MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers on Friday became the first club to turn the
groundwork they laid in Nashville, Tenn., into a done deal.
Milwaukee acquired right-hander Salomon Torres from the Pittsburgh Pirates
for relief prospects Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts. Torres, 35, ended a
somewhat tumultuous tenure in Pittsburgh and gives Milwaukee another power
bullpen arm should Derrick Turnbow falter in a return to the closer's
role.
Torres ended 2006 and began 2007 as the Pirates closer, but lost the job
last June after suffering his fourth blown save in 16 chances. He then
missed parts of two months with inflammation of his right elbow and
finished
the year 2-4 with a 4.35 ERA in 56 games.
He has been a workhorse in the most recent years of a career that includes
stops in San Francisco, Seattle, Montreal and Pittsburgh, and a five-year
hiatus from 1997-2001, when Torres coached in the Expos system. Torres
averaged 85 appearances from 2004-2006, including a career-high 94 games
in
'06.
The bullpen has been an area of focus for Brewers general manager Doug
Melvin since the team lost right-handers Francisco Cordero and Scott
Linebrink to free agency. Before acquiring Torres, Melvin picked up
Guillermo Mota from the Mets in a trade and David Riske and Randy Choate
via
free agency.
Potential holdovers from 2007 include Turnbow, the likely closer, steady
left-hander Brian Shouse, right-hander Seth McClung, who got a vote of
confidence from manager Ned Yost during the Winter Meetings, and righty
Matt
Wise, who slumped at the end of the season but is a relatively affordable
option given the pricey market for relief pitching. Left-hander Mitch
Stetter will get a chance as well.
The Brewers also have an excess of starting pitching and could move those
who don't win a spot in the rotation to the bullpen. Barring trades, those
options include arbitration-eligibles Dave Bush, Chris Capuano and Claudio
Vargas, or youngsters Manny Parra and Carlos Villanueva.
Melvin parted with a couple of future bullpen arms for one in the present.
Salas, 26, is considered a potential future closer and split last season
between Double-A Huntsville and Triple-A Nashville, posting a combined
2.77
ERA and 17 saves in 51 games. The Brewers plucked him off waivers from the
Orioles last year.
Roberts is 23 and went 6-3 with a 3.44 ERA in 45 relief appearances for
Class A Brevard County in 2007, then pitched 15 games in Hawaii Winter
Baseball and posted a 4.82 ERA. He was the Brewers' fifth-round Draft pick
in 2005.
Torres is signed through 2008 under a two-year, $6.5 million contract that
pays $3.2 million this season and has a $3.75 club option for 2009.
He publicly feuded with the Pirates last season, alleging that former GM
Dave Littlefield "tricked" Torres into signing a below-market contract
with
a promise to rent space at one of Torres' youth baseball facilities in the
Dominican Republic. Then, just this week, new Pirates GM Neal Huntington
publicly challenged Torres to improve his conditioning over the offseason.
In the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Torres countered that he has been working
out at PNC Park three or four times a week and said he has lost eight to
10
pounds since the end of the season.
"If the Pirates are talking about last year, they're right," he said,
according to the newspaper. "I didn't do my best, and I got hurt playing
catch up. That's not true now.
"I'm going to have a great year," he added, "and I'm getting ready for
it."
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