Bobby Valentine Says That He, Brewers Have Not Talked Contract

It’s been a busy Wednesday morning in the Bobby Valentine rumor department. First, there was word that Valentine and the Brewers had an agreement in place that would bring him on as the team’s new manager. Then, there were statements that no such agreement was in place. Now Tom Haudricourt is attempting to get to the bottom of this by talking to Valentine himself, and Valentine has the following to say:

I just made contact with Bobby Valentine to see if he would confirm the Wisconsin Radio Network report that he has an agreement in place with the Brewers and the contract details are to be worked out.

This was his response:

“There has been no conversation about a contract with your team. Not one word has been mentioned to me and I have not mentioned to anyone there about a contract.”

Valentine confirmed that he and the Brewers had a meeting, indicating that he is one of the team’s four finalists for the managerial vacancy, along with Bob Melvin, Joey Cora, and probably Ron Roenicke. And it’s possible that the Brewers have decided that they prefer Valentine, and are trying to work out a contract that will pay him what he wants. Valentine may simply be playing it coy.

However, at the very least, this is a strong indication that nothing is imminent. The Brewers may not prefer Valentine of the four. And even if they do like him the most, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be willing to pay as much money as he’s rumored to want.