Brewers getting bad deal with Sheets

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers were mum Friday on the subject of who will pay for free-agent right-hander Ben Sheets’ elbow surgery.

“The only resolution we have is that we’re not going to comment on the situation,” assistant general manager Gord Ash said.

“We’re referring everything to (Sheets’ agent) Casey Close. It’s up to him to say anything about it.”

Following his practice, Close did not return a telephone call from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel seeking comment.

Sheets, a four-time All-Star with a career earned-run average of 3.72, was pitching for the Brewers when he tore the flexor tendon near his right elbow toward the end of the 2008 season. The medical opinion at the time was that the injury would heal with rest and rehabilitation.

When Sheets decided to have surgery after receiving no offers on the free-agent market that he deemed appropriate, the Brewers were contacted about picking up the tab. Because they had no idea whether Sheets aggravated the condition after becoming a free agent, the Brewers were not inclined to pay, resulting in discussions among the parties and MLB officials.

Whether the Brewers pick up all or part of the cost, the bigger issue is that they now will get no draft-pick compensation for losing a Class A free agent. Because Sheets won’t be able to pitch until late in the season, if then, no team would sign him before the June draft and forfeit a high draft pick.

If a free agent doesn’t sign before the draft, there is no compensation for his former club. The Brewers figured to get a first- or second-rounder, depending on the signing team’s record, as well as a supplemental pick after the first round.

Now, they’ll get nothing.

“We all have to work within the system,” Ash said. “Sometimes you gain by it. Sometimes you lose by it. This time, we lose by it.”

Changing the compensation system would require collective bargaining with the union. The union also has reservations about that system, but for a different reason. Many Class A and B free agents are having trouble finding jobs this winter.