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Brown: Astros Likelier To Explore Extension Talks With Altuve, Bregman Next Offseason

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Astros general manager Dana Brown has provided frequent updates throughout Spring Training regarding the club’s extension discussions with a number of players. After Houston got a deal done with Cristian Javier early in the spring, Brown expressed varying levels of optimism about the chances of productive talks with the likes of Kyle Tucker, Framber Valdez, Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve.

Over the past few days, however, Brown has cast doubt on any short-term agreements with Tucker or Valdez. He pointed to yesterday afternoon as a loose target date for extensions with either player (though he clarified it wasn’t an official deadline before cutting talks). No deal has materialized, and Brown similarly indicated it’s unlikely there’ll be any forthcoming contracts with Bregman or Altuve.

Speaking with Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, the first-year GM pointed to next offseason as a likelier target for deals with either player. “It’s probably going to be more like next year,” Brown said. “We made it clear that we want to keep them both around. This is part of getting through (2025), getting to (2026), some more time to replenish the system without overhauling the roster.”

While Brown didn’t walk back any comments from earlier in exhibition play, it’s a departure from some of the enthusiasm he’d expressed a few weeks ago. He’d told reporters in mid-February the club was hoping to make both Altuve and Bregman career-long Astros. The GM indicated at the time that he’d said as much to agent Scott Boras, who represents both players.

Of course, putting talks on the back-burner doesn’t rule that out for either player. Both Altuve and Bregman have already signed early-career extensions (two, in the former’s case) and remain under contract for two more years. Altuve will make $26MM in each of the next couple seasons, while Bregman is due $28.5MM annually through 2024.

Altuve is trending towards the open market in advance of his age-35 season. He’s not yet shown any signs of slowing down, as he’s coming off one of the best years of his career. He hit .300/.387/.533 with 28 home runs, a career-best 10.9% walk rate and an excellent 14.4% strikeout percentage in 604 plate appearances. Outside of the 60-game schedule, Altuve has remained one of the sport’s top offensive players.

Bregman is slated to hit free agency headed into his age-31 campaign. His bat has taken a step back from its MVP-caliber level of 2018-19, but he’s remained a well above-average hitter. Bregman is coming off a .259/.366/.454 line with 23 longballs and more walks than strikeouts (13.3% versus 11.7%) through 656 trips to the dish. Few hitters can match that control of the strike zone, and Bregman generally pairs that consistently strong offense with plus defensive marks at third base.

The Astros head into the 2023 campaign with a luxury tax payroll calculated by Roster Resource around $218MM. That’s about $15MM shy of the base threshold. Houston has once paid the CBT, going narrowly above the mark in 2020. They have a little over $100MM in estimated CBT commitments by the 2025 campaign, when new deals for Altuve and/or Bregman would ostensibly begin.

Tucker and Valdez will each be in their final season of arbitration eligibility that year barring extensions. Brown and owner Jim Crane could be faced with some difficult decisions a year or two down the line, though the club is in very strong shape for the immediate future. Of the current roster, only veterans Michael Brantley and Martín Maldonado and relievers Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek are headed towards free agency next winter.

Jesus Alou Passes Away

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Former big league outfielder Jesús Alou passed away today at age 80, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN. The Dominican Republic native played parts of 15 seasons in the majors during the 1960’s and 70’s.

Alou was a member of one of baseball history’s most famous families. The younger brother of All-Stars Felipe Alou and Matty Alou, Jesús signed with the Giants headed into 1959. After three-plus seasons in the minors, Alou reached the majors during his age-21 campaign in 1963. That was a 16-game cameo but made history when he joined his brothers in the San Francisco outfield during Jesús Alou’s rookie year. While Felipe would find himself traded to Milwaukee the following offseason, Jesús and Matty Alou spent the next few seasons as teammates in San Francisco.

Jesús Alou saw fairly significant action by his second season. He’d top 100 games every year from 1964-71. Alou played in San Francisco through 1968, hitting .279/.301/.348 in 633 games in a Giant uniform. During the 1968-69 offseason, he went to the Expos as part of the expansion draft. Alou would never play a game in Montreal, however. A couple months after selecting him, the Expos dealt Alou with right-hander Jack Billingham and lefty reliever Skip Guinn to Houston for All-Star outfielder Rusty Staub.

Alou played with the Astros until midway through the 1973 season, when Houston sold his contract to the Athletics. He was a role player for Oakland’s World Series winning clubs in 1973 and ’74. While he only got into 132 combined games in green and gold, he picked up a pair of championship rings. Alou signed with the Mets for the ’75 season and returned to Houston late in the decade in a minor role. He played professionally in Mexico before retiring after the 1980 campaign.

In 1380 career big league contests, Alou hit .280/.305/.353. Never much of a power threat, he only connected on 32 home runs but he tallied 1216 hits and topped the double-digit mark in doubles in eight consecutive seasons. While he never achieved the lofty heights his brothers reached as players, he spent a decade and a half as a major leaguer and won a pair of World Series.

Alou’s baseball career also went well beyond his playing days. He spent some time on the Houston coaching staff and eventually transitioned into scouting roles with the Expos and Red Sox. He’d worked for the Boston organization since 2002 and eventually spent more than six decades in the game. MLBTR sends our condolences to Alou’s family, loved ones, friends and colleagues throughout the sport.

Marlins, Jose Iglesias Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Marlins are in agreement on a minor league deal with shortstop José Iglesias, report Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). The MVP Sports Group client gets a non-roster invitation to big league camp. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported this afternoon the sides were in discussions.

Iglesias has played parts of 11 seasons at the big league level. He’s spent the bulk of the past decade as a regular shortstop on the strength of his glove, earning an All-Star nod during the 2015 campaign while with the Tigers. Iglesias rated highly as a defender from public metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average earlier in his career, but his numbers have turned down in recent years.

DRS has pegged him as a below-average shortstop in each of the past three seasons, with particularly ghastly marks during a 2021 campaign split between the Angels and Red Sox. Statcast hasn’t been quite so bearish but pegged him as an average to slightly below par shortstop of late. At age 33, Iglesias’ best days as a defender appear to be behind him, but he’s continued to play his way into regular work at the infield’s most demanding position.

That included 975 2/3 frames with the Rockies last season. Signed to a $5MM guarantee last offseason, Iglesias spent one year in Denver. He hit .292/.328/.380 over 467 plate appearances. Iglesias only managed three home runs despite playing his home games at the sport’s most hitter-friendly venue. He paired that with a modest 3.6% walk rate that tamped down his on-base percentage, but he continued his career-long track record of putting the ball in play and running a high batting average.

Iglesias kept his strikeouts to a very modest 12% clip and put the bat on the ball with 87.5% of his swings. Both marks were around ten percentage points better than the respective league averages. Iglesias hasn’t struck out in even 15% of his trips to the dish in any season since 2013. The high-singles approach has been a hallmark throughout his career, as he carries a .279/.319/.392 line in a little more than 4000 plate appearances.

Miami has prioritized finding hitters with plus bat-to-ball skills all offseason. The Fish signed Jean Segura to a two-year free agent deal and acquired defending AL batting champion Luis Arraez from Minnesota in the Pablo López trade. Miami agreed to a minor league deal with Yuli Gurriel just minutes before their agreement with Iglesias was reported. Miami made clear before the winter got underway they were seeking batters who could take advantage of the large gaps in their home ballpark with high-contact profiles, and that’s played out in their offseason acquisitions.

Whether it’ll be enough to invigorate an offense that has been the club’s Achilles heel remains to be seen. Gurriel and Iglesias have each come at virtually no acquisition cost, as neither will even secure an immediate roster spot. Both seem to have strong chances of cracking the big league club out of camp as veterans who were among the highest-profile players still unsigned.

If Iglesias got to the MLB level, he’d add an experienced shortstop to a roster that currently is without one. Miami traded de facto team captain Miguel Rojas to the Dodgers in January. The deal brought back shortstop prospect Jacob Amaya but he’s likely ticketed for Triple-A Jacksonville to start the season. The immediate plan is to move utility infielder Joey Wendle — who has just 647 2/3 MLB innings at shortstop over parts of seven years — to the position. Segura is expected to slide to third base, with Arraez moving back to second base in deference to first baseman Garrett Cooper.

Giants Notes: Conforto, Pederson, Guzman, Szapucki

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Michael Conforto logged six innings of right field work in this afternoon’s Spring Training contest against the Brewers. It was his first defensive time of exhibition play, as he’d previously been limited to designated hitter duties. Conforto has continued to build shoulder strength after his 2022 campaign was wiped out by surgery. Strengthening his arm has been the final hurdle in the rehab process; there were rumors Conforto could even return at the tail end of the ’22 campaign as a DH only, but he ultimately elected to wait things out until this offseason.

Despite the lost year, Conforto landed a surprising $36MM guarantee from the Giants. He’ll make $18MM this year and could test free agency next winter if he tallies at least 350 plate appearances during the upcoming season. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi discussed the signing with Joel Sherman of the New York Post, noting that while he’s “sympathetic” to those who were taken aback by the contract, the front office is “just so confident how good he’s going to be this year.”

Zaidi noted the Giants expect Conforto to be fully healthy and broadly expressed the belief he’ll return to the middle-of-the-order hitter he was for the majority of his time with the Mets. Zaidi called Conforto a candidate for a nine-figure free agent deal before his shoulder injury, although that’d have been likelier if he’d hit free agency after 2020 as opposed to following a relative down year in ’21 (.232/.344/.384 in 479 plate appearances). Regardless, it’s clear the Giants anticipate Conforto more closely resembling the player he was over the preceding four seasons, when he combined for a .265/.369/.495 line.

The signings of Conforto and Mitch Haniger overhauled San Francisco’s corner outfield. They’ll play regularly when healthy, although Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area writes that it’s still to be determined who’ll man which corner. Both players have seen more action in right field than left. Pavlovic notes that concerns about Conforto’s post-surgery arm strength could push him to left field but they’ll move the duo around in Spring Training to gauge their best alignment heading into the season.

The pair of offseason pickups should push Joc Pederson off the grass for the most part. He’s likely to be the designated hitter most days but has gotten some first base reps this spring to give the team slightly more flexibility. That’ll be put on hold during the World Baseball Classic, however. Pederson is expected to work solely in the outfield for the Israeli national team, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. He’ll continue to get first base reps once he returns to S.F. camp.

That’s not the only experiment the Giants are running with the luxury of exhibition games. The club brought in former Rangers first baseman Ronald Guzmán on a non-roster deal and is allowing him to work as a two-way player. Guzmán has pitched three times this spring, allowing three runs in as many innings. He’s coming off easily his best outing, though, striking out Eddy Alvarez, Skye Bolt and Jesse Winker in a perfect inning today.

After the game, Gumzán told reporters he signed with the Giants in large part because they were the sole club offering him an opportunity to play both ways (link via Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic). “That was a big issue, to be honest. The Giants were the only team that wanted me to pitch only,” the 28-year-old said, noting that other teams targeted him strictly as first base depth.  “I had to really think about it. I had to let them understand how I feel about things. At the end of the day, they gave me the opportunity to do both but mostly pitch. But some teams rejected me. I knew what I wanted. I wanted to do both. And I knew I had the capability to do both.”

Baggarly writes that Guzmán isn’t under consideration for an Opening Day roster spot. He’ll head to Triple-A Sacramento once the season starts and continue working out of the bullpen there. The Giants have Taylor Rogers and Scott Alexander ticketed for MLB jobs, while Sam Long offers a depth candidate already on the 40-man roster. Guzmán joins Sean Newcomb and Darien Núñez among the non-roster players in camp.

Thomas Szapucki, one of four players acquired from the Mets in last summer’s Darin Ruf deal, also could factor into the group if healthy. He tossed 13 2/3 innings of three-run ball after the trade, striking out 16 while walking just four. Kapler told reporters today that Szapucki is headed for further examination after experiencing some elbow discomfort, however (via Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News). The club figures to provide more information about his outlook and return timetable in the coming days.

Bryce Harper Progresses To Hitting Off Tee

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Phillies star Bryce Harper hit from a tee today, tweets Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He’s expected to take swings every other day in the near future as he continues rehabbing from November’s Tommy John surgery.

It marked Harper’s first swings since going under the knife. Manager Rob Thomson told reporters the club isn’t ruling out batting practice at some point during Spring Training, though he cautioned the club plans to be deliberate throughout the rehab process (link via Jayson Stark of the Athletic).

All seems to be on track to this point in Harper’s recovery. The Phillies have maintained they expect him back as a designated hitter around the All-Star Break. While it’s possible he could return towards the tail end of the season’s first half, both team and player have preached patience early in the rehab. It was a similar story with regards to a possible return to the outfield in 2023, which remains uncertain.

The surgery is on Harper’s throwing elbow and he is still well off from beginning a throwing program. That obviously forecloses any possibility of him immediately stepping back into his customary right field work once he returns. He’ll be limited to designated hitter early on in his return but neither Harper nor Thomson have ruled out possible outfield reps at the end of the season.

“It all depends on how he heals and gets into his throwing program, how all that works out” the manager said (via Mark Didtler of the Associated Press). “I don’t think it’s out of the question.” Harper added he wants “to get back out there and be in front of the fans in right field doing my stuff” but indicated there aren’t any plans “to rush back to the throwing part” (relayed by The Athletic). Once Harper is ready for DH work, Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber will take on the regular corner outfield jobs.

The two-time NL MVP is coming off an excellent .286/.364/.514 line. That’s despite playing through the elbow injury that eventually necessitated surgery and a midseason absence after fracturing his left thumb on a hit-by-pitch. He followed up with an otherworldly .349/.414/.746 showing against playoff pitching to help the Phils to a pennant.

Harrison Bader Headed For Testing On Oblique

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Yankees center fielder Harrison Bader is headed for examination on his left oblique, manager Aaron Boone informed reporters (including Marly Rivera of ESPN). The right-handed hitter felt some side soreness during his final at-bat in yesterday’s Spring Training contest.

The club won’t know whether there’s any cause for concern until the imaging results come back. Nevertheless, it adds at least a little more health uncertainty for a team that has already had its share of Spring Training injuries. The Yankees have already lost Frankie Montas for the bulk of the season due to shoulder surgery, while general manager Brian Cashman told reporters this morning that each of Carlos Rodón, Lou Trivino and Tommy Kahnle would start the year on the shelf.

Acquired from the Cardinals for Jordan Montgomery last summer, Bader didn’t make his team debut until late September. He was on the injured list at the time of the trade because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot, an injury that kept him out of action for nearly two more months. Bader struggled during his final couple weeks of regular season action but caught fire in the playoffs, when he hit five homers in just 35 plate appearances.

Bader is one of the sport’s top defensive outfielders. His offense has been less consistent but the 28-year-old has shown flashes of quality production on both sides of the ball. Injuries have kept Bader from ever putting things together over a full season, however. He’s spent time on the injured list in each of the past three 162-game schedules. He had a minimal IL stint due to a 2019 hamstring strain and lost more than a month in 2021 with a hairline fracture in his rib prior to last year’s foot issues.

If healthy, Bader is set to man center field on an everyday basis in the Bronx. He’ll be flanked by Aaron Judge, while Boone will have to determine how to divide playing time amongst Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Cabrera, Estevan Florial and Giancarlo Stanton in the opposite corner. Any injury to Bader could increase the chances for the opt-of-options Florial to stick on the MLB roster or for a non-roster veteran like Rafael Ortega or Michael Hermosillo to secure a 40-man spot.

Harrison Bader Open To Extension Talks With Yankees

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The Yankees added Harrison Bader in a surprising deadline deal last summer, sending starter Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals for their new center fielder. Bader was on the injured list due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot at the time and didn’t make his team debut until late September.

Bader only appeared in 14 regular season games with New York and struggled, not surprising for a player who’d had only six Double-A outings to get back to game speed amidst a three-month layoff. He picked things up in the postseason, connecting on five home runs in only 35 plate appearances to help the Yankees to the American League Championship Series.

While he’s still relatively new to the organization, the Bronxville native indicated he’d be happy to discuss a potential long-term pact. In the absence of an extension, he’d hit the open market for the first time in his career next winter. He’d do so with youth mostly on his side, as he’ll be headed into his age-30 season in 2024.

“Being born and raised in New York, it’s always been one of my goals to play in a Yankee uniform,” Bader told Jon Heyman of the New York Post. “Now that I crossed off playing in a Yankees uniform, of course I want to be a Yankee as long as I can be. But I realize, especially being traded last year, that it’s not really up to me. The only thing I can do is go out there and be the best version of myself for this team and every other team.”

To that end, Heyman reports that the Yankees have yet to discuss contract terms with Bader’s representatives at Vayner Sports. That’s not too surprising considering his lack of experience in pinstripes, though the Yankees clearly felt strongly enough about Bader to part with a member of their MLB rotation to bring him in last summer. He’s set for regular work in center field during the upcoming season, with Aaron Judge flanking him in one corner outfield spot. The other corner position is more in flux, with players like Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Cabrera, Giancarlo Stanton and perhaps Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the mix for reps.

When healthy, Bader has shown the makings of an above-average center fielder. He played consistently excellent defense throughout his time in St. Louis. In a little more than 3500 career innings at the position, he’s rated as 38 runs better than average by measure of Defensive Runs Saved and 45 runs above par according to Statcast. Bader draws strong marks from Statcast for all his defensive tools, with plus grades for his speed, arm strength and reactions off the bat. He secured the National League’s Gold Glove award in 2021 after posting a +15 DRS in 886 2/3 innings.

While there’s little question about the University of Florida product’s glove, his offensive productivity has been more hit-or-miss. He’s a career .245/.317/.405 hitter in 1764 plate appearances. That’s just shy of league average work. Bader seemed to take a step forward at the plate in 2020, combining for a .258/.327/.457 mark with 20 homers across 526 plate appearances between 2020-21. His power production took a step back last year, as he managed only five round-trippers and 18 extra-base hits in 86 regular season games. Last year’s 26.3% hard contact percentage was easily the worst of his career.

It’s possible playing through pain in his foot sapped his ability to drive the ball early in the season. Bader’s power returned in his brief playoff run. He also made contact on a personal-best 79.2% of his swings last year and struck out in fewer than 20% of his plate appearances for the first time in his career. If Bader can pair those improved contact skills with the above-average power he’s shown at times, he could be a quality hitter.

Matching that kind of offense with elite defense and quality baserunning would make him one of the sport’s more valuable all-around players on a rate basis, but Bader has yet to put everything together over a full season. That’s in large part due to health. He’s reached 100 games in a season three times but never topped the 140-game mark or tallied even 450 trips to the plate. In addition to last year’s plantar fasciitis, Bader has missed time due to a hairline fracture in his rib and a right hamstring strain at the big league level.

That all makes him one of the higher-variance players who’s slated to reach the open market. Brandon Nimmo, for instance, only had one season of 140+ games before last year’s excellent platform campaign allowed him to cash in on an eight-year, $162MM free agent deal with the Mets. Nimmo’s career offensive track record is far better than Bader’s, making it hard to envision any way Bader gets to those heights, though he serves as a broad example of the kind of health risk teams are willing to take for an up-the-middle defender with offensive upside. With a strong season, Bader could at least put himself alongside the likes of Starling Marte (four years, $78MM) and Andrew Benintendi (five years, $75MM) in terms of earning power.

On the other hand, another injury-riddled season or one marred by inconsistency at the dish could leave him looking for something more closely resembling a pillow contract. Players like Jackie Bradley Jr., Mitch Haniger and Michael Conforto have all signed two to three-year guarantees between $24MM and $43.5MM with opt-out opportunities over the past couple offseasons. Bradley had a similar track record of defensive excellence paired with inconsistency at the dish, while Haniger and Conforto had shown All-Star caliber upside at their best but had concerns about their injury histories.

Next year’s free agent class seems very light on position player talent beyond two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. Bader might be the top center fielder available — that’s largely dependent on whether Cody Bellinger can bounce back with the Cubs — while players like Conforto, Matt Chapman, Teoscar Hernández, Ian Happ and Rhys Hoskins look to be some of the best non-Ohtani hitters. The market will obviously be shaped in large part by how those hitters perform over the next six months. Few players could gain or lose more based on their upcoming season than Bader, making him a tricky player for the Yankees to value this spring and an interesting one to monitor if the sides don’t come to an agreement over the coming months.

Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By Former All-Star Second Baseman Jason Kipnis

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Jason Kipnis spent an hour fielding questions from MLBTR readers this morning.  Read about his career below, and click here read a transcript.

Jason Kipnis was selected by the Indians in the second round of the 2009 draft. The Arizona State product reached the big leagues within two years. Kipnis collected a walk-off single for the first hit of his MLB career in just his second game. He’d go on to post an excellent .272/.333/.507 line as a rookie.

The left-handed hitter followed up with a .257/.335/.379 showing with 14 home runs and 31 stolen bases over 152 games in his first full big league season. He eclipsed 30 steals again the next year and posted a .284/.366/.452 mark with 15 longballs. Kipnis earned his first All-Star nod after winning the AL’s Player of the Month award in June 2013. He helped the Indians reach the Wild Card game and earned an 11th-place finish in AL MVP balloting.

After that season, the Indians committed to Kipnis on a six-year, $52.5MM extension. The deal, which also contained a 2020 club option, represented the second-largest investment in franchise history at the time. It cemented Kipnis as Cleveland’s primary second baseman through the end of the decade, and he responded with another handful of productive years.

Jason Kipnis | Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

While his power numbers took a step back in 2014, Kipnis stole another 22 bags in 25 attempts. He’d return to the All-Star Game for a second time during the ’15 campaign, finishing with a .303/.372/.451 slash that included the seventh-highest batting average and on-base percentage among qualified American League batters. Kipnis would pick up down-ballot MVP support for a second time as a result.

He had another very strong season in 2016, setting a career mark with 23 home runs. Through 688 trips to the dish, he hit .275/.343/.469 and swiped 15 more bases. The Indians won 94 games to claim the AL Central title and promptly tore through the Junior Circuit playoff field. After sweeping the Red Sox, Cleveland took the American League Championship Series in five games from Toronto. Kipnis was excellent in both the Division Series and a seven-game World Series against the Cubs. Cleveland came up a run short of the title, dropping one of the best World Series in recent history in the decisive extra-inning contest.

Injuries kept him to 90 games during the following season. Kipnis returned to tally 601 plate appearances of .230/.315/.389 hitting the next year, followed by a .245/.304/.410 mark in 2019. Cleveland bought out his option the next offseason, sending him to free agency for the first time. Kipnis signed a minor league contract with the Cubs — his childhood favorite team as a Northbrook, Illinois native — and made the big league roster out of camp. He locked in a $1MM base salary in so doing and hit .237/.341/.404 in 44 of the 60 games during the shortened schedule.

Kipnis returned to free agency at year’s end. He signed a minor league pact with the Braves but didn’t get a big league look on the eventual World Series champions despite a massive .290/.390/.518 showing over 59 games for Triple-A Gwinnett. That’d prove his final season as a pro player. Kipnis didn’t sign anywhere in 2022 and officially announced his retirement last month.

Overall, Kipnis logged parts of ten seasons at the major league level. He tallied just under 5000 plate appearances in 1165 games, hitting .260/.333/.416 with 126 home runs, 260 doubles, 545 runs batted in and 607 runs scored. Like his first MLB knock, Kipnis’ 1,000th hit couldn’t have come in much more dramatic fashion. He connected on a walk-off grand slam off Ian Hamilton to take down the division-rival White Sox in September 2018.

Jason, who announced his retirement last month, graciously took some time to chat with MLBTR readers this morning, talking about his favorite memories and teammates, sharing experiences from playing in the World Series, discussing his transition into broadcasting work and quite a bit more. Click here to read a transcript, and be sure to follow Jason on Twitter @TheJK_Kid.

Brewers Notes: Voit, Sanchez, Miley

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Luke Voit has been a member of the Brewers organization for just a few weeks. The former home run leader signed a minor league deal a couple weeks ago, getting an opportunity to audition for a roster spot early in Spring Training.

The Brewers will have to make that call relatively early into exhibition play. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Voit would be able to opt out of the deal next Thursday if he’s not added to the big league roster. According to Sherman, Voit’s deal would come with a $2MM base salary if he makes the MLB club.

While that’s far from an exorbitant sum, it remains to be seen whether Milwaukee feels there’ll be sufficient at-bats for Voit to warrant a spot. Keston Hiura is on hand as an in-house option with a similar power-oriented skillset from the right side. Hiura has run exorbitant strikeout tallies over the past few years but he’s flashed impact power upside. The former ninth overall pick connected on 14 home runs with a quality .222 ISO (slugging minus batting average) in just 80 games last season.

Voit and Hiura are seemingly jockeying for reps as a right-handed complement to lefty-swinging first base/DH options Rowdy Tellez and Jesse Winker. Both Hiura and Voit have actually fared worse against left-handed pitching than righties over the course of their careers. Tellez and especially Winker have had more traditional splits, however, with both handling righties better over the years. While neither Voit nor Hiura has functioned as a traditional lefty masher, they each offer some righty pop to help balance the order.

Adding some power from that side of the dish was apparently a goal for Milwaukee. To that end, Sherman writes that the Brew Crew had checked in with free agent catcher Gary Sánchez earlier in the offseason. Milwaukee subsequently acquired their new backstop, William Contreras, from the Braves as part of the three-team Sean Murphy trade. That swap landed the Brewers five seasons of control over a player they hope to be the long-term answer behind the dish at the cost of center field prospect Esteury Ruiz, who went to Oakland.

Sánchez still has yet to put pen to paper despite reports of interest from the likes of the Angels and Giants in recent months. He’s one of the top unsigned hitters available. Milwaukee no longer has a need for MLB catching, as the duo of Contreras and Víctor Caratini will handle the load. Milwaukee brought in Payton Henry from the Marlins in a low-profile trade to serve as the #3 option. There’s no indication Sánchez remains on the radar as a result, though he could be of interest to any number of teams if he’s willing to take a minor league deal at this stage of the winter.

A bat-first catcher for most of his time with the Yankees, Sánchez flipped the script to an extent during his lone season in Minnesota last year. He hit 16 homers but with a fairly modest .205/.282/.377 overall showing through 471 trips to the plate. That was among the worst full-season offensive performances of his career but he received roughly average grades for his pitch framing and ball-blocking from Statcast.

While Sánchez’s destination is still to be determined, there are no such questions with starter Wade Miley. The Brewers brought him back on a one-year, $4.5MM guarantee shortly after the calendar flipped to 2023. It’ll be season number 13 for the 36-year-old southpaw, who acknowledged he thought at points this offseason his career might be over.

“I was so unsure at the end of the year for what was next,” Miley told Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I wanted to get my shoulder healthy. I did a little program right after the season was over and it didn’t feel good at all. I did it for four weeks and it was awful. That’s when I went into – I wouldn’t call it depressed mode, but I was like ’it’s not worth it.’ At that moment, I was like, ’I think we’re done.’ Me and my wife talked, and I said, ‘I think this might be it.’”

Miley is coming off a season in which shoulder issues kept him to only nine appearances with the Cubs. Fortunately, he says his arm feels good after an offseason of rest and he felt comfortable giving things another go. Miley figures to take a back-end rotation role in Milwaukee, offering some veteran depth behind Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta and Eric Lauer. That takes on added importance for the Brew Crew after spring injuries to Aaron Ashby and Jason Alexander have thinned the depth beyond Miley and #6 starter Adrian Houser. As for his long-term outlook, Miley told Nightengale “I guess as long as (teams) keep calling, I’ll keep playing.”

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