The Brewers are signing catcher/corner outfielder Brett Sullivan to a major league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). Sullivan, who has yet to appear in the major leagues, became a minor league free agent earlier this month after seven seasons in the Rays’ farm system. The Brewers’ 40-man roster now sits at 38.
Sullivan was selected by Tampa Bay in the 17th-round of the 2015 draft coming out of the University of the Pacific. He’s never appeared on an organizational prospects ranking at either FanGraphs or Baseball America, but the left-handed hitter has typically performed well in the minor leagues. Sullivan posted above-average offensive numbers up through Double-A, very rarely striking out. He’s not drawn many walks or hit for a ton of power, but Sullivan’s ability to put the ball in play allowed him to consistently run high batting averages before 2021.
This past season was a bit of a struggle, as Sullivan sputtered to a .223/.302/.375 line with nine home runs over 345 plate appearances with the Rays’ top affiliate in Durham. Those numbers were depressed by a career-low .244 batting average on balls in play, though. Sullivan only punched out in 15.7% of his Triple-A plate appearances. That mark, while the highest rate of his career, is around seven percentage points lower than the big league average.
Sullivan becomes the third catcher on the 40-man roster, joining starter Omar Narváez and prospect Mario Feliciano. Longtime Brewer Manny Piña departed to join the Braves a few weeks ago. It’s possible Milwaukee continues to hunt for a more experienced backup, but Sullivan has an opportunity to factor into that mix. (It stands to reason the Crew would prefer to get Feliciano everyday reps at Triple-A Nashville as opposed to having him play sporadically in the majors behind Narváez). Sullivan has all three minor league option years remaining, so the Brewers can shuttle him on and off the active roster for the extended future so long as he holds onto a 40-man spot.
nice little sleeper pick up. good numbers up through AA, cheap depth.
Either the math is wrong, or there was a failed deal. I thought the Brewers had previously inked Pedro Severino.
no, you’re right. should be four catchers.
I thought so too. Maybe he hasn’t taken or passed his physical?
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/11/brewers-to-sign-pedro-severino.html
Severino is listed on the 40 man on the official brewers website
The team didn’t officially announce the signing of Severino until this morning.
But can he catch?
Does his catching draw rave reviews?
MISSED IT BY THAT [ = ] MUCH !!
According to informed sources, The Marlins were in on Brett Sullivan right up until he signed the deal to join the Brewers.. The Marlins made a “strong” offer, but not one that matched the Brewers’ financial commitment. The Marlins weren’t the only team to be outbid.
The Minnesota Twins had also been linked to Sullivan.
Wouldn’t mind if the Brewers would try to get Bellinger away from the Dodgers now .
The last thing the brewers need is another guy who can’t hit: Bellinger
Agreed. But at least he’s off the Wil Myers kick.
Well you guys would hate what I think should happen then. Season I got no problem with 162 games but doubleheader should be 9 inning games. Rosters should be 28 players all year long . Brewers should do what they can to rid themselves of JBJ. Sign Conforto to play right. Let Taylor start in center with Cain as fourth outfielder his last year. Then Dahl/ Polanco as fifth outfielder/ pinch hitter/ DH . Actually give Westbrook chance as bench infielder. Get rid of Vogel, Gustave, and Reyes. Sign Jordan Lyles and Archie Bradley for bullpen. That would give a line up of catcher Narves, first Bellinger, second, Wong, short Adames, left Yellich, center Taylor, right Conforto, DH Tellez. Rip away on me .
Only thing I’m going to say about the number of games (162 or 148 or 1012) is its irrelevant because players rarely play even 150 anymore, so managers, owners or GM’s will selectively hold players out on occasion, as if the game is somehow more stressful now than 20, 30, or 40 years ago.
Vogelbach is redundant, but it’d be nice if they could just find 1 guy to play 1b almost every day, who can provide regular quality at bats, not just crush 1 every other Saturday. It’s funny how many guys they have who can play multiple positions, but can’t get 1 who is even serviceable at first base.
I’d love to see jbj gone, but we know it won’t happen unless Stearns gets some other GM stupid drunk, and I don’t see that happening. Stick with Cain in center and Taylor in right.
And Bellinger is a pipe dream. What happens if they do manage to sign him, and he continues to flounder? That’s another big chunk of money going to a guy who can’t hit. Isn’t the last 2 years of Yelich, and last year of jbj enough evidence to shy away from big money for low return?
Depending on the deal and how much of his salary the Padres would pickup, I’d much rather see Myers at first than Tellez.
Also a lot people don’t think Yellich can rebound. Now in my line a work I noticed two things about him. First he mustve been atleast 20 lbs lighter so hopefully he is having a normal off-season to get that muscle back and secondly I think the loss of Brauns and Mooses presence in the dugout was huge too. But he does now have Adames then if you add Bellinger in there( who he is close to) could do wonders to getting both back to close to them being MVP caliber.
I like your ideas, but I respectfully disagree with the Bellinger part. I think the Dodgers know that Bellinger still has lots of potential and is just 2 years removed from his MVP year. He hasn’t been as good obviously but the Dodgers I think believe they still have a star.
Otherwise, I agree with the Vogelbach part. I love that player but I think it’s best if the Brewers non-tender him today. He is not going to have a lot of trade value, if any.
I think they should at least put Dahl and maybe Westbrook on the 40-man. I think Dahl still has great potential offensively and he looked great in Nashville in a short time last year. They could put on Westbrook but it wouldn’t make a ton of sense now because Westbrook and maybe Dahl (i don’t think he qualifies, I could be wrong) are Rule 5 eligible currently.
I like your thoughts overall.
He’s listed as a catcher/leftfielder/shortstop on Baseball Reference. He certainly fills the multiposition checkbox the Brewers have gone after in recent years.
His days in the infield are long behind him.