Free Agency May Destroy Brewers Bullpen

The Brewers' bullpen ranked 12th in the National League with a 4.15 ERA this past season. Unfortunately, they may keep falling next year as two of their top relievers are up for free agency this year.

Francisco Cordero, the anchor to the 'pen, posted a 2.98 ERA with 44 saves, should find a lot of suitors as arguably the most attractive closer on the market. (Mariano Rivera is more decorated, sure, but he's also five years Cordero's elder.) Scott Linebrink, acquired by the Brewers midseason, had a down year by his standards but was still above-average and managed to strike out a batter per inning during his time in Milwaukee.

Brewers GM Doug Melvin will make his pitch but realizes keeping either player, especially Cordero, will be difficult. From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

"We're going to make a very aggressive offer and proposal to Cordero somewhere along the line in hopes of bringing him back," Melvin said. "We know how valuable a closer is in this game.

"When players get this close to free agency, they like to file. For us to get something done sooner is probably a long shot. They get a lot of pressure from the union to test the market, when you're a premium player."

Should Cordero in fact bail for more money elsewhere, the Brewers aren't completely stuck without any options: Derrick Turnbow, the team's primary setup man for much of the year, has closing experience albeit with a track record marked with inconsistency.