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Latest On Brewers’ First Base Plans

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Although the Brewers declined first baseman/outfielder Eric Thames’ 2020 option on Monday, that doesn’t necessarily mean his time with the franchise is up. General manager David Stearns stated after the decision that the team’s open to re-signing Thames for less than the $7.5MM salary he’d have made had it exercised his option, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.

“We’re certainly not closing the door on bringing Eric back. We’ll see if there’s a fit sometime later in the offseason,” said Stearns. “But at this point with the dollar value associated with the club option and the market we see developing out there at that position, we thought it was in the [team’s] best interests to decline the option.”

The Brewers ended up saving $6.5MM by cutting Thames, whose option came with a $1MM buyout. The former Korea Baseball Organization superstar spent three years in Milwaukee, where his tenure began with a flourish early in 2017 before his production settled in at solid but unspectacular levels. Thames, who will turn 33 next week, slashed .247/.346/.505 with 25 home runs in 459 plate appearances this season. His overall offensive output checked in at a respectable 16 percent above the league-average mark, per FanGraphs’ wRC+ metric, though the left-handed hitter was a platoon player who did just about all of his damage versus righty pitchers.

Considering Thames’ limitations and what the Brewers deemed too high a price tag, the small-market club now at least wants to sees if it can find similar or better production for less money. In Stearns’ estimation, it’s shaping up to be a “robust” offseason market for first basemen in terms of free agency and trades. Jose Abreu, Edwin Encarnacion, Howie Kendrick, Justin Smoak and Mitch Moreland look like the game’s best free-agent first basemen, though at least the first two names on that list could prove to be out of the price range of a Milwaukee team that may want to save money at the spot, re-sign one or both of Yasmani Grandal and/or Mike Moustakas and perhaps upgrade other areas of need.

Should the Brewers opt against adding any somewhat pricey first basemen in the coming months, they could turn to outfielder Ryan Braun at the position. Braun is indeed “on the table” as an in-house option, Stearns revealed. While Braun only has 18 games at first on his resume (all of which came in 2018), moving him there may help preserve the oft-injured soon-to-be 36-year-old and his keep his still-capable bat in the lineup on a more consistent basis. The Brewers would perhaps be in position to deploy Trent Grisham as their primary left fielder in that scenario.

Brewers Decline 2020 Option On Eric Thames

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The Brewers announced Monday that they’ve declined their $7.5MM club option on first baseman/outfielder Eric Thames. He’ll be paid a $1MM buyout instead. While Thames doesn’t have the requisite six years of free agency to become a free agent, the three-year contract he signed upon returning to Major League Baseball from the Korea Baseball Organization stipulated that he become a free agent in the event that his 2020 option was bought out. As such, he’ll be added to the free-agent pool and is now free to sign with any club this winter.

It’s a somewhat surprising decision, as the 32-year-old Thames turned in a .247/.346/.505 batting line with 25 homers, 23 doubles and two triples in just 459 plate appearances. Thames did strike out at a 30.9 percent clip, but he also drew a walk in 11.1 percent of his plate appearances. Thames has been a pure platoon player for the Brewers of late, and the reasoning isn’t especially hard to discern; in 202 plate appearances against lefties since his return to the Majors, he’s batted .188/.287/.375. Against right-handed opponents, he’s hit .251/.354/.529 with 63 of his 72 home runs.

Thames spent the bulk of his time in 2019 at first base, though he’s no stranger to either outfield corner. Metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating credited him as a solid defender at first in 2019 but less so in the outfield (-4 DRS, -1.3 UZR, -6 Outs Above Average in 490 2/3 innings since returning).

The free-agent market generally hasn’t been welcoming to bat-first corner-only options like Thames in recent seasons — particularly those on the wrong side of 30. His ability to log some innings in the outfield corners will give him a leg up on some other more limited sluggers, particularly with teams able to roster a 26th player in 2020. It’s possible that Milwaukee will look to bring him back on a lower-priced one-year deal, but other speculative fits for Thames on the open market will include the Twins, White Sox, Rangers and Nationals. Rebuilding clubs like the Marlins, Tigers and Royals could all conceivably take a look as well.

Blue Jays Acquire Chase Anderson

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12:39pm: The Blue Jays and Brewers have formally announced the trade.

10:40am: The Blue Jays are sending minor league first baseman Chad Spanberger to Milwaukee to complete the deal, TSN’s Scott Mitchell tweets.

10:23am: The Blue Jays are set to acquire right-hander Chase Anderson from the Brewers, Robert Murray reports via Twitter. Anderson is under control through the 2021 season via a pair of club options, and the decision on that first option (valued at $8.5MM) is due today. The pitching-needy Blue Jays figure to pick that option up and plug Anderson into the rotation. Toronto will also have a $9.5MM option on Anderson in 2021 (with a $500K buyout).

Chase Anderson | Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Anderson, who’ll turn 32 later this month, has been a staple on the Milwaukee staff for the past four seasons, averaging 30 appearances and 28 starts per season in that time. The Brewers have become increasingly aggressive in limiting their starters’ innings in recent seasons, which suppressed Anderson’s innings total in 2019 in particular. Five of Anderson’s 2019 appearances came in relief, but even in his 27 starts, he averaged just over 4 2/3 innings per outing (with a 4.29 ERA).

In all, over the past four seasons, Anderson has given the Brewers 590 innings of 3.83 ERA ball while averaging 7.7 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and 1.45 HR/9 to go along with a 36.1 percent ground-ball rate. He doesn’t stand out in terms of spin rate on his fastball or curve, but Anderson’s 93.4 mph average heater in 2019 was a career-best. Anderson has also generally been well above-average in terms of limiting hard contact and opponents’ exit velocity, ranking in the 76th and 83rd percentiles, respectively, among pitchers in 2019.

Today’s trade surely signals that the Brewers weren’t sold on retaining Anderson at that $8.5MM rate. They could’ve bought him out and retained him via arbitration — Anderson has not yet reached six years of MLB service but will in 2020 — but MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected an even heftier salary in arbitration ($10.3MM) than he’d earn on this option. Anderson may not be given the green light to turn an opponent’s lineup over for a third time with too much frequency next year, but he’ll presumably have a longer leash on a start-to-start basis than he did with the Brewers.

The Blue Jays entered the offseason needing to add several pitchers to a beleaguered rotation that lacked even a modicum of clarity heading into 2020. Right-handers Trenth Thornton and Jacob Waguespack were the de facto members of the starting staff prior to today’s trade, but Thornton struggled to keep his ERA south of 5.00 while Waguespack threw just 65 1/3 Major League innings (4.13 ERA, 4.81 FIP). Toronto will also likely have veteran righty Matt Shoemaker back in 2020, but he’s a bit of an unknown coming off surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered early in the 2019 campaign. Righties T.J. Zeuch and Sean Reid-Foley also received auditions in 2019, as did southpaw Anthony Kay. That trio will be in the mix once again next season, as well.

Even with Anderson now on board, the Jays will surely be in the market for additional help on the starting staff — likely some higher-ed names than Anderson, who’ll be more of a back-of-the-rotation stabilizer. Toronto general manager Ross Atkins stressed at his end-of-season press conference that the Blue Jays need to find “pitching we can count on,” emphasizing that merely stockpiling depth wouldn’t be good enough. “We need to have guys that can contribute in significant ways,” he said at the time.

As for the Brewers, they’ll save themselves a $500K buyout on Anderson and turn the final two seasons of his contractual into the 24-year-old Spanberger, who was selected by the Rockies in the sixth round of the 2017 draft. Toronto had previously acquired him in the trade that sent reliever Seunghwan Oh to the Rockies. Spanberger drew praise for his 70-grade raw power over at FanGraphs prior to the season, although he didn’t post especially impressive numbers in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League, where he hit .237/.308/.399 with 13 homers and 29 doubles (108 wRC+). He spent more time in right field than at first base in 2019 and could eventually give the Brewers some bat-first corner depth.

Players Electing Free Agency: 11/4/19

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With every team throughout MLB in roster maintenance mode now that the offseason is underway, there’s a steady stream of players being jettisoned from 40-man rosters via outright waivers. Players who’ve previously cleared waivers and been outrighted at least once before have the option to elect free agency upon clearing a second time, as does any player who has at least three years of MLB service. We’ll track today’s slate of players opting for the open market in light of previously announced outrights here…

  • First baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment from the Brewers, per the Pacific Coast League’s transactions log. Austin, who turned 28 in September, only took 27 plate appearances in his brief tenure with the Brewers. He split the 2019 season between Minnesota, San Francisco and Milwaukee, batting a combined .188/.296/.409 with nine long balls in 179 trips to the plate. Austin possesses significant power (career .232 ISO) but has struck out in 36.9 percent of his career plate appearances — leading to glaring on-base issues. He could, however, be a useful platoon option at first base, given the right-handed hitter’s career .253/.345/.539 batting line against left-handed opponents. Austin was outrighted last week and would’ve been eligible for arbitration had he remained with the club.
  • Blue Jays lefty Buddy Boshers opted for free agency after clearing outright waivers, per the International League transactions page. Boshers, 31, pitched 20 innings out of the Toronto bullpen and logged a 4.05 ERA (4.21 FIP) with a 26-to-10 K/BB ratio. The southpaw has been solid but not overpowering against lefties in parts of four MLB seasons, holding same-handed opponents to a .247/.295/.371 batting line through 200 plate appearances. Right-handers have had an easier go against him, hitting at a .261/.335/.442 pace through 259 plate appearances.

Brewers Select Angel Perdomo

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The Brewers have selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Angel Perdomo, according to an official club announcement. He’ll be added to the 40-man roster, which now sits at 32 players.

Perdomo, 25, was originally signed by the Blue Jays as an international amateur free agent in 2012, spending seven years toiling away in the lower minors before he inked a contract with the Brewers as a minor-league free agent. With the Milwaukee organization, he finally got his chance at the upper levels of the minors, splitting the 2019 season between Double-A and Triple-A in his first full year as a reliever—the Jays experimented with Perdomo as a starter for several years before pulling the plug midway through 2018.

At 6’6″ and 200 pounds, it’s easy to see Perdomo fitting into a Major League bullpen based on his physique alone. He’s showcased a penchant for strikeouts at every stop in his minor league career, notching 107 Ks in 69 1/3 innings last year, good for a 13.9 K/9 average. He saw his ERA balloon to 5.17 in 40 Triple-A games, but evidently Perdomo is viewed as a potential near-term contributor in Milwaukee’s fascinating bullpen mix.

Of course, he’ll need to compete for innings in a bullpen that already features stingy lefties Josh Hader and Brent Suter, with fellow southpaw Drew Pomeranz ticketed for free agency. Nonetheless, Perdomo seems a good bet to get a crack at the big leagues in 2020, especially if he can show early-season improvement in Triple-A.

Moustakas, Grandal Decline Mutual Options; Brewers Outright Austin, Spangenberg

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The Brewers have announced some early-offseason roster moves. As anticipated, Mike Moustakas and Yasmani Grandal have each declined their side of mutual options and will become free agents. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee organization opened two additional 40-man spots by outrighting first baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin and utilityman Cory Spangenberg.

Those mutual options were never expected to be entertained seriously; they were included in the respective contracts as a mechanism of deferring salary. Moustakas receives $3MM on his way out the door and will forego an $11MM salary. He seems quite likely to surpass that $8MM gulf in free agent earnings, though it remains to be seen whether he’ll finally get a longer pact.

Grandal, meanwhile, will take a $2.25MM payout and another bite at the free agent apple rather than settling for a $16MM salary. He wagered heavily on his ability to turn in another high-quality campaign when he went to Milwaukee. That looks to have paid off both for Grandal and the Brewers, as he’s now in line to secure a large and lengthy pact in his return to the open market.

As for the other players involved in today’s moves, they’ll each have the right to elect free agency. Austin had only a brief stint in Milwaukee after a rough showing with the Giants. He’s a .219/.292/.451 hitter in 583 career plate appearances. The 28-year-old Spangenberg struggled badly in his brief MLB time this season but did hit .309/.378/.498 in 476 plate appearances at Triple-A.

Brewers To Exercise Manny Pina’s Option

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The Brewers are set to exercise catcher Manny Pina’s $1.85MM club option for 2020, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The club could have bought him out for a meager $150K.

At least for now, Pina’s in line for his fifth season as a Brewer. The 32-year-old is coming off a season in which he batted .228/.313/.411 with seven home runs in 179 plate appearances as a backup to the excellent Yasmani Grandal. Along with providing decent offense (relative to his position), Pina gave the playoff-bound Brewers high-end defense in 2019. Just 13 catchers, including Grandal, outranked Pina in Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric. Pina also threw out 25 percent of would-be base stealers, placing him right in line with the league-average mark (26 percent).

Now, with Grandal on the verge of becoming one of baseball’s most coveted free agents, Pina stands as the Brewers’ de facto starting catcher. The club also has fellow backstops David Freitas and Jacob Nottingham on its 40-man roster, though those two don’t have much major league experience on their resumes. So, whether the Brewers re-sign Grandal or acquire a different No. 1-caliber catcher, the position does figure to be a priority for the team this offseason. At the very least, though, Milwaukee seems to have a capable backup in Pina.

Pat Murphy In Consideration For Mets’ Managerial Opening

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With the Mets casting a wide net in the search for their next manager, another name has come to light as the rumored “mystery candidate.” Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy has already had multiple interviews with the team and is in the mix for the job.

Whether the talk of a “mystery candidate” elicits an eye-roll or curiosity, prepare to hear more of the same: Andy Martino of SNY reports that there are more unnamed candidates in the running, and that Murphy is not the “bombshell” candidate that has attracted so much speculation.

Murphy, 60, has worked as Craig Counsell’s right-hand man since the 2016 seaosn, a job he earned after a six-year tenure managing in the Padres’ minor-league system and serving as the interim Major League manager for 96 games in 2015. He has extensive experience coaching in the college ranks, serving as the head coach of the Notre Dame baseball program from 1988-1994 and coaching at Arizona State from 1995-2009.

Murphy will join a narrowing pool of candidates for the Mets job, though that pool is certainly being narrowed down. Eduardo Perez has been rumored as a “front runner” while Tim Bogar, Carlos Beltran, Luis Rojas, and Derek Shelton have all been brough back for second interviews. If that group indeed comprises the finalists, it appears the Mets will once again turn to a manager with no prior Major League managerial experience—depending on how one counts Murphy’s interim stint with the Padres. The team has considered candidates from a wide range of backgrounds, and after missing out on Joe Girardi, it’s a bit of an unusual group. However, the search seems to be nearing its conclusion, though a third round of interviews likely remains.

Pitchers Recently Electing Free Agency

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Since the conclusion of the regular season, a number of players have elected free agency. That right accrues to certain players who are outrighted off of a 40-man roster during or after the season — namely, those that have at least three years of MLB service and/or have previously been outrighted. Such players that accepted outright assignments during the season have the right to elect free agency instead at season’s end, provided they aren’t added back to the 40-man in the meantime.

We already rounded up the position players. Now, here are the pitchers that have recently taken to the open market, along with their now-former teams (via the International League and PCL transactions pages):

CC Sabathia Retires

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CC Sabathia announced his retirement this morning on Twitter. Obviously, this comes as no surprise, as the entire season served as Sabathia’s retirement tour.

Sabathia first appeared in the majors as a 20-year-old rookie way back in 2001 for the Cleveland Indians. In a career spanning 19 seasons, Sabathia finished with 251 wins across 560 starts, compiling a 3.74 ERA/3.78 FIP, 3,577 1/3 innings, 3,093 strikeouts, summed to 63.0 bWAR/66.5 fWAR. It was certainly an impressive career for Sabathia, who pitched for the Indians, Brewers, and Yankees.

Sabathia won a World Series with the 2009 Yankees and made 6 All-Star teams. He won the Cy Young award for the Indians in 2007 after going 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA/3.14 FIP across a league-leading 241 innings. Sabathia ranks 16th all-time in strikeouts (3,093), 37th in pitcher fWAR (66.5), and 48th in wins (251). 68.75% of MLBTR readers believe Sabathia put together a Hall of Fame career.

It certainly didn’t finish in an optimal fashion, leaving the ALCS due to injury, but Sabathia appears to have no qualms about finishing out his career. He released a retirement statement with a tweet that that read simply, “Thank you, Baseball.”

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