As expected, the Milwaukee Brewers did not tender left-hander Chris Capuano a major-league contract for 2009 on Friday but the sides continued to talk in hopes of keeping him in the organization.
The Brewers did not offer Capuano a contract by the deadline because he missed the entire 2008 season after undergoing elbow surgery, while drawing a $3.75 million salary. Teams are not allowed to cut a major-league player's salary by more than 20% and the Brewers did not want to commit $3 million to Capuano when there is no guarantee he will be ready to pitch next season. The non-tender was the only Baseball business completed by the Brewers by the end of the day. The anticipated swap with New York of centerfielders Mike Cameron and Melky Cabrera was put on hold while the Yankees focused on signing free-agent pitcher A.J. Burnett
Capuano was the only arbitration-eligible player on the Brewers' 40-man roster not tendered a contract for next season. Contracts were offered to the other unsigned players in that group - Prince Fielder, J.J. Hardy, Corey Hart, Dave Bush, Rickie Weeks and Seth McClung - with salaries to be determined.
"Non-tendering him gives us more flexibility to continue talking to see if we can come to an agreement," Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said.
What the Brewers will try to do is strike a minor-league deal with Capuano and his agent, Mike Moye, with incentives that would kick in should the 30-year-old pitcher make a successful comeback to the majors.
"He seems to have the desire to stay with us and we have the desire to keep him," Ash said. "It's just a matter of finding an arrangement that's acceptable to both sides. We'll continue to talk and try to reach a deal."
Capuano was competing for a spot in the Brewers' starting rotation in spring training when he began experiencing elbow discomfort. An MRI revealed a torn ligament, and Capuano opted for a course of physical therapy and a throwing program rather than immediately undergoing surgery.
The discomfort continued, however, and in May he underwent "Tommy John" reconstructive surgery, in which a tendon is transplanted into the elbow. It was almost exactly six years after Capuano underwent the same procedure while in the Arizona Diamondbacks' system.
Capuano rebounded from that first surgery and was one of six players sent to the Brewers in the Richie Sexson trade on Dec. 1, 2003. He emerged as an 18-game winner in 2005 and made the National League all-star team before slipping to 11-12 in 2006 and 5-12 in 2007.
The track record for pitchers undergoing multiple "Tommy John" surgeries is not good, so Capuano is facing long odds to be a productive pitcher in the majors again.
"If it's a result of hard work, he will be (the first to beat those odds)," Ash said. "All of our reports have been good thus far."
There was good reason for the delay in completing the Cameron-Cabrera trade. New York general manager Brian Cashman was busy finishing the details of a five-year, $82.5 million deal for Burnett.
Combined with the $161 million the Yankees lavished on Brewers free-agent pitcher CC Sabathia earlier in the week, New York has committed $243.5 million to two pitchers. As a point of comparison, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio paid $223 million for the entire franchise in 2005.
Burnett was a Class A free agent but the Brewers still get the Yankees' first-round draft pick next June, not Toronto, which lost Burnett. Compensation is aligned according to player rankings and Sabathia was the top-ranked Class A free agent pitcher on the market.
The Brewers and Yankees were expected to resume the Cameron-Cabrera talks in the near future.
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