By DavidKaye
Last years NLCS MVP Jeff Suppan agreed to a four year deal worth $42 million with the Milwaukee Brewers today. Yesterday, former White Sox pitcher Brandon McCarthy was traded to the Texas Rangers in a five player deal.
Several teams including the Mets, Pirates and Suppan's former team the St.Louis Cardinals were in the hunt for Suppan's services , but the 12 year veteran decided to go where the money was and sign with the Brew crew. With the addition of Suppan, the Brewers now have an extremly solid starting rotation and one that will be able to compete in the tough NL Central.
Brandon McCarthy was acquired by the Rangers along with Minor Leaguer David Paisano for Minor Leaguers John Danks, Nick Masset and Jacob Rasner. In the view point of Texas general manager Jon Daniels ''this is one of the elite, young, now-ready, battle-tested pitchers in the game.''
McCarthy never seemed to find his place with the White Sox, but he will be an impactful addition to a Rangers starting rotation that is in desperate need of quality pitchers. Along with Kevin Milwood and Vicente Padilla, the Rangers have a decent starting three. Still, McCarthy has never started more than ten games in a season and he will need to demonstrate that he can hold up through an entire season.
Suppan was an extremly important signing for a young Brewers pitching staff because he brings stability, leadership and postseason experience. Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said ''We're jumping the gun a little bit, but we wanted to make an announcement before things leaked out.'' It's a certainty that Milwaukee over paid for the right hander, but they believe that they can win now and the addition of Suppan only increases their chances of making the playoffs.
Suppan was 12-2 in his career against the Brew crew and 5-0 at Miller Park. Luckily for them, Suppan will now be in charge of winning games for the Brewers and leading them to the postseason.
