2:58PM: Robertson’s deal is not fully guaranteed, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link).
12:57PM: The Brewers have agreed to a one-year deal with infielder Daniel Robertson, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (via Twitter). The contract, a Major League pact, will be official once Robertson passes a physical. Robertson will earn $900K in guaranteed money, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link), with another $400K available in incentives. He’s represented by the MVP Sports Group.
After being designated for assignment by the Rays last August, Robertson was acquired by the Giants and ended up appearing in 13 games for San Francisco, posting a .750 OPS over 24 plate appearances. Robertson was non-tendered in December, as the Giants chose to let him go rather than pay a projected arbitration salary of roughly $1.2MM.
Selected 34th overall by the A’s in the 2012 draft, Robertson went to Tampa Bay as part of the January 2015 trade that sent Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar to Oakland. Robertson was garnering some attention on top-100 prospect lists at the time, and it seemed like he would be yet another shrewd Rays pickup after he broke out with a .262/.382/.415 slash line over 340 plate appearances in 2018.
That season was cut short by thumb surgery, however, and Robertson couldn’t get on track in 2019, hitting only .213/.312/.295 over 327 PA. With injuries also playing a factor in these struggles, it seemed like Tampa Bay moved on to other infield options, as Robertson didn’t receive any playing time for the Rays last season before his DFA.
While Robertson’s right-handed bat isn’t necessarily the best platoon fit within Milwaukee’s current infield mix (Keston Hiura, Orlando Arcia, and Luis Urias all swing from the right side), his ability to play second base, third base, and shortstop make him an ideal candidate for a backup infielder role. The Brewers are always prioritizing utility types, and Robertson has also played a handful of games at other positions in the big leagues, appearing as a first baseman and both corner outfield slots.
Can I get a woop dee doo.
The stove is heating up!
woop dee doo
You know, if you don’t have anything, it’s not a requirement that you post on every article.
^^^
That comment really could have been the article
Big if true
Would you settle for a yawn?
At least he has a lifetime 0.00 ERA in 2 games. Might help the bullpen a bit.
Man, this is like a strike year where all of the teams besides the White Sox, Padres, and Dodgers sign scrubs off the street. C’mon, no business in this day and age recognizes a profit and you write off your loss. This is going to be brutal baseball.
Yeah, but if you’re a fan of one of those teams, this coming season ought to be a lot of fun. Go White Sox!
Insert eyeroll.
Everyone will sign and play, and you will have mostly the same guys from last year and the year prior in the league. It won’t be “brutal”.
People are so impatient.
Puig disagrees.
Seems like it may be a repeat of last year. Sign a gaggle of corner infielders and hope you hit on 2. Hope it works better this time.
NL Central is so hot right now
Cool story Hansel
Glad this guy will get a chance to play. Giants didn’t need another right handed infielder so he was expendable. He played a few games in the OF and was adequate there. I think he easily out earns his contract this year.
Giants did need another RH bat that can platoon with Crawford though. Some might say Dubon but he didn’t look that good at SS.
He made one of the best OF assists of the season late in the year for SF. Honestly, you could see he hustled, could play anywhere, and had decent numbers. He could’ve been a decent backup to Crawford, a left handed SS.
Really liked Robertson as a Giant, even if his time was short. He showed he had potential to be a versatile player with decent speed and pop. I think he will be a good asset for MIL.
Agreed. Sad to see him go but it makes sense. He’s a good player. Hopefully he gets a shot in Milwaukee.
he wasn’t a phillies player
Thought it was David Robertson for a sec
Glad I’m not the only one who did.
Milwaukee Brewers baseball “quantity over quality” fever……..Catch it!!
Can we all agree to stop saying things like “This team values utility type players” EVERY TEAM DOES now, no need to specifically mention it. That’s like saying “he had a great WHIP last year, which this team looks for”
Maybe, but some teams want that versatility more than others. The Cubs really seemed to prize it a few years ago. Some other teams have guys penciled in to just one spot, more or less, with a utility IF and 4th OF.
David Stearns has quickly went from emerging as a top GM to prototypical small market pushover
Well when you’ve traded away most of your good bargaining chips and you don’t have money to shell out on big free agents what are you left with?
This could be a nice under the radar pickup for the Brewers. He’s extremely versatile and he also went to the same guy that helped Justin Turner with his swing. I thought the Giants should have kept him.
Struggled pretty hard after that thumb surgery, but that’s not uncommon. It takes a while to adjust when your grip is affected. Was putting up a 122 OPS+ and 3.1 WAR in 2018 before the injury so if he’s through that and has his grip and swing figured out it really could be a nice under the radar signing. He may never put up numbers like that again, but definitely could become a solid utility man.
They have done alot of those. Most stay under the radar until the Brewers figure that out.
“And here’s to you, Daniel Robertson…”
This single deal for 2021 will at least match the production of Holt, Smoak, and Sogard’s 2020 combined. Unfortunately that would put Robertson’s season line around .165/.255/.253 with 6 HRs, 0 SBs, 26 RBIs and 25 Runs.
Not a bad “get” for the price. Watched a lot of him in his Rays days; not great defensively anywhere (3B is likely best) but not horrible just about anywhere in a pinch. D-Rob just never showed the bat to be a regular. If I remember correctly, really heavily civically involved kind of guy (with his wife).
There’s similar quality out there (even in the minors), but as I said, a good get for the price. Probably be the Red Sox starting 2B if Bill Barr is busy.
Ryon Healy, Eric Sogard, and Jed Gyorko were all brought in to play 3B last year so this fits with that mold. The Brewers need an actual 3B. Maikel Franco or Jake Lamb would better than rolling the dice on utility players
Nice cheap pick up! He looks like a nice holdover, suitable for many teams.
UGH I’m so frustrated with these type of signing I mean I get it but I would rather see them make a trade with like the Marlins for Cooper and Anderson then you have firstbase and third covered. Or go get that kid from Oakland to play third cause there isn’t a place for him there
That would be good. But the Brewers have little to trade. Hader should bring back a decent third or first baseman. But not much else.
Hader needs to go. Craig Counsell can manage a good bullpen into a great one, but he’s not going to make a serious hitter appear out of nowhere
I will entertain a Hader trade. I want a position player (3B or LH 1B), a pitcher, a good prospect and a flyer. Make me an offer.
@beerncheese I’ve been riding the Edwin Rios and a PTBNL for Hader trade since the tender deadline. That’s my most realistic one that actually favors both teams. Opens up third for Muncy and second for Lux. Only problem is DJL is still unsigned.
Thanks for the offer but that’s a pretty light return for arguably the best reliever in the game.
Teams know the Crew have to move Hader. So they will wait it out. Brewers won’t get as much as they think for Hader.
Stearns should not have traded Cooper to begin with. Tyler Webb was a waste.
What would you guys think of the Brewers going after Sheldon Neuse (A’s) as a possible solution at third. kind of a higher Casey McGhee type
If we could get Neuse at a low cost I like it. But I would like more of a sure thing. And we really need lefty bats.
I would do a Hader for Gio Urshela with Yanks throwing in a couple marginal pitchers.
Stearns is bad at his job.
As a decades long brewers fan, I’ve seen plenty of 100 loss teams assembled and that’s what’s happening here.
Are all the free agents signed? Sterns is very good at his job, they will not lose 100 games. They will not spend 130 million but he will get bats, it may be along the lines of Renato Nunez or Franco. He can only spend what MA allows him to.
They are not all signed. But those of any value for what the Brewers are looking for don’t exist.
As a Brewers fan since 1970. Player development and drafting has always been a issue with the Brewers. Stearns has made it no better. Now he is paying the price having nothing in the farm ready for MLB and nothing to move to get a first and third baseman to help this teflon offense.
Sterns has only had 4 drafts. I would say they have had good success with pitching as most of our staff has come through the pipeline. He traded a lot of talent to get an MVP player in Yelich. The farm has a lot of very young guys that are 1-3 years away that will fill in when Cain and Garcia are gone. We have not had success getting 1b and 3b through the draft though.
World Series here we come! Lol
2019-20 Winter season deja vu.
What do recent Brewer signings Robertson, Sogard, Peterson, Petersen, Gyorko, Healy, Smoak, Holt, Morrison, all have in common? What do recent ex-Brewers Thames, Aguilar, H.Perez, Grisham, Dubon, Jeffress to name a few over the past couple of years all have in common?
Notice a trend? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Counsell, Stearns, etc preferences for “ballplayers!” It’s embarrassing as a Brewer fan & citizen of WI!
Maybe they can move the team to Casper WY?!!