Milwaukee Gets Marcum

The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired righthanded starter Shaun Marcum from the Toronto Blue Jays in return for minor league second base prospect Brett Lawrie.

Marcum is a tough competitor who relies on guile, control, and changing speeds to keep batters off-balance — he’s also a bit of a bad-ass, unafraid of throwing inside (i.e., “moving the batter’s feet”). He sat out all of 2009 after Tommy John surgery but was in perfect health in 2010. The 29-year-old steps into the #2 spot in Milwaukee’s rotation.

Toronto gets the 20-year-old, Canadian-born Lawrie, who some scouts compare to Jeff Kent for his offensive prowess. The Brewers were willing to give him up because of some “personality issues”; per various rumors, the Brewers were disappointed with the youngster’s work ethic and upset that he declined an opportunity to play in the Arizona Fall League. Well, it’s not uncommon to be immature at age 20, is it? Certainly, there is time for Lawrie to turn around.

Interestingly, Lawrie was suggested in a post by Matt Himelfarb a few weeks back, as a possible player to acquire in return for Mike Pelfrey:

… sending Pelfrey to the Brewers for Brett Lawrie would be awfully nice, although I doubt Milwaukee would be interested

As it turns out, if the Brewers were willing to give up Lawrie for Marcum, I imagine a trade for Pelfrey would not have been out of the question. However, I’m not sure the Mets would have made such a deal. Still, interesting call by Mr. Himelfarb.