Is Jenkins Tradable in the offseason?

[Hellwig]

So is any team willing to take him off of the Brewers hands? Jenks will get paid 7 million next season and has a team option in 2008. Which I hope the Brewers have enough sense to say NO! to!

Brewers say no to drugs!

[shawkins]

Jenkins value has been steadily declining. If I remember correctly there was quite a bit of interest in him a few years back, and the Brew Crew decided he was one of the franchise players and held on to him.

Since then he's been a fairly big disappointment.

He's certainly tradable, but I highly doubt he would bring much of anything in return. The Brewers would probably have to eat some of his salary as well.

I may be thinking of the wrong guy though, but I'm 99% sure who I'm thinking of was Geoff Jenkins.

[Hellwig]

Yep that is probably the guy you are thinking of. He's probably the biggest hot-cold player I can think of in a long time. When he gets on a hot streak (which isn't often) he can carry a team but when he's not on a tear he is dreadful to watch. Batting 7th a couple games this year.

His power is sad this year. The Brewers are a small market team and of course you want to keep your homegrown (not always possible though) but if you have a lot of it like the Brewers have coming up and you are a small market team you have to be wise to who you give extensions too.

They should have realized this and passed on Jenkins and maybe we would still have Carlos, and have budget room in the future to give big contracts to Fielder, Hall, Gwynn, and Capauno as well as play a bigger role in free agency.

[TyPenn613]

Whenever I think of Geoff Jenkins, I think of the guy's ankle twisting 180 degrees on third base some years ago. I think later that same game was when Alex Sanchez ran full speed into the metal railing in left field too.

[Hellwig]

Yeah I remember that game very good. I believe it was against the Astros at Miller Park.

Jenkins has that damn swing mechanism where he raises his leg in anticipation of the pitch and quickly brings it down just before he swings. I think that causes timing problems and thus leads to slumps because to get a hit with a swing like that everything needs to be perfect.

[TyPenn613]

I don't think Jenkins really can be traded at this point. No one is going to take him unless 90% of his contract is eaten, and even then the Brewers would be lucky. On top of that, Milwaukee likely wouldn't get anything back.

[Molitov]

The Brewers held onto Jenks way too long. He got into a habit of turning it up in the second half. They should have pulled the trigger at least two seasons ago when he was on fire. They're just going to need to let him go.

[TyPenn613]

Molitov! Glad you could make it over!

[DyEaBoLiKaL]

It gets worse for Jenkins...

Milwaukee manager Ned Yost benched veteran outfielder Geoff Jenkins Friday and said he would look at prospects Gabe Gross and Corey Hart the rest of the season.

Jenkins, a 1995 first-round pick, ranks fourth on the team's all-time home-run list and has the longest active service with the Brewers. He made his seventh opening-day start this season, his eighth full season with the team.

Yost said Jenkins' status made the decision more difficult.

"That's probably why it took me so long to do it," Yost said.

"It was very hard. It wasn't a decision that I took lightly."

Jenkins, 32, is hitting .254 with 10 homers and 57 RBIs in 397 at-bats. He hit .292 with 25 homers and 86 RBIs last season.

Jenkins went 142 at-bats between homers this season, from May 20 to July 5, the longest drought of his career.

He has 184 career homers, trailing only Robin Yount, Gorman Thomas and Cecil Cooper on the team's career list.

Jenkins, who has been booed by Milwaukee fans this season, had only six hits in his last 43 at-bats this year before Friday's decision by Yost.

"He's been pressing," Yost said. "The booing at home has been affecting him. Players say it doesn't but it does."

Yost referred to Jenkins' status as being given "time off."

"He doesn't like the decision but I think he understands why I made it," Yost said. "I think he knows he's struggled this year and he also knows that he's very capable of putting up big numbers."

Yost said he would give Gross playing time in all three outfield positions and Hart would play more in right field.

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[Molitov]

Thanks, Ty. Cyngeon told me about the board. I haven't seen him yet. I think it's part of his diabolical plan to off me. ;D I'm going to smite him the first chance I get.

The contract extention Jenks signed in 04 have these terms.

His new agreement calls for a $1 million signing bonus and salaries of $7 million in 2005, $7.5 million in 2006 and $7 million in 2007. Milwaukee has a $9 million option for 2008 with a $500,000 buyout, and the deal contains escalators that could make it worth up to $38.5 million over four years.

$7 million in 07 is relatively cheap. If he's even slightly hot at any time this season or early next season, he's gotta be dealt. I'm not sure of the wording of his escalators and have no clue how they work.

It's kind of sad to see him benched. He wasn't exactly deserving of a starting spot, though. Hopefully, he can pull it together.

(Gosh, it's nice to actually be able to talk baseball rather than babysit. I was dreading scout. I hate going there.)

[cyngeon]

(I have so much real-life karma, you can smite me all week and twice on sunday. won't matter. haha!)

I agree with Mol. It's sad to see him struggle and be booed, since he's home grown and the longest tenured Brewer.

I think he's tradeable, though. We could easily either get someone else with a bad contract or eat some of Jenkins. Either scenario is probably better than him just sitting on the bench.