The Brewers are in “advanced” talks with free-agent outfielder Avisail Garcia, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal tweeted on Saturday that Milwaukee was “trying hard” to complete a contract with the 28-year-old.
Garcia spent the 2019 season with the Rays, hitting .282/.332/.464 with 20 home runs, 25 doubles and a pair of triples in 530 trips to the plate. It was the second above-average offensive season from Garcia in the past three years, as he also turned in a career-best .330/.380/.506 line with the White Sox in 2017 (albeit with the help of a sky-high .392 average on balls in play). Garcia’s hard-hit rate and exit velocity both deteriorated in 2019 but were still better than league average. And while most wouldn’t expect it based on his 6’4″, 250-pound frame and middling stolen base totals, Garcia rates among the game’s best in terms of sprint speed, per Statcast.
Milwaukee’s outfield is already rather full, with Ryan Braun, Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich lined up from left to right field. But Braun has seen time at first base in recent seasons, and a more permanent move in that regard would open some at-bats for Garcia in the outfield, perhaps setting up a platoon with the left-handed-hitting Ben Gamel. The right-handed-hitting Garcia was a bit better against righties than lefties in 2019, but his career platoon splits suggest that he’s been much better against southpaws (.296/.352/.456) than against righties (.264/.312/.418).
Braun, Cain, Keston Hiura and Luis Urias give the Brewers four right-handed bats on whom to rely in 2020, and backup catcher Manny Pina has also been serviceable against lefties in his career. The Brewers, though, look like a club that could struggle to match up against left-handed starters — particularly if Cain doesn’t bounce back from a lackluster 2019 season at the plate. At the very least, Garcia would give manager Craig Counsell some extra thump against lefties, but he’s still a relatively young option who has more than held his own against right-handed pitchers over the past three seasons as well, creating the possibility that he could occupy a more regular role.
From a payroll vantage point, the Brewers have trimmed off quite a bit of money with an aggressive slate of non-tenders, the trade of Chase Anderson and the departure of free agents Yasmani Grandal and Mike Moustakas. After opening the 2019 season with a club-record $122.5MM payroll, they currently have about $67MM committed to 10 players (plus pending arbitration raises for Omar Narvaez, Josh Hader and Brent Suter as well as pre-arbitration salaries to round out the roster). Even if owner Mark Attanasio prefers not return to last season’s level of spending, there should still be room for Garcia and others to be added to the mix for the 2020 season.
Im quite concerned with having Braun/Huira over there defensively if this is the route they go.
With that being said, I like Garcia, would be a good bat to add to the lineup
I still think they will add a 1B. I know Belt has been mentioned (SF would have to eat some of that contract). I also could see Thames or Smoak being options since the brewers need another lefty bat or two.
Braun will miss his usual 40ish games and Cain will need days off too. That mixed with Braun playing some at 1B should open up a decent amount of at bats in the OF for Garcia
I agree. How do you feel about Frazier at 3rd? Dont think the Brewers are going to get Donaldson. With Rendon gone, Braves/Nats will overpay for him.
I wouldn’t mind Frazier especially because he can be had pretty cheap. If bird is willing to sign a 1yr prove it type deal that would make all the sense in the world for Milwaukee too. If he’s not a guy like Moreland might not be a mad option as well
I hear Greg Bird is available.
I think hes a steal for a team like the Brewers. If hes healthy, his swing would play well in Miller Park.
I would love them to take a chance on Greg Bird. He still has minor league options available too.
Yea he should play well in Miller park
Thought he played very well for the Rays! They will miss his bat!
Yes, he did do well.
Good fit for both parties.
How long are there gonna be articles coming out saying that the brewers are “ingaged” or “having advanced talks” with Garcia, how cheap is the brew crew trying to go?
Garcia certainly played above his 3.5M salary last year, but I’d have doubts he’d out-perform a bigger one. Slightly above average offensively; slightly below average defensively; nothing on the bases. Even without the super-ball, he’ be moving into a more HR-friendly environment, so that would help.
He’ll help, but it depends on the Benjamin’s……
They say he’s actually an above average baserunner. There are things besides stolen bases you know, getting home from second on a single etc.
Good add for the Crew if it happens. Re-sign Thames and have him platoon with Braun at 1B. Garcia fits nice in the 5-6 spot in the order, should be plenty of opportunities for him to drive in runs with Yeli/Hiura in front of him. This would leave 3B as the most glaring position. Frazier makes sense and would be a great clubhouse add. He’d be a popular player in Milwaukee just for his personality and would provide more depth at 1B.
Trade for Wil Meyers, Padres will eat alot of the Salary. Done. 1B Solved
If you mean by “solved,” “having a warm body who can stand at 1B”, then yeah, sure.
What is it with fans thinking Myers is an attractive addition to a ball club?
He flat out sucks, so no thanks.
I think he would hit great at Miller park. Huge salary though. No thanks.
I hear Travis Shaw is available.
I think they should move Braun to 1B. He came up as a 3B so he shouldn’t have a problem fielding a groundball, even though he produced one of the worst defensive seasons in MLB history as a 3B almost a decade ago. I think the problem was more of his throwing accuracy and overall range, if I’m not mistaken- something that shouldn’t plague him as a 1B. Garcia would be a nice pickup at a reasonable salary for the small market Brewers. The most intriguing point made is this article was Garcia’s sprint speed. He doesnt strike me as “fast” when you look at him or watch him play. Still think Corey Dickerson would have been a better option for them and I’m surprised he hasn’t garnered more attention on the free agent market. Got an up close look at him as a Phillie last year and he is a super underrated player. Great bat and average to above average outfielder, without looking at any data. Think the BrewCrew still need to add one more arm and a utility infielder, if not a solid regular that can play up the middle.
They tried Braun at first in ’18. I think there’s more than 1 reason we didn’t see him there in ’19. (Mainly cuz Braun himself didn’t like it, poor was uncomfortable). I personally just don’t see him playing there much, if any.
Brewers lost a ton of production from the left side:in Moustakas, Grandal and Thames, and only offset some of the with Narvaez. While Braun can move to 1B, they still badly need some pop from the left side. Perhaps they can get Seager from the Mariners, re-sign Thames or get another lefty 1B bat to split time at 1B.
People freaking out over the loss of thames. There are Thames types of bats all over the place. Hes not that hard to replace.
I’m also not sure why people thing Kyle Seager is the answer either. You can get the same production out of Travis Shaw if needed. Low BA/OBP, and comes through in clutch situations very seldom. They’re essentially the same player.
This Will Myers to the Brewers has been going on for 2 seasons now. Keep him and his garbage contract
Good offensive move for the brewers in my opinion
To Steve Adams: What does the Brewers payroll look like, with the recent additions and arb-eligible players like Hader? How much room do they still have to maneuver, in your opinion, if they want to come close to last year’s spending? They still need 1B, 3B, bullpen arms and arguably one more starter.
Right now. The Brewers have $89 MM on the books. This includes the MLBTR projections for the arbitration eligible players and $600K place holders for 1B, 2 bench spots, 1 SP and 1 BP spot.
So there is still room for a higher-priced 3B and SP and still be below last year’s record payroll. Just guessing that the Brewers will be well north of $100M when they hit the field next March, just not all the way back to $125M. Gives them more mid-season trade/payroll flexibility than they had last year. Thanks.
I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes but I’d like to see the Blue Jays in on Garcia, he’s fairly young yet, decent all round player, and the Blue Jays need help in the outfield.
The Brewers starting pitching is the worst in the NL central except for the Pirates. Signing hasbeens, wannabes and cast offs may make sense financially, but without some significant moves for high level talent, the Brewers will be headed straight down hill. If I am Garcia I don’t want to go to the Brewers and have reduced at bats compared to his recent seasons.
First off you’ve said this about the brewers staff the last two years. How’d that work for you? They were exactly middle of the MLB staff wise in ERA last year as a team. Not to mention how are you assuming Garcia loses at bats? Braun will miss at least 40 games, Cain will probably get at least a day a week off and Braun will play some at 1B. I could easily see Garcia playing in 90-100 games next year plus pinch hitting appearances.
You just basically made his point for him. Garcia playing only 90-100 of 162 is losing a lot of at-bats. If they sign Garcia it’s a very average signing and he could easily regress to the player the White Sox were eager to let walk.
Precisely.
Don’t drink the kool aid
BrewCrew – Did Cincy, Cubs and Cards have better ERAs than Milwaukee? If so, Karlander is correct.
And I too do not know why Garcia is going to Milwaukee unless he’s been told he’s the starting LF with Braun moving to 1B.
You’d make a horrible low budget team GM.
No he’s right, you’re just a deluded Brewers fan who is watching his team GUT all their productive players for the sake of saving a buck. Brewers may lose 10-15 more games next season based on what they’ve lost so far this offseason. Cardinals and Cubs love what is going on up in Milwaukee these days.
Productive players sure but at what expense? Overpaying a player for below average production at a rate of $15-$18M a year. Brewers haven’t had the best of luck with players and FA signings in the past. Look at Lohse and Garza, especially their last couple of years. Brewers couldn’t give Garza away and basically paid him to stay home. That’s a killer for a small market team. What have the Cubs and Cards done to improve their team?
Right. They could be in for a rude awakening in 2020.
For as much as people have been continuously dogging the Brewers starting pitching last season it was only slightly worse than the Nationals (Brewers starters: 4.40 ERA, Nationals: 4.27). Knowing this can someone please explain to me why Stearns should be paying $86MM like Washington will be in 2020 for a rotation which ranked 12th in the league last season?
I had really thought the Rangers would be interested in Garcia since the departure of Mazara. Maybe Rangers front office have other interests. Maybe picking up C.J. Cron to replace Guzman at 1B.
It does not look like the Brewers are going to sign any splashy FA contracts. As it seems the Brewers should sign Dickerson or Garcia for the OF, Frazier for 3rd get Bird to platoon 1st w/ Braun and trade Tyrone Taylor and Payton Henry to the Pirates for Chad Kuhl and Kyle Crick. These moves save them money which they can use to pick up another SP from FA to provide the depth that they lacked last year. Julio Teheran and Taijuan Walker seem to be undervalued in the market and at least one or not both should be signed.
In other words, signing mediocrity to fill significant holes.
That’s what she said
Brewers lineup has lost a lot of their 2019 production so far this offseason. This is quite a transition year for them. Right now, I think they are worse off than last year but there’s still time to fill in some holes. Not sure what to expect from Luis Urias. I think it would be unwise to expect an offensive explosion from him. Risky moves so far, I’m not a big fan of what they have done so far. I don’t think they have replaced what they’ve lost.
I agree there’s still time and Stearns could surprise us. But with every mediocre add it makes it less likely top talent is brought in , even in terms of room. I won’t be surprised to see the Hader deal go down. They still have gaping holes at SP, 3B etc. The Braun/Hiura thing at 1B will not be sustainable.
Will both Karlander and Moneyballer post that you were wrong when the Crew wins 90+ games this year and wins the NL Central?
There are plenty of options out there that can improve the current roster, which has 3-5 potential All-Stars already in place: Yelich, Woody, Hader, Hiura and you heard it hear first…Adrian Houser.
No no no. In order to compete they should’ve signed Rendon, Strasburg, and Bumgarner by now because everyone fan knows you need splashy name players like a Harper or a Machado to get to the playoffs.
Back to reality. People forget this team still has some talent. The 5 you mentioned above makes a solid core plus a bounce back season from Cain? Also calling it now. Burnes will be back in the rotation by May and will be the #2 behind Woodruff. Last year was an anomaly and his problem was between his ears. Kid has too much talent to fail.
LOL, good to see Stearns writing in.
I’m starting to believe, more and more, that you’re a Cubs troll with all the nonsense you post.
It’s not nonsense at all. Their off season is, but there’s still plenty of time. I am a Brewers fan for over 30 years. Attend 20 games every year with friends and family. I think they are presently going backwards to the past two seasons and everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Then you need to pay attention a little more during those 20 games you attend a year if you think they’ve been going backwards the last two seasons.
Who said Hiura would be playing 1B? Also I’m not sure what production you are referring to but Narvaez’s offensive production is only a slight downgrade from Grandal and Garcia has put up similar numbers to Moose over the past 3 seasons and will now be moving to a hitters park. If they resign Thames, have a full season of Hiura at 2B opposed to Shaw’s horrid production their offense should be quite comparable to last years. This doesn’t include the offensive upgrade at SS which was a complete black hole last season.
Btw they also still have about $30MM to fill their “gaping holes” at SP, 3B and 1B. So I’m not worried about the current state of the roster until I see the finished product come opening day.
You are right. As dismal as some of the adds are, if you add even one more top SP to their rotation, it’s a wholly different ballgame IMO.
Why the heck are comments turned off on the Jay Bruce article? Talk about weird.
I don’t know, it’s not like he did something unlawful or it included a player that did so, such as Felipe Vazquez, Josh Lueke, Matt Bush, Roberto Osuna, Addison Russell, Odubel Herrera or Jose Torres. Of course that’s just a short list, but what those guys did was not good at all.
Right, so why the comment board blackout?
My guess would be that there is basically nothing to comment about.
Why not leave it up to the readers to decide? Slow news time, I’d think readers would come up with something to talk about.
It’s probably because of one of his old agents, Matt Sosnick and his domestic violence charge.
Got it. That’s it. THANK YOU.
FIRE BILLY INEPT-PLER PLEASE….
Boof Bonser
His offense numbers seems like a good fit for Miller Park, but haven’t seen this guy play. Anyone know how’s his defense?