Brewers Want Old Pitching and a Young Centerfielder

The Brewers kept Mike Cameron because he was friends with CC Sabathia. Now, with CC headed to New York, the Brewers are likely to send their centerfielder there as well.

Early Thursday morning, it was reported that the Brewers and Yankees had agreed to swap their centerfielders, Mike Cameron and Melky Cabrera. Then there were talks that the Kei Igawa was involved in the deal, as the Brewers were looking to add a pitcher to the deal. Things seemed to be all square and ready to go until the Yankees wanted the Brewers to pick up some of Cameron's tab.

"Hey Doug, we know we just shelled out $161 million to take the guy that delivered you into the playoffs, which is just an absurd amount of money. There was no way you could have ever came up with that. But hey, can we also have Mike Cameron? And can you pay his salary?"

This is why people hate the Yankees.

But apparently Melvin is not one to harbor ill feelings, and talks have resumed. It looks like that as of tomorrow morning, Melky Cabrera will be a Brewer, and Mike Cameron will be a Yankee. Fiances and whether or not the Yanks add an extra player seem to be the holdup. Heading into the 2009 season, it's possible the Yankees could have four Brewers from the 2008 season on their roster: Sabathia, Cameron, Sheets, and even Bill Hall.

Of course, making sure CC has all his buddies in New York shouldn't really be Melvin's biggest concern right now. The Brewers need pitching, and they need it now. Melvin's current wish list includes several guys that would likely just be signed to one-year deals, on account of their oldness. They include LHP Randy Johnson (45), LHP Jamie Moyer (46) and RHP John Smoltz (41).

The Brewers may also be considering giving a multi-year deal to Randy Wolf.