Having already been relegated to a part-time role last season, Kevin Mench found out this week that the Brewers aren't interested in keeping him around at all.So much for holiday cheer.
Mench was designated for assignment Monday, his 40-man roster spot given to newly acquired reliever Salomon Torres. And Milwaukee won't tender a 2008 contract to Mench before tonight's deadline, effectively signaling his release. So, Delaware's favorite son will be shopping for more than presents over the next two weeks. He'll be looking for a job.
There's nothing for him in Philly.
Even though the Phillies are looking for an outfielder in anticipation of Aaron Rowand's imminent departure (they're interested in Pittsburgh's lefty-hitting Nate McLouth), a team source said yesterday that they have "no interest" in Mench, who would love to play at the Bank. He's a huge Eagles fan (note the tattoo on his arm), and his mom has described him as "just a blue-collar Philly kid."
But Mench's stock has dropped faster than Enron since the 2005 season. After back-to-back seasons with 26 and 25 homers for the Rangers, Mench got traded to Milwaukee in the six-player Carlos Lee deal midway through 2006. As his salary has risen (he made $3.4 million through arbitration last season), his production has fallen. Last season, he hit only eight home runs and got fewer at-bats (288) than he's had since 2003. After July 27, he batted .216 with two homers and nine RBIs, and he started only five games in September. And since he can't make less than $3.4 million in his next round of arbitration, the Brewers couldn't find any takers when they tried to trade him last week at the winter meetings in Nashville.
The guess here is Mench signs with the offense-starved Giants, who will need every bat they can get to help replace Barry Bonds. Even if they're able to trade a pitcher (Tim Linecum, Matt Cain or Noah Lowry) for a premier offensive player, they'll likely stock up on players like Mench to fill out their lineup.
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If you have $985,000 burning a hole in your wallet, you can buy Rowand's house in Garnet Valley, Pa., which is officially on the market. According to the real-estate listing, the 6,750-square-foot colonial has six bedrooms, four bathrooms and a conservatory. Sounds just like my house.
3 comments:
Not a very pricy house for a multi-millionaire! Kind of surprising! Didn't Thome's house in Bucks Co go for over $4M?
Scott,
Is the inactivity killing you? This team is worse than last years...what are we gonna do to fix it?
No surprise that Rowand's Philly digs weren't as posh as Thome's. Rowand had made less than $3 million in salary when he arrived here. Thome had made more than $40 million with the Indians before he even signed his fat Phils' deal, so he was a much richer man when he went house shopping here than Roward was. My guess is that the Rowand house in San Francisco will be much more extravagant.
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