Avisail Garcia Signs With Milwaukee Brewers
Outfielder Avisail Garcia has agreed to a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. The 28-year-old will earn $20 million over two years.
Avisail Garcia agrees to Brewers deal. 20M, 2 years
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 16, 2019
2019 Season
Garcia signed a one-year deal last year with the Tampa Bay Rays after suffering through injuries in 2018. It turned out to be a bargain for the Rays as Garcia produced at an above-average rate, slashing .282/.332/.464. He popped a career-best 20 home runs, stole 10 bases and drove in 72 runs. While not elite, the outfielder did produce above average hard-hit rates and exit velocity.
The two things that Garcia struggled with in 2019 were his strikeouts and his lack of walks. He struck out 125 times compared to only 31 walks. While his .282 batting average looks good on the surface it was fueled by a very high .340 BABIP.
Overall, however, 2019 proved to be a successful season for the veteran and was able to parlay his success into a two year deal with the Brew Crew.
2020 Outlook
Garica’s signing probably signals a few things in Milwaukee. One, they are intending to play Ryan Braun more at first base than the outfield in 2020. Second, they may also look to platoon their new outfielder with Ben Gamel. Garcia’s career slash against lefties (.296/.352/.456) is significantly better than his line against right-handers (.264/.312/.418). And finally, it shows that Milwaukee is going to use the money they had saved from losing key free agents in Mike Moustakas and Yasmani Grandal.
Garcia fills a specific need for the Brewers. In 2019 the club struggled against left-handed pitching at times, as many of the team’s best hitters were left-handed. Combine that with the fact that one of their main right-handed hitters, Lorenzo Cain, struggled and it’s easy to see why the Brewers felt the need to add a lefty basher.
It’s a relatively cheap deal (especially this off-season) and it fills an obvious hole for the Brewers. It probably means Garcia will platoon, to begin with, but if he can maintain his career-high BABIP into 2020 he may earn every day looks for the contending club.
