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Keon Broxton

Brewers Sign Keon Broxton

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The Brewers have signed outfielder Keon Broxton to a minor league contract, the team informed reporters (including Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). Presumably, the 31-year-old will be assigned to Triple-A Nashville.

Broxton appeared in the majors during every season from 2015-19. The bulk of that time came with Milwaukee, where Broxton started a little more than half the club’s games in center field between 2017-18. Broxton’s combination of power, speed and plate discipline were all evident, but he never made enough contact to consistently perform at the plate. The right-handed hitter owns a .209/.297/.388 line over 1026 career plate appearances in the big leagues. Broxton’s .179 isolated power and 10.4% walk rate are both productive, but a massive 38.6% strikeout rate has driven those low batting average and on-base numbers.

The Twins added Broxton on a minor league deal over the offseason. He spent much of the year with Triple-A St. Paul but struggled even more than normal to make contact. Broxton hit .186/.288/.335 with Minnesota’s top affiliate, punching out in 44% of his plate appearances. The Twins released him a couple weeks ago.

Despite his 2021 struggles, there’s no harm for the Brew Crew in adding Broxton as minor league depth behind Lorenzo Cain and Jackie Bradley Jr., both of whom have had tough years at the plate. The Milwaukee front office and coaching staff are obviously familiar with Broxton’s skillset and ability to fit into the clubhouse. Because the NL Central-leading Brewers signed Broxton before September 1, he’ll be eligible for their postseason roster. He will again be eligible for free agency this offseason.

Twins Release Keon Broxton

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The Twins have released veteran outfielder Keon Broxton, who’d been with their Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul, as first indicated on the Triple-A East transactions page at MiLB.com.

Broxton, 31, signed with Minnesota over the winter but never got a call to the big leagues this year even as the club has endured multiple injuries in the outfield. Byron Buxton, Alex Kirilloff and Jake Cave have all spent significant time on the injured list — Kirilloff’s season is over; Buxton has played in just 27 games — and Max Kepler has also missed some time.

Broxton would’ve seemed a natural fit to pick up some of those at-bats had he been productive, but that simply hasn’t been the case. The former Brewers center fielder has appeared in 73 games in St. Paul but posted just a .186/.288/.335 batting line with nine home runs. Broxton is 10-for-11 in stolen base attempts and has walked at a strong 11.7 percent clip, but his longstanding strikeout issues have climbed to new heights in 2021. He punched out in 44 percent of his plate appearances with the Saints prior to being cut loose.

Few players can match Broxton’s combination of power and speed, but sky-high strikeout tendencies have always come along with that tantalizing mix of tools. Even at his best with the 2016-17 Brewers, when Broxton hit .227/.318/.424 with 29 home runs and 44 steals in 707 trips to the plate, he fanned at a 37.6 percent pace.

It’s common, however, for contending clubs to pick up fleet-footed veterans like this in advance of September roster expansion. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Broxton land elsewhere on a minor league deal and eventually surface with a contender who can afford to carry a player who is primarily a pinch-runner or late-inning defensive specialist on its roster. Broxton is capable of playing all three outfield spots and carries a career mark of 19 Defensive Runs Saved in 2128 innings in center field. Overall, he’s a .209/.297/.388 hitter with 39 homers and 60 steals in 1026 big league plate appearances.

Twins Sign Keon Broxton To Minor League Deal

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The Twins have signed outfielder Keon Broxton to a minor league contract with an invitation to MLB spring training, Dan Hayes of The Athletic relays. They’ve also added lefty Andrew Albers (previously reported) and righties Robinson Leyer and Chandler Shepherd on minors pacts.

Broxton, who will turn 31 in May, garnered quite a bit of playing time as a Brewer from 2016-17, in which he slashed a respectable .227/.318/.424 with 29 home runs and 44 stolen bases across 707 plate appearances. But Broxton struck out in more than 37 percent of PA during that span, and after he logged subpar production in 2018, the Brewers traded him to the Mets. Dating back to ’18, Broxton has combined for a .170/.253/.312 line with a horrid 41.6 percent strikeout rate as a Brewer, Met, Mariner and Oriole in 317 PA. He rejoined the Brewers on a minors contract before 2020 but didn’t see any action with the team last season.

Despite his recent struggles, Broxton could emerge as a useful backup outfield option in Minnesota, having put up 20 Defensive Runs Saved and a 9.7 Ultimate Zone Rating in 349 games in the grass. The Twins have two established outfielders (Byron Buxton in center and Max Kepler in right), while Broxton, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, Jake Cave and Brent Rooker could be among those competing for reps in left.

Brewers, Keon Broxton Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers have signed outfielder Keon Broxton to a minor league deal with an invite to major league spring training camp, per a team announcement.

The Brewers were down a man in their outfield after exchanging Trent Grisham in a pre-Thanksgiving swap with the Padres. For Broxton, this signing will represent a welcome homecoming after a headache of a 2019. It was roughly eleven months ago that the Brewers traded Broxton to the Mets for Adam Hill, Felix Valerio and Bobby Wahl, beginning the outfielder on a three-team odyssey that would see Broxton flame out in New York, Baltimore, and Seattle. All told on the season, the 29-year-old hit .167/.242/.275 with six homers in 228 plate appearances across three organizations.

That said, Broxton isn’t far removed looking like a totally viable big league piece with Milwaukee. Between 2016 and 2017, Broxton slashed .227/.318/.424 (94 wRC+) with 29 homers and 44 steals in 707 plate appearances. Of course, that roughly average production, though buttressed with power and speed, was always haunted by a seriously spooky strikeout rate. Broxton K’d at a 37.2 percent clip during that time with the Brewers, with that rate ballooning to a near-unthinkable 41.2 percent since the beginning of 2018. Still, Broxton did rate as a solid defensive regular across all three outfield spots in ’19, with 3 Defensive Runs Saved and a 2.2 UZR in over 500 innings on the grass.

Ryon Healy, Keon Broxton Elect Free Agency

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Mariners corner infielder Ryon Healy and outfielder Keon Broxton both elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment, the team announced. Both players went unclaimed on waivers and will be free to sign with any club this winter.

Healy, 28 in January, underwent August hip surgery that was expected to sideline him for four to six months. That makes the decision to outright him all the more understandable, though he’d have been at risk even if he were healthy. The OBP-challenged slugger spent two seasons in Seattle but managed just a .236/.280/.423 batting line with 31 home runs in 711 trips to the plate after being traded to the A’s in a now-regrettable deal for righty Emilio Pagan. (Oakland also cut bait on Pagan and traded him to Tampa Bay, where he blossomed into one of the league’s best relievers in 2019.)

A clear timetable on Healy’s return to baseball activities isn’t known, but he could draw interest from clubs looking for some right-handed pop this winter. Healy doesn’t walk often (just 4.7 percent of the time) but also doesn’t strikeout at an egregious rate (22.2 percent in his career). He has experience at both infield corners but is best-suited for first base/designated hitter work, making him a bit redundant for a Mariners team that has Daniel Vogelbach on the big league roster and first base prospect Evan White looming in the upper minors.

The 29-year-old Broxton, meanwhile, played on three different teams this season but couldn’t find success with the Mets, Orioles or Mariners. Broxton turned some heads with the Brewers back in 2016-17 when he showed an intriguing blend power, speed and center field defense while hitting .227/.318/.424 (including a 20-20 campaign in 2017). But strikeouts have been an enormous issue for Broxton, who punched out in an astonishing 45.6 percent of his 228 plate appearances this past season. Given that lack of contact, his ensuing .167/.242/.275 slash is hardly surprising.

Broxton has 17 Defensive Runs Saved, a 9.6 Ultimate Zone Rating and rates in at a whopping 34 Outs Above Average, per Statcast, over the past four MLB seasons. There’s little doubt that his glove is outstanding, but his 61.4 percent contact rate is the second-lowest among all MLB hitters in that same span.

Mariners Claim Keon Broxton

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The Mariners have claimed OF Keon Broxton, reports Greg Johns of mlb.com. The 29-year-old was designated for assignment Sunday by the Orioles.

It’s the third team this season for Broxton, who was acquired in the offseason by Mets and jettisoned after a miserable to start to the season. In 142 plate appearances for New York and Baltimore, the righty’s slashed .188/.244/.289 with a shocking 43.0% strikeout rate. Swing-and-miss has always been the undoing for the speedy outfielder, who again has posted stellar, if not elite, defensive and baserunning numbers.

Broxton’ll look to squeeze his way into a hobbled Mariner outfield that’s currently without Mitch Haniger and Domingo Santana. Centerfielder Mallex Smith hasn’t been able to replicate his breakout 2018 campaign, so perhaps Broxton will be in the mix there. A corner spot may also be up for grabs – rookie Dylan Moore hasn’t offered much in his sporadic action, either.

Quick Hits: Scherzer, F. Vazquez, Broxton, Reds

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The Nationals are expecting ace Max Scherzer to return from the injured list by Thursday or Friday, Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com reports. Scherzer, out since July 13 with right shoulder bursitis, threw a full bullpen session Monday and offered an encouraging assessment afterward, per Kerr. The Nationals have maintained a playoff spot during Scherzer’s absence, but the three-time Cy Young winner is their MVP and someone they likely can’t go without for much longer. The 34-year-old Scherzer was amid another all-world season before hit hit the shelf, with a 2.30 ERA/2.02 FIP, 12.6 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and 5.5 WAR in 129 1/3 innings.

More on a few other clubs…

  • Back on July 1, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington downplayed the possibility of trading closer Felipe Vazquez. The Bucs have lost 10 of 16 since then, putting them six games out of playoff position, but Huntington’s mind hasn’t changed. He once again made it clear Sunday that the Pirates expect to push for contention in the near future with Vazquez on their roster (via Adam Berry of MLB.com). On a potential Vazquez trade, Huntington said: “If we were expecting to lose 100 games next year, then it’s a different approach. But our expectation is to be right back in this — if we don’t get there this year — to be right back in this next year, and to have a guy like that in the back end is really important.” The Pirates haven’t made the playoffs since 2015, the year before they acquired the electric Vazquez, and appear as if they’ll extend their drought this season. Vazquez is controllable through 2023, giving the Pirates time to take advantage of his presence; on the other hand, Vazquez’s team-friendly contract is one of the reasons he’d bring back so much in a trade. Huntington appears to have no interest in giving up one of the greatest acquisitions of his tenure, though.
  • When the Orioles designated center fielder Keon Broxton for assignment Sunday, manager Brandon Hyde suggested the O’s would lose him, saying (via Joe Trezza of MLB.com): “I’m hoping he’ll get picked up by somebody, especially someone who needs outfield defense and baserunning for the postseason. I wish Keon the best.” It appears Broxton will indeed end up elsewhere in the coming days, as Trezza reports “a few teams” have checked in on the 29-year-old. Broxton can run and defend, as Hyde noted, though horrid hitting has torpedoed his value in 2019. Broxton has struck out in 43 percent of his 165 plate appearances, thus limiting him to a .184/.244/.289 line (42 wRC+). With no minor league options left, both the Mets and Orioles have given up on the once-promising Broxton this season.
  • The Reds put right-hander Tyler Mahle on the injured list Monday with a left hamstring strain and recalled fellow righty Sal Romano from Triple-A Louisville. The 24-year-old Mahle’s IL placement came after a pair of rough starts that saw him allow a combined 14 runs (10 earned) in 9 2/3 innings in losses to Colorado and St. Louis. Mahle has now mustered a 4.93 ERA in 102 1/3 innings, though he has also logged a much better 4.32 FIP, posted 9.32 K/9 against 2.29 BB/9 and notched a 45.6 percent groundball rate.

Orioles Designate Keon Broxton For Assignment

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The Orioles announced today they’ve designated outfielder Keon Broxton for assignment. Right-handed reliever Branden Kline is up from Triple-A Norfolk to take Broxton’s place on the active roster.

So continues a lost season for the 29-year-old Broxton, who enters DFA limbo for the second time in three months. A former third-round draft choice of the Diamondbacks, Broxton was most famous for his time in Milwaukee, where he totaled 796 plate appearances between 2016 and 2018, showing flashes of plate discipline, power and elite defense in center field. The Brewers’ outfield depth, combined with concerns about Broxton’s huge swing-and-miss tendencies, led the club to flip him to the Mets in January for a package of three fringe prospects.

Broxton’s strikeouts have gotten completely out control in 2019, though, leading the Mets to send him to Baltimore in May for cash considerations. Those problems have gotten only more worrisome since, leading the Orioles to cut bait on the out-of-options outfielder. It’s not out of the question he’ll draw some interest around the league given the tools he’s shown in the past, but his .184/.244/.289 slash line and 43% strikeout rate make it seem more likely he’ll clear waivers for the first time in his career.

As for Kline, the 27 year-old rookie has gotten off to a slow start to his big-league career. Like seemingly every Oriole pitcher, Kline’s been plagued especially by the home run, allowing 2.49 HR/9, en route to a 6.75 ERA, with a 21.6% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate in 25.1 innings.

Orioles Acquire Keon Broxton, Claim Chandler Shepherd

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The Orioles have acquired outfielder Keon Broxton from the Mets and claimed righty Chandler Shepherd from the Cubs, per a club announcement. $500K in international signing bonus slots are headed to the Mets in the swap.

Those additions created a need for two 40-man slots. To do so, the team moved starter Alex Cobb to the 60-day IL and designated fellow righty Yefry Ramirez for assignment.

Broxton, 29, obviously drew some interest since it took a non-trivial trade return to add him. He’ll need to stay on the active roster since he’s out of options. It’ll be interesting to see whether the O’s give him an extended audition in center field. While the results just haven’t been there for Broxton at the game’s highest level, he also has not had much of a chance to get going since the 2017 campaign.

This year has been a wreck so far for Broxton, who saw action in 34 games but took only 53 plate appearances with the Mets. He struck out 22 times in that span while delivering just one extra-base hit. Broxton did still manage to swipe four bags and figures to be a strong contributor in the field and on the bases.

As for the 26-year-old Shepherd, he’s on the move again just days after being claimed by the Cubs from the Red Sox. The right-handed hurler has been hit exceptionally hard this year at Triple-A, allowing 33 earned runs on 53 hits (eleven of them long balls) in 29 2/3 innings. But he had previously been a solid performer in the upper minors. The O’s are in need of innings and may have some ideas for getting him sorted out.

In any event, the organization obviously preferred Shepherd to Ramirez, who has had his own struggles this year. In 10 1/3 MLB frames, Ramirez has issued nine walks against eleven strikeouts while coughing up eight earned runs. Though it had never been an issue in the minors, he also struggled with the free passes last year in the majors.

Mets Designate Keon Broxton

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The Mets have designated outfielder Keon Broxton for assignment, Tim Healey of Newsday reports on Twitter. That opens the door for Carlos Gomez to join the club’s MLB roster for the first time since his debut season with the club way back in 2007.

Gomez’s ascension was reported previously, so it comes as no surprise. Of course, something came up the last time we thought it was inevitable we’d again see him in a Mets uniform. (He instead landed with the Astros; it’s fascinating to consider the alternate universe.)

In other moves, also largely anticipated in advance, the Mets recalled righty Paul Sewald and placed outfielder Michael Conforto on the 7-day concussion injured list. Conforto’s injury is a concerning one for the team; it’s still not clear what kind of absence is anticipated.

Broxton came over from the Brewers in the offseason after failing to fill the center field opening created by Gomez’s departure. The defensively proficient 29-year-old seemed to be somewhat redundant with Juan Lagares already on hand, but the Mets evidently thought his upside was worth a chance.

Things just haven’t worked out at all for Broxton. He saw limited action in New York and struggled badly when he did get in the lineup. In 53 plate appearances this season, he carries a .143/.208/.163 batting line with 22 strikeouts. Though it’s still possible he’ll be snagged on the waiver wire, his appeal is limited by the fact that he is out of options.

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