Shaun Marcum reaches one-year deal with Milwaukee Brewers avoiding arbitration – MLB News
It looks as if Shaun Marcum has been able to finalise a one-year deal worth $3.95 million with the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2011 season, thus avoiding the need for arbitration.
Both the Brewers and Marcum seem satisfied with new one-year deal, as lengthy and time consuming arbitration has been avoided. The team will be happy that they were able to settle on something that Marcum could agree upon.
The Brewers will be looking to now focus their attention on getting their rotation and line-up finalised as Spring Training is starting. The team is hoping to put their efforts on the field and compete with some of the top tier teams in the League. Spring
Training will give the Brewers the perfect opportunity to get their strategies and rotations a try against other teams.
Brewers’ director of business operations Teddy Werner was having last ditch negotiations with Marcum’s agent Rex Geary during the early part of February 9 in an effort to get something positive done.
"I talked to Rex yesterday and we might talk again today," Werner told the reporters earlier on February 9 morning. "Through the whole process, I've remained hopeful of reaching an agreement. I'm still optimistic we can get something done."
Rumours were that Marcum was demanding $5 million and the Brewers offered $3 million. However, other incentives were included in the Brewers’ offer that brought the figure close to $4 million. Thus, the deal was finalised at the last minute to avoid arbitration.
With the Toronto Blue Jays last season, Marcum had an ERA of 3.64 in 31 starts. He has managed to recover fully from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in 2009.
Marcum will be a part of the Brewers’ rotation consisting of Zack Greinke and Yovani Gallardo. The Brewers are now left with settling a deal with Rickie Weeks. It looks like the team is willing to pay close to $5 million as his demand is just over $7 million.
However the team is confident that an agreement can be reached soon with Weeks to hopefully avoid arbitration.
It will be interesting to see what impact Marcum has in the pitching rotation of the Brewers during Spring Training and into the regular season. The team will be looking at his performance carefully to determine the rotation spot for him.
The Brewers are desperate for a successful regular season with the hope of a possible spot in the playoffs. One thing is for sure and that is the pitching of Marcum will definitely be a positive addition to the Brewers.
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