{"id":15816,"date":"2018-11-28T08:53:31","date_gmt":"2018-11-28T13:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/\/?p=15816"},"modified":"2024-12-28T10:56:24","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T15:56:24","slug":"erik-kratz-returns-milwaukee-brewers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2018\/11\/28\/erik-kratz-returns-milwaukee-brewers\/","title":{"rendered":"Erik Kratz Returns to the Milwaukee Brewers on One-Year Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Milwaukee Brewers<\/a> have 13 arbitration-eligible players this off-season. However, they were able to avoid arbitration with veteran catcher Erik Kratz<\/a><\/strong> by signing the 38-year-old to a one-year contract on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

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Catcher Erik Kratz has agreed to a 1-year contract, avoiding arbitration. 12 players remain arbitration eligible: P\u00e9rez, Pi\u00f1a, Saladino, Santana, Schoop, Shaw, Cede\u00f1o, Davies, Guerra, Jennings, Knebel and Nelson. pic.twitter.com\/yG9jOfoWsL<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) November 27, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Erik Kratz Returns to the Milwaukee Brewers on One-Year Deal<\/h1>\n

Kratz split time with fellow backstop\u00a0Manny Pina<\/a><\/strong> behind the plate throughout the 2018 season. Despite his poor offensive numbers (70 wRC+ and .634 OPS), he was able to give the Brewers plenty of value. When Kratz was behind the plate, Brewers pitchers posted a strong 3.42 ERA. He was also one of the better pitch framers in baseball, accumulating\u00a09.9 framing runs<\/a> despite playing part-time.<\/p>\n

Kratz gained some fame during the National League Division Series when he went 5-for-8 at the plate in his first taste of playoff baseball. He had a double, a run scored, two RBI, and just one strikeout while playing in two games of the three-game sweep. Unfortunately, Kratz was just 2-for-16 (.125) with five strikeouts while appearing in all seven games of the NLCS. He finished the postseason with a .292\/.346\/.375 slash over nine games between the NLDS and NLCS.<\/p>\n

Under his new contract, Kratz will be guaranteed $300K and will receive\u00a0a $1.2 million guarantee if he makes the major-league roster out of spring training. The deal also includes award bonuses.<\/p>\n

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Kratz will receive $1.2M if in majors, with 300K guaranteed. plus award bonuses https:\/\/t.co\/7XPqQ9NFHS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 27, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While he’s not going to wow anyone with the bat, Kratz is a good player to have in the clubhouse and behind the plate. It’s possible that the Brewers will still add another catcher, but Kratz gives them a solid security blanket at the position.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>