Brewers Sign Cory Spangenberg

[ThisIsMyCrew]

 

#Brewers in agreement with free-agent infielder Cory Spangenberg on one-year deal, pending physical, sources tell The Athletic. Spangenberg will earn $1.2M if in majors, $250K if in minors.

 

There’s everyone’s second baseman.

[Eye Black]

Fun Fact: Cory Spangenberg was the Padres' top pick in the 2011 Draft, selected No. 10 overall between the Cubs' Javier Baez and the Astros' George Springer.

 

Not So Fun Fact: Cory Spangenberg struck out in 33% of his at-bats last season.

[adambr2]

The new Sogard.

[markedman5]

Split contract.....nice no risk move to add depth

[NYChez]

OPS is .192 higher vs. righties than lefties. A cheap platoon partner with Perez.

[SRB]

Career splits

 

Hernan Perez v. LHP: .310 wOBA, 89 wRC+

Corey Spangenberg v. RHP: .326 wOBA, 106 wRC+

 

2018 splits

 

Hernan Perez v. LHP: .329 wOBA, 105 wRC+

Corey Spangenberg v. RHP: .319 wOBA, 101 wRC+

[NYChez]

With a platoon with Perez, the expectation would be slightly above average offense and slightly above average defense. Also a pinch-hitting option.

[SRB]

If properly platooned and they both have good seasons, I think they're probably like a 2.0-2.5 WAR second base option.

[Invader3K]

Seems low risk, and he should be entering his prime. I like it.

[MadScientist]

Not an earth shattering sign, but a potentially useful pickup at almost no risk.

 

One surprising stat is how much better he hit at home, despite home being Petco.

[homer]

Had an 816 OPS at home last year. Seems like a weird split given SD's dimensions. Guess that's because of the 400+ BABIP.

 

I will be surprised if he's on the roster most of the year. Good AAA insurance.

[wallus]

It is odd that he hit much better at Petco than away. I hope this is a Kratz-like backup plan for 2019.

[Eye Black]

Appears he has one remaining option and has played the following seven positions in the major leagues: 2B, SS, 3B, LF, CF, RF, and Pitcher.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Appears he has one remaining option and has played the following seven positions in the major leagues: 2B, SS, 3B, LF, CF, RF, and Pitcher.

 

So Perez must be Spanish for Spangenberg...or Spangenberg in Bavarian means Perez

[CheeseheadInQC]

I like it. It doesn't preclude a higher-profile 2nd base signing while at the same time allowing them to forego the position if the front office determines the money that one would take could be better spent elsewhere.

[RollieTime]

Makes you wonder what Stearns has up his sleeve if Spangenberg is platooning at second with Perez. Brewers have plenty of room still to add an impact player if they decide to go that route. Somebody would need to be on the move though to make room for that player unless it is a catcher.

[Oxy]

The new Sogard.

 

Yep. Not much to add here. Spangenberg is barely serviceable against righties, but drops to historically bad levels when facing lefties. Sub-Uecker line, sub .500 OPS type of production the last couple of years against southpaws.

 

I sure hope this is a depth move rather than a "plan A" move.

[wntrtxn21]

This is a move to get a versatile lefty bench guy while they try and move Thames' contract. He replaces Saladino. Not the answer at 2B, but not a bad LH bat off the bench.

[patrickgpe]

Hopefully this is just a depth move for San Antonio and not part of the answer at 2nd.

[long ball]

They need someone to play second base in San Antonio when Hiura gets called up the first week of May.

 

I'm only mildly kidding. Possible member of the shuttle squad since he has an option. Plays a couple positions. Hits left handed. He's a nice complement to Saldino/Perez.

 

I'm not saying this will happen, but if they go into spring training with Saladino, Perez, and Spangenberg as the main guys fighting for playing time at 2b that probably means the Brewers are pretty confident Dubon and/or Hiura will contributors to the big league team very early in 2019.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Solid depth signing, with the hope that a guy who is in his peak years finds an offensive breakout. Obviously the pedigree is there being a former high 1st rounder. I imagine if he goes to San Antonio he will be spending most of his time as a corner OF.

 

If the plan is to have Spangenberg and Perez platoon at 2B, that is not inspiring. But there are still a lot of options out there. The more I look at Marwin Gonzalez, the more I see a good fit there. News on him has been strangely absent so far this offseason.

[JosephC]

This is just a split contract so I doubt that the Brewers are looking at this is as a Perez/Spangenberg platoon at 2B. More likely just as an insurance move to protect themselves in case Perez suffers a major injury in spring training or early in the season. If the time comes and Spangenberg agrees to stay in the Brewer's system, he'd be a pretty nice piece to have in AAA.

 

But if this is to set up a Perez/Spangenberg platoon then I dislike the move. Spangenberg is another guy who just too much trouble getting on base. If the Brewers start next season with:

C = Pina/Kratz

2B = Perez/Spangenberg

SS = Arcia

Then they have set themselves up to be in the same boat as last year. Half the lineup doing nothing for the first two months, and then hoping a rookie hitter can come up and save the offense.

 

I really doubt that Stearns is done with 2B/C. Always a chance he is done and takes the remaining available resources and dedicates it to pitching, but my guess is that he is still searching for better options here.

 

I remember when Spangenberg was in the draft and there were rumors that the Brewers did like him (obviously that was back in the Melvin days). I thought he was a pretty interesting candidate, but he just isn't a very good major leaguer. Career slash line isn't that bad - .258/.318/.391/.709 - last year MLB 2B hit .254/.316/.396/.712. But Spangenberg was bad last year, only a .298 OBP and .661 OPS. If one looks at the three-year splits, he's actually been much better at home so the Petco factor doesn't seem to be in play at all. Defensive metrics have him as very average at 2B but bad everywhere else. That's appears to be a significant difference between Spangenberg and Perez. Perez can do a fine job if needed in the outfield, but the metrics makes Spangenberg look pretty much like a train wreck out there (-19.9 UZR/150 for all his outfield play, Perez is +6.9). Sometimes Steamer throws so real curve balls with their projections, but they have Spangenberg as a .245/.307/.383/.690 slash and a 0.3 WAR for 2019...and those numbers look to be pretty reasonable when looking back over the last three seasons.

[Baldkin]

We're gonna have some names on the team this year. That's for sure.

[TURBO]

Meh.

[KeithStone53151]

It's very meh, but it's low risk and interesting enough. He's at peak production age of 27 and had a very good batted ball profile last year. The biggest notable issue I have in his batted ball profile is GB rate. Maybe that's something the Brewers feel they can fix.

 

I don't think Cory gets a roster spot unless he truly earns it. If he has a great spring, it's possible he platoons with Perez to open the season. It's also just as likely that we make a bigger signing and Cory competes with Perez for the platoon spot or is simply AAA insurance.

 

Most of this is moot anyways, as I expect sometime in June we'll see Hiura as the everyday 2b and raking.