The Winter Meetings (of our discontent)…Gwynn gone?

• Adam McCalvy of MLB.com posted his piece on the Brewers and their preparation for the 2007 Winter Meetings next week in Nashville. How ironic, in that a player in Nashville will likely get dealt.

Looks like Tony Gwynn, Jr., isn’t on any radar map for the Brewers’ 2008 starting outfield, based on what McCalvy wrote:

If Melvin does not find a player he likes on the open market and chooses to stay in-house, he mentioned Gabe Gross or Joe Dillon as left-field options. The Brewers also have to make a decision on Kevin Mench, who has one year of arbitration-eligibility remaining. They hope to field some interest in Mench during the Winter Meetings.

I guess this doesn’t surprise me too much, as they didn’t call up Gwynn in September, partly due to an injury. Gwynn, who just turned 25 last month, only hit .260 in 123 AB’s for Milwaukee in ’07, and only hit .286 over 126 AB’s for Nashville. His 8 SB’s in just 69 games is, apparently, overshadowed by his .326 OBP for the Crew…and 24 K’s to only 12 BB’s.
With the Brewers eager for pitching help, trading a prospect of Gwynn’s pedigree becomes more and more likely. While the Twins’ Johan Santana is out of the Brewers’ price range, the A’s Dan Haren seems to be the “poor GM’s Santana” at the moment. With former A’s catcher/DH Jason Kendall now in the fold, Doug Melvin may have some inside information on Haren’s ability (although it would seem that Joe Blanton and his 3.95 ERA would be more affordable than Haren and his 3.07 ERA). While the Twins would likely demand Yovani Gallardo with Gwynn in any trade for Santana, the A’s might be okay with Gwynn and, say, Dave Bush.
At any rate, I, for one, would be sad to see the Brewers give up on TGJ so soon. I guess I’m basing his prospects for success on his bloodlines and the fact that he’s a whole lot faster than his daddy ever was. Ken Griffey, Jr., Barry Bonds, Cal Ripken, Jr., Pete Rose, Jr.–er, scratch that last one–became much better hitters than their fathers. But the vibes I’m getting are telling me that Doug Melvin & Co. are trying to appease the fans in this soon-to-be winter of discontent (melodrama off).