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The Milwaukee Brewers signed their ace Ben Sheets to a four-year $38.5 million deal before the 2005 season started, and in the years since Sheets has spent a lot of his time earning that money on the disabled list. Last season, after spending the majority of the year in first place, Milwaukee's slide down the Central coincided with a Sheets injury.

Ben's injury history is probably the main reason that the Brewers didn't want to discuss a contract extension with Sheets this spring before the season started, and because of making that decision, Sheets has every intention to test the waters when he becomes a free agent at year's end.

"That's the direction I'm headed right now," Sheets said. "You can't invite yourself back.

"In all honesty, that would be pretty tough (not to test the market). We're getting pretty deep (into the season). It would be hard not to (test the market), especially when you start putting together a (big) year."

So the Brewers didn't want to talk extension, and Sheets plans on testing the market. Doing the words and intentions math, those two things together equal Ben Sheets in another uniform next season. Which begs the question: are the Brewers better off trading Sheets before the deadline or holding on to him and letting him go for nothing?

A month ago this would have been an easy call. Trade him. The Brewers were in fifth place in the NL Central, under .500, and didn't look like much of a threat. Since May 25th, though, the Brewers have gone 20-7 to climb back up to third even if they only gained a single game on the Cubs (from six games back to five).

So to trade Sheets now would be counterproductive to the Brewers chances of winning the division and getting to the playoffs this October. At the same time, if the Brewers can win 20 of 27 games and only manage to gain a single game in the standings during that span, why should we believe that they'll ever be able to surpass the Cubs?

Even with Sheets, I'm not sure the Brewers are strong enough to do it.

So Doug Melvin has a pretty tough call, but when you consider that the Brewers already have a very strong farm system and that they do still have a chance to win the division, I think by the time it's said and done Sheets will still be a Brewer come July 1st.
I'm just not sure Brewers fans would appreciate another Carlos Lee type move, not to mention Ned Yost is probably 100% against it seeing as how he may be fired should the Brewers miss the playoffs.