting center fielder Mike Cameron walk along with declining pitcher Braden Looper's option and not offering second baseman Felipe Lopez arbitration.

Pitcher Dave Bush figures to get a raise over his $4 million salary in 2009 and it may be best to non-tender him. This would leave the Crew with Gallardo, Manny Parra (who really needs to realize his potential) and Jeff Suppan.

This rotation certainly doesn't scare anyone and it will remain one of the worst in baseball unless they can get two starting pitchers one way or another. With Escobar sliding into Hardy's spot at shortstop and second baseman Rickie Weeks coming back from injury, the infield seems like a lock (though I don't know if you can count another season like Casey McGehee had.

Where does that leave Mat Gamel? He can't really play anywhere besides third base or first and unless you plan on moving McGehee for something of great value it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to hang out to Gamel that much longer. Sure, he may be needed down the line to potentially replace Prince Fielder at first base but the time is now for the Brewers to win.

With roughly $10-15 million to spend, the Brewers are limited in what they can do. The best idea is to trade Gamel and some other minor leaguers for an established starting pitcher on the trade market. Hart is also another possibility to be traded for a pitcher.

My idea would go as such:

Under the assumption that the Brewers don't have an enticing enough package to aquire Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays, it makes sense to go after either Atlanta Braves pitcher Javier Vazquez or Edwin Jackson from the Detroit Tigers using Gamel and Hart as a package if necessary.

Neither will probably have as good of seasons as they did in 2009 but the Braves have the ability to trade pitching in favor for a player like Gamel. Vazquez is only getting traded if they can't move Derek Lowe first but unless they eat a monstrous portion of that contract, he isn't going anywhere. Chipper Jones can't be at third base forever and it remains to be seen just who will be starting first base for the club anyway.

The Tigers on the other hand need to clear payroll above all else. Jackson may not repeat his numbers for Tigers so it might be time for them to sell high. The Brewers will like the fact that Jackson hasn't pitched against the National League since his early days in Los Angeles. I would figure Gamel would be included in this package as well.

So assuming they get one of those two pitchers, what's the next step? Sign up some comeback candidates to fill out the rotation and hope for the best. The first few names that come to mind are Mark Mulder, Erik Bedard and Rich Harden. It wouldn't cost a ton to get any of these reclamation projects and if it works out, the Crew will come up roses.