The Brewers officially signed Jim Edmonds to a minor league deal that will pay the outfielder $850K if he makes the team and up to $1.65MM more in incentives. Edmonds will come to Spring Training with a chance to make the club as an extra outfielder. The Brewers have to grant Edmonds his release if he's not on the major league roster by March 25th.
He last played in 2008, when he split his time between the Cubs and the Padres. He hit .235/.343/.479 thanks to a strong finish in Chicago. He posted an .883 OPS against righties, but his sub-.500 OPS against lefties suggests the Brewers are better off sitting Edmonds against southpaws. Though he was one of the best outfielders of his generation, he played poorly over the course 840 innings in 2008.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that the Brewers were close to a deal with Edmonds and added details. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweeted when the move became official.
The Brew Crew must love (UZR) I kid I kid, I joke…
no risk in this deal. Not a lot of reward..but some considering he hit 20 HRs the last time he played.
ahhhh Jimmy! C’mon
I’ll figure he’ll go to a team that needs improvement in CF defense. Gomez is very good out there.
In other news, the Brewers have renamed themselves the 2006 Cardinals.
Yeah no kiddin…
Nice signing- wish the Cubs would have just re-upped Edmonds last year instead of going the Bradley route… Gunna be a fun summer with the Cards, Brewers, Cubs and even Reds looking as if they’ve improved from last year…
Wow. Melvin is loading up on lefthanded hitting outfielders – there’s no way you can possibly dislike this signing for any team. Assuming he can still play the field even half as effectively as he has in the past, you get yourself a plus defender, a veteran leader, and a lefthanded option off of the bench… in this case, a possible replacement for Gomez if he tanks it at the plate… all with almost zero risk. Certainly a bigger splash than the signing of Chris Duffy last year.
Edmonds was horrific with the glove when he last played (with us in 2008) and merely about middle of the pack for starting CF from 2005-2007. There are questions about his personality, and outside his short time with the Cubs he hasnt been an overly special hitter since 2005.
It isnt a horrible move because its a minor league contract. But he is 40, was out of the game last season, and has been only borderline productive the last 3 seasons he played overall.
Nice signing- wish the Cubs would have just re-uped Jimmy last year instead of going the Bradley route… gunna be a fun summer as IMO the Cubs, Cards, Brewers and even Reds all have legit chances at winning the division…
My bad- didn’t realize the first one posted…
Its funny that u put the Cubs in the same catagorey as the Brewers and Cards after last year.
I think this signing is great for both parties. If he doesn’t play well, he won’t make the ball club, if he does, then he will be worth the little bit they paid. As far as Edmonds is concerned, he has a shot to play, possibly quite a bit if he still has it. Time will tell. Good luck Jimmy Ballgame!
We need to sign another reliever
Would have liked to see him back in a Cardinal uniform but another backup outfielder can be found.
Indeed, he doesn’t quite fit the Cards needs exactly. While they do need a LH bat with pop off the bench, their outfield depth is really limited to Center. Seeing as how Jimmy and Rasmus are both LH hitters with pop, it’s not quite the fit the birds are looking for. Maybe a RH speedy centerfielder (no pop necessary, but fielding a plus) and a Felipe Lopez like player (Felipe should be too expensive unless his price plummets).
Or the Cards could just stand pat until a good ways into ST (what I think they’ll do unless something falls in their lap). It’s probably best to see what you’ve got and then make last minute changes based on that…
ha i called it when I said he would get a minor league deal from a team.
Having to watch Jimmy Ballgame in a Cubs AND Brewers jersey?? That just blows my mind.
Its like when you are dating a girl and you break up.. You split and say you wish her the best and hope she’s happy. Then you see her at the mall with another guy, lookin all happy.. and then you kinda hope she dies of aids.
Good luck Jimmy!! (til i see you in that atrocious brewer jersey)
It’s silly to put Edmonds stats on a plateau with Pujols, Chipper, and Manny with an asterick stating “had he not had bad luck, this is where he’d line up”. There are 100’s of guys who would have all-star stats if not for “bad-luck”. There are 1000’s of minor leaguers who never get to the big show because of “bad luck”. Everyone has bad luck, slumps, get’s robbed of a hit here and there… that’s baseball. What put’s the players in that “best in baseball” category is the overall contribution that they make, through good days or bad. Don’t get me wrong, Jim is a great ballplayer and could still have something in the tank that could help out the Brew crew…but stretching the #’s to put him up there with those guys??? C’mon!
Good depth move by the Brew Crew. I like their defense and lineup. I think if any rotation in the divison can beat the cardinals, its Gallardo/Wolf/Davis/Suppan and Parra(if he lives up to his K potential)
the rotation I’m hoping for is Wolf, Gallardo, Davis, Bush, Parra. Suckpan can rot in the bullpen
This was a good low risk move by Melvin. If Edmonds breaks camp with the team he gets $850K plus possibly $2M more or so in performance-based incentives. If he’s not on the 25 man roster by March 24 or so then he’s cut loose & can join another team. I have this intuitive feeling that old man Edmonds is still a better bench option than Chris Duffy & Brad Nelson.