The Brewers have lost 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Jason Bourgeios off waivers to the Houston Astros. He played in 24 games for the Brewers last season and he was 7 for 37 (.189 avg, .520 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer, 3 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Bourgeios also played in 105 games in AAA for the Brewers last season and he was 134 for 424 (.316 avg, .755 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 2 homers, 41 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. The Brewers won’t miss Bourgeios unless he plays really well for the Astros.

The Brewers have eight potential free agents and the prospects don’t look good for too many of them returning. Craig Counsell, Braden Looper and David Weathers have the best chances of returning to Milwaukee for 2010. Jason Kendall, Frank Catalanotto, Felipe Lopez, Mike Cameron and Chris Capuano will all likely be moving on to new cities this winter. The Brewers really need to fill a couple of spots with starting caliber players and that is going to cost some cash. The Brewers need a new catcher with Bengie Molina, Ramon Hernandez (if he doesn’t return to the Reds), Ivan Rodriguez, Rod Barajas or Miguel Olivo as the best choices. With Mike Cameron likely leaving town the Brewers would likely want to talk to Rick Ankiel, Coco Crisp, Randy Winn and Marlon Byrd about the opening with the promise of less money but more at bats than other teams can offer. The Brewers will also be in the market for a backup outfielder with Reed Johnson, Gabe Kapler, Fernando Tatis, Brian Giles, Austin Kearns, Andruw Jones and Rocco Baldelli all making sense. The Brewers will likely scour the bargain bin for a couple of starting pitchers with likely targets being guys like: Jose Contreras, Justin Duchscherer, Jason Marquis, Brett Myers, Vicente Padilla, Jarrod Washburn, Carl Pavano, Brad Penny and Doug Davis. The Brewers need a lefty in the bullpen and they should look at signing Joe Beimel, Scott Eyre, Ron Mahay, John Grabow, Brian Shouse or Darren Oliver. The Brewers will also go bargain shopping for a right in the bullpen with their eyes likely on Danys Baez, Kiko Calero, Brendan Donnelly, Chan Ho Park and Russ Springer. The Brewers have a few holes to fill if they want to seriously contend with the Cardinals and Cubs next season.

The Brewers will likely buy out 40-year old righty reliever David Weathers for $400,000 bucks rather than pay him $3.7 million dollars to stick around in 2010. He pitched in 25 games (0 starts) for the Brewers after coming over from the Reds and he was 1-3 with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. In five years with the Brewers, Weathers has pitched in 237 games (0 starts) in which he is 18-7 with 7 saves, a 3.53 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. The Brewers might be willing to sign Weathers at a smaller deal because they do need help in middle relief.

UPDATE: The Brewers have sent cash to the Reds to complete the David Weathers trade.

UPDATE II: The Brewers have declined the 2010 option on David Weathers making him a free agent.

The Brewers need a lot of pitching for 2010 but are they willing to pick up a mutual option for next season valued at $6.5 million bucks on 34-year old righty starting pitcher Braden Looper? Looper pitched hurt almost all of the 2009 season but he gutted out 34 starts in which he was 14-7 with a 5.22 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. The free agent market appears thin so I’m thinking that the Brewers might just pick up the option. Looper has only been a starting pitcher for three seasons and he has started 97 games in those years in which he is 38-33 with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Looper is not a great starting pitcher by any means but he’s probably a tad better than average so the Brewers could do worse.

UPDATE: The Brewers have declined Braden Looper’s option for the 2010 season instead buying him out for $1 million bucks. The Brewers will likely still talk to him about possibly returning at a lower salary but there will be competition for him.

The Milwaukee Brewers have re-signed 42-year old closer Trevor Hoffman to a 1-year, $8 million dollar contract with a mutual option for the 2011 season. Hoffman deserved this contract as he was outstanding for the Brewers this season. He pitched in 55 games out of the pen for the Brewers this season and he was 3-2 with 37 saves, a 1.83 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He only allowed 35 hits in 54 innings for the Brewers this season while whiffing 48 batters showing he still has enough stuff to handle the closer’s job. Hoffman has now pitched in 984 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 59-68 with 591 saves, a 2.73 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He has only allowed 797 hits in 1,042 innings in his major league career while whiffing 1,103 batters which really shows how great of a career he has had. Trevor Hoffman is the current all-time leader in saves with 591 but he will have to keep pitching for a while to stay ahead of Mariano Rivera who has 526. This was a good move for the Brewers as Hoffman is still a great closer.