TODAY: Lawrie’s deal with the Brewers is now official, the team announced.
FEBRUARY 9: Infielder Brett Lawrie, out of baseball since the conclusion of the 2016 season, announced on Instagram today that he has signed with Milwaukee. Per Robert Murray of the Athletic, the deal is a minors pact with a club option for 2020, and may reach up to $7MM in total value. If he cracks the MLB roster at any point during the 2019 season, he’ll earn $1MM. The deal also includes performance bonuses in 2019, with “escalators” baked in to the 2020 option.
The 29-year-old Lawrie made his early-career mark with the Blue Jays, where his abrasive, hard-nosed style of play split critics and admirers evenly apart. After four injury-marred seasons in Toronto, wherein the Canadian-born Lawrie settled in as a league-average bat with an on-again, off-again glove, the then-24-year-old was the centerpiece of the ridiculously lopsided trade that sent eventual AL MVP Josh Donaldson to the Jays.
Though he made it through a mostly-full season for the first time, Lawrie was a disappointment in Oakland. His famously aggressive style in the box teetered too far to the negative extreme, at times spilling over to the basepaths, and even on the field, where his verbal outbursts and come-get-me persona overshadowed a lethargic statistical output. After a 0.9 fWAR season, suppressed largely by an awful defensive performance, Lawrie was shipped early in the offseason to the South side of Chicago.
With the White Sox, Lawrie’s strikeout rate ballooned to career-high 28.4%, and he again struggled to stay on the field. Still, his offensive performance maintained its even flow, as he fell around five percent below league-average for the third consecutive season.
Forecasting a player after such a long absence is a difficult task, but the offensive bar in the Brewers infield has been set shockingly low. The club is set to enter the season with a platoon of Cory Spangenberg and Hernan Perez at second, neither of whom can match Lawrie’s league-average (.261/.315/.419, 100 wRC+) track record. If the rust is surface-layer, Lawrie should find his way back to the major-league roster in short order.
Mets and brewers over under 15 infielders this season.
Brewers have no starting caliber second baseman, who knows what Lowrie is at this stage.
Might as well let Hiura handle the job full time. Certainly it seems he’d be less of a headache if anything.
He’s still never been above AA. They are not gonna throw him out there to start the season.
He could hold it for 15 days to delay Huira’s service clock
Oh yeah corey spangenberg is an elite 2nd baseman.
Their only elite infielder is Arcia.
Why won’t the Brewers sign Harrison?? He was a good fielder and a good bat for Pittsburg in the past.
Probably because he is not available.
I think Spangenberg has potential given a chance,saw him a lot with SD,he was always shuttled in and out and moved around,this guy has a good approach and swing at the plate
That’s Lawrie
Way over especially if you include 40 man both clubs have a ton of depth in the infield.
Yeah and if you include the entire organization then it’s even more wayer over!
20 minimum for the Brewers
I am glad for Lawrie.
Wonder how good he would have been if we never would have traded him
I wondered how long before it was mentioned that Brett was a Milwaukee first round pick in 2008, that he was returning to the organization, etc.
Who’s we? Oakland?
Who knows. It seems once Billy Beane is convinced someone will become more expensive, they’re good as gone.
Surprised Beane didn’t do the same Khris Davis who’s now making $16MM.
Complete bust of a prospect
Kyle Skipworth
How do you figure? His career hasn’t gone according to plan, but if you want to use WAR for instance, he has a career 15.1 number and hasn’t played since he was 26. That’s not going to put him in the HoF, but that’s pretty nice for a 16th overall pick with potential to add on to it. Even now in terms of that metric for 1st rounders in his draft year he’s only behind Buster Posey (who has a huge lead over the next two guys), Gerrit Cole (who re-entered the draft) and Eric Hosmer; only 2.3 WAR separates Cole and Lawrie still. Regardless of what Lawrie is now and if he ever takes the field again he’s not so much of a bust as he is that student where you go, “Come on, kid, you can do more and you we all know it.”
Chris Russo has some thoughts to share.
One day contract so he can go into the Hall wearing a Brewers cap.
hahaha
Dude hasn’t played forever, but Gordon Beckham has?
Incentives or not…$7 mil?? Wow. What do they know that no one else does?
Maybe he told them he’s not a jerkwad anymore?
Bet he quietly went to a psychiatrist/sports psychologist and convinced Brewer’s he was ready to go.. If you get a year like he had even in 2015.. $7M is a steal..let alone for 2 seasons.
If he somehow taps into his potential, 7 mil will be a bargain.
These incentive-laden contracts are what owners wanted in the early 1990s… “pay per play.” The owners got what they wanted. So for example, Lawrie’s contact may have a $500k incentive if he reaches 150 at-bats for the season. He will finish with 149.
I imagine the structure is this deal is going to be interesting if it’s for 7MM
7 mil… I was a huge Lawrie fan but out of baseball for two years and he was terrible for the last few years…. sure glad we traded high on him and landed josh Donaldson
“We”…
Drives me crazy when people say “we” but aren’t involved in the organization – teams, coaching staff, or front office
I’ve always said this! Only fans who can claim “we” are Packers fans who bought in when ownership sold shares several years ago.
You have to get over it. Most casual sports fans say “we”. I don’t say it because I know I won’t be getting a ring when the teams I root for win a championship.
Whats worse, the people that say “we” or the people that complain about when people say “we”?
I’d say the latter.
We agree.
The same thing could be said about your post…
You obviously are one of the “we” & “us” people. . .
+throwin
and the same about yours. rabbit holes are fun aint it?
+johnny
not really. although i dont really care about someone saying “we” i normally say stuff like “If i were X team I would do Y”.
also, why do you space out your ellipses?
Any “team” in sports includes the fans. WE are as much a part of the organization as the guys in the dugout. The crowd can help the team with their enthusiasm, or hurt them with their jeers. Or in the Marlins case, their absence.
Yeah .. the “we” and “us” stuff always makes me roll my eyes.
Yes “we”. Without the fans, there is no team. There’s nobody to buy tickets, beer, hotdogs or popcorn. There’s nobody to see the advertising throughout the stadium. There’s nobody to sit at home watching the games on tv. There’s nobody to watch the commercials during the games on tv. “We” are the only reason there are teams. So therefore “we” are part of the team. Without us it’s just a bunch of grown men getting together to play a game for free.
actually Jays are owned by public traded company, so many would be owners. so We
i mean, even with the fact that Lowrie never developed, he wasnt all that bad during even latter few years. he was mediocre, but probably only just below league average.
Very hopeful he’s found the right treatment for his psychological struggles.
The Crew are helping Brett not just for the needs of a 28 YO at second base, but helping other teams see that Brett has overcome his own demons.
I’m so hopeful for his mind to back in a great place – today, and more importantly for his families future.
We’re rooting for you young man!!! #GoCrew
Come on. It’s 100% because they think he might be able to help the team. They give 0 f’s about showing other teams/fans anything about him “overcoming his demons.” Let’s be real here.
Psychological struggles? I am unaware of this. I thought Lawrie sat out due to injury.
By “psychological struggles” do you mean “extremely annoying person to work with”? The guy is a clubhouse nightmare and was injured all the time. He has a high ceiling though, he belongs in someone’s org, for sure, but what he needs is to have someone tell him to shut his mouth and play.
The Picture looks like he’s playing Slow Pitch Softball,maybe that’s where he’s been?
So where was he the last few years?
Presumably been working out with Drake LaRoche the last few years. Lots of bad teammate stories out there.
Been wanting this forever but thought it wouldn’t be this much money. I love this deal. Cmon somebody has to remember me saying this for over a year lol
Brett didnt have any demons, he actually had issues with muscles and it wasnt feeling right. He is feeling better obviously and very happy for him. I know what it’s like I suffered for years and mine turned out being chiari malformation of the brain it took them 8 years to figure it out. So please let’s give him a fair shot. No need to troll on him just let him succeed.
Brett had demons. Injuries, absolutely. There were demons and I hope he’s in a better place. He was just a young guy that hadn’t grown up when he was a Blue Jay. Now he’s married and seems to be in a better place. I hope he makes the team and has a big year.
I found a really odd interview with him where he talks about “not feeling right” but can’t specifically explain it. It makes him sound like more of an enigma –
jaysjournal.com/2018/02/22/blue-jays-sad-story-bre…
So I guess this means Allen Craig isn’t coming back?
Craig is a NRI for the Padres
Boom roasted!
Signed a minor league deal with the Padres; invite to camp
Brett certainly did not work as expected in Oakland but I always like his aggressive, showboating style lol…
The A’s made a nice trade for Lowrie. Wendelken is looking like a potentially solid bullpen piece.
I meant Lawrie haha
Beane’s under the radar trades bear more fruit than his trade fails.
There’s still one chance at a saving grace from that trade. Franklin Barreto is still only 23 years old. Granted he’s taking a little longer than expected to reach his potential but we still have a shot at somewhat saving that trade.
Surprised he would come back to the Brewers since he thought he was waaaaaaaay to good for them after they drafted him. Maybe his ego has deflated from the Harper level like it was.
If it has, maybe he can be an average to solid player.
Milwaukee is probably a good landing spot for him. So much upside to this deal for Brewers.
Always mistake him for Lowrie.
Low risk move by the Brewers, but a sign that they have a 2B problem. Unless they have something bigger up their sleeves (Moose?) they are going to start the season with a platoon, and not a very good one. Maybe they do plan to bring up either Dubon or Hiura this year after they have put in enough AAA time for another year of control.
I’m thinking the idea is basically to get serviceable production out of Perez/Spangenberg/Lawrie until Kiura clears Super 2 status.
lol Hiura*
Whenever I thought of Lawrie. I always pictured him standing in the cages taking pitches off the head and body like Happy Gilmore haha.
I wonder how long it will take for his tires to get slashed this time around…
Not long at all if he pays jesse smallett to do it.
Not mentioned in the article, but Lawrie developed with the Brewers
He had a game with the A’s where he struck out four times on twelve pitches. I don’t remember which announcer it was, but one of them said “that’s gonna be a hard record to break”, and I’ve never forgotten laughing hysterically at that.
Never had anything against Lawrie, but this will be my main memory of him.
I hope this deal works out for him.
“Rust is surface layer.” If only that could apply to us all.
Good for him, all the raw talent in the world and to just have him going missing in action the last two years has been sad for a guy who isn’t even 30 yet. 2017 might’ve been the year he all put it together with he bat considering how the ball was flying that year with multiple allegations and independent studies saying the ball was juiced that year but he took that and 2018 off to get healthy.
Wish nothing but the best for him.
The Brewers are signing a bunch of former number one picks and guys that have shown flashes in the past. All they need to do is hit on one or two of them to make it worth while. Very low risks but potentially a high reward. Potentially but I’m not holding my breath. Just hopeful.
Last we heard of Lawrie he was back home in Trail hawking Old Dutch ketchup chips. Very nice turn around for him.
Lawrie is from Langley which is like an 8 hour drive from Trail. Nice try though.
It’s so insane that when Hosmer signed his 8/144 deal, Lawrie had a higher WAR than him and was out of baseball. They were both drafted in the 2008 first round.
Hosmer is a poster boy. Lawrie is a thug and clubhouse cancer.
If anything it shows how extremely flawed the war stat is. It makes many players seem better than they really are
To quote Crash Davis, Lawrie’s got a “five cent head.”
Ty’s posts are my new favorite thing to read. I’m picking up some subtle digs in there lol.
His workouts must’ve been impressive and he’s over his foot issues.
The Blue Jays had to do 1 small thing for Lawrie; make him stop being a front-foot hitter. He’d lunge for balls constantly, never could stay back unless a guy threw serious heat up in the strike zone. Lawrie had many infield hits thanks to his hustle and habit of chopping the baseball.
A’s and White Sox seemed to work with him on staying back during his swing. Hopefully he makes the team and resurrects his career. He had talent.
Hope it works out for him and the Brew
Theyll use him as trade bait.
Killer infield. Jed Lowrie, Herman Perez and Corey Spangenberg..
Make that Brett. Who is not even an 8th of what Jed Lowrie is.
Even more reason to be embarrassed if your Cubs tank another division against an inferior Brewers team.
I wonder if the Brewers would be able to resign Moose, then trade Shaw, Albers, Anderson and maybe Davies for Mejia and Myers then you have an infield of
first Aguilar/Myers
second Perez/Lawrie
short Arcia/Perez
third Moose/ Span.
Then catcher Grandal.
Your AAA would have
first Nottingham
second Huira
short Dubon
third Erceg
catcher Mejia
to start being worked regularly and take over in maybe a year or two
Why would you make your team worse? Why would the Padres take that trade?
I stopped listening to phone-in sports-talk radio shows long ago, after a caller asked, …
“Why don’t the White Sox trade Craig Grebek for Derek Jeter?”
Will be tougher to make the team now that Moose has signed.
So they’d rather have Lawrie who hasn’t been in the league in two years vs Schoop who was an All Star not that long ago? I get it he was terrible in Milwaukee but heard he had oblique issues.
The money isn’t even close to comparable between Schoop and Lawrie.. a better comparison is they decided to sign Moustakas instead of Schoop
well that took a while to become official
“The club is set to enter the season with a platoon of Cory Spangenberg and Hernan Perez at second”
Isn’t Moustakas going to play second for them?
Thats the word on the street.
This article was written on Feb 9.
Why they waited almost 3 weeks to make it official. The guy lost about 2 weeks of spring training.
He’s not participating in spring training… Management is giving him six weeks to get his body ready for playing baseball everyday
Find yourself somebody that loves you as much as the Brewers love infielders
Nobody loves me, but my mother,
And she could be jivin` too.
— B.B. King
Good luck to Brett Lawrie he is a very talented player who I think could make a contribution to this team. He goes all out all the time. Could be special if that fire inside him is burning again
Waiting for him to break out