Hot- Stove

Eric Gagne has a chance to become a closer again. Gagne and the Brewers finalized a $10 million, one-year contract on Monday, giving the Brewers a potential replacement for All-Star reliever Francisco Cordero.

The 2003 NL Cy Young Award winner, Gagne finished last season with the World Series champion Boston Red Sox. He was acquired from Texas at the trade deadline in a deal that grabbed headlines, but struggled in a setup role with the Red Sox and was rarely used in tight situations down the stretch. Gagne was a disappointment in Boston, which traded for him in July. He was 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA in 20 games for the Red Sox, finishing 4-2 with 16 saves and a 3.81 ERA overall.

With the Brewers, he can earn an additional $1 million in performance bonuses: $250,000 each for 50, 55, 60 and 65 games finished.

The 31-year-old Gagne joins a bullpen that lost Cordero, who agreed to a $46 million, four-year contract with Cincinnati after saving 44 games for Milwaukee this season. Derrick Turnbow and Gagne are the top candidates to close for the Brewers next year.

The Milwaukee Brewers reached a preliminary agreement on a $10 million, one-year contract with free-agent reliever Eric Gagne, giving the team another option at closer after losing Francisco Cordero to free agency. Gagne’s deal, which is subject to him passing a physical, will allow him to earn an additional $1 million in performance bonuses, a person familiar with the negotiations said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been finalized.

The Brewers were interested in trading for Gagne before last season’s trading deadline, but lost out to the Boston Red Sox. Gagne struggled in Boston, going 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA in 20 games after being traded from Texas, but Melvin said he still considered the right-hander a potential closer.

Gagne had 152 saves with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2002 to 2004, the most in a three-year period in major league history, and won the NL Cy Young Award in 2003. The Canadian’s streak of converting 84 consecutive save opportunities in those years is far and away the longest in major league baseball.