Brewers sign Luke Voit

[MVP2110]

An interesting signing

 

[Jake McKibbin]

This may be the end of Hiura... though he is also a reverse platoon guy over his career

[patrickgpe]

28 minutes ago, Jake McKibbin said:

This may be the end of Hiura... though he is also a reverse platoon guy over his career

I thought the winker trade was the end of him. Brewers doing what they can do replace Keston.

[Jake McKibbin]

5 minutes ago, patrickgpe said:

I thought the winker trade was the end of him. Brewers doing what they can do replace Keston.

Being on a minor league contract, he may basically be there in case Rowdy gets injured, or at worst probably a trade candidate for the deadline when some team wants to take a chance

[patrickgpe]

7 minutes ago, Jake McKibbin said:

Being on a minor league contract, he may basically be there in case Rowdy gets injured, or at worst probably a trade candidate for the deadline when some team wants to take a chance

I understand that, but if he makes the 26, that means somebody doesn't. I could see him backing up Rowdy and Winker, and  if he does, Keston doesn't really fit anywhere. 

[KeithStone53151]

6 minutes ago, Jake McKibbin said:

Being on a minor league contract, he may basically be there in case Rowdy gets injured, or at worst probably a trade candidate for the deadline when some team wants to take a chance

I know Stearns is gone, but since Stearns came...the Brewers always seem to try to bring in guys on minor league deals to truly create competition. Voit has had some insane stretches in his career, I don't think he's here simply as insurance. I think he's here to create true competition and therefore has a real shot at making the roster...but he'll really have to show up and earn it to stick around. Every year the Brewers bring in a ton of guys on minor league deals and more often than not, one or two make the roster.

[MVP2110]

Voit seems really interesting, he's put up good numbers the last few years, he's had an OPS+ over 100 every season outside of his rookie year in 2017 so he's a good bat

But he's limited on defense to only 1b or DH so very similar in that regard to Rowdy & Hiura. And he also has reverse platoon splits similar to Hiura so he's not a natural platoon bat. This might just be an insurance type of move for if Rowdy gets hurt in camp although that's what I thought Singleton was. 

Overall he seems like a decent player but with no natural fit on the roster so it's pretty interesting 

[homer]

Didn't realize he was already 32 years old.

[Jake McKibbin]

Just now, patrickgpe said:

I understand that, but if he makes the 26, that means somebody doesn't. I could see him backing up Rowdy and Winker, and  if he does, Keston doesn't really fit anywhere. 

True enough, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out, him and Hiura are similar-ish only Voit can be sent to the minor leagues..

The Brewers must be sniffing a trade for Hiura, and given the obviousness of it, they may not get much back in return

 

[TURBO]

So THAT is what we are doing with the extra 750K we saved with Burnes arbitration money.

[KeithStone53151]

Other thing to note, a guy like Voit would probably have been offered minor league deals by most teams. He's good enough to most likely more or less have his choice of where to go. He clearly thinks he has a shot to win the job here.

[MVP2110]

It should also be noted that Voit is a horrendous defender. His dwar in his career

22: -1.1

21: -0.5

20: -0.7

19: -1.9

18: -1.0

17: -0.1

[Jopal78]

I'm all for any player who has had recent MLB success willing to sign a NRI deal. This signing also probably speaks to the Brewers feelings about Rowdy Tellez.

[Sakatarama]

Perhaps we re-signed Singleton a tad early. Although truthfully, these guys are the same age. Let them slug it out (maybe literally) in Nashville.

[TURBO]

6 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

I'm all for any player who has had recent MLB success willing to sign a NRI deal. This signing also probably speaks to the Brewers feelings about Rowdy Tellez.

Meh, I doubt it.  The chances of Voit coming in and displacing Rowdy are pretty slim.  We know what we have in Rowdy, Voit has not been good recently.  Maybe an attempt at catching lightning in a bottle, but I think Rowdy's at bats are safe.

[Jopal78]

12 minutes ago, TURBO said:

Meh, I doubt it.  The chances of Voit coming in and displacing Rowdy are pretty slim.  We know what we have in Rowdy, Voit has not been good recently.  Maybe an attempt at catching lightning in a bottle, but I think Rowdy's at bats are safe.

I say that because while Tellez blasts homers, he doesn't really do anything else. He was terrible in the field, he wasn't skilled at getting on base. Despite 35 homers he was marginally better than replacement level. With his stats, and the Brewers having a lot of players who can play 1B, I just don't think Tellez is as cemented in as a regular as some think. 

 

[Jake McKibbin]

3 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

I say that because while Tellez blasts homers, he doesn't really do anything else. He was terrible in the field, he wasn't skilled at getting on base. Despite 35 homers he was marginally better than replacement level. With his stats, and the Brewers having a lot of players who can play 1B, I just don't think Tellez is as cemented in as a regular as some think. 

 

He had far and away the worst BABIP of his career last season, horrifically unlucky. He's more of a .250-.260 hitter than .210, and I really wouldn't write him off

He's standout in quite a few categories, and although his range is shocking at 1B, he's hot soft hands that Adames probably loves.

[igor67]

I did like the article analysis suggesting that aside from platooning for handedness Voit might be a good match to Tellez against certain pitch profiles. Does Huira still have an option?

[DR28]

Damn this move and Naquin... I love both of these moves and I see both Voit and Naquin making the team.

Naquin/Taylor platoon in RF and Voit as bench bat/DH or 1B vs LHP.

[markedman5]

16 minutes ago, igor67 said:

I did like the article analysis suggesting that aside from platooning for handedness Voit might be a good match to Tellez against certain pitch profiles. Does Huira still have an option?

I don’t think so

[Brewcrew82]

I'm not convinced Voit is an upgrade from Hiura. Not only does Voit have reverse splits just like Hiura, but he also is terrible on defense and strikes out more than 30% of the time. If anything, Hiura has more of an advantage in that he's younger and more versatile defensively. I'm sure spring training will sort this out, but I wouldn't write Voit onto the OD roster just yet. 

[Outlander]

I don't see Voit being any better than Hiura so ultimately this doesn't help the team. 

[jay87shot]

I think this says more about Winker or maybe the teams OF. I look at Voit as a DH at this point in his career. Yes, Rowdy isn't great at 1st but Voit is worse. I also added the OF if Winker is looked at as need to play more OF than we hoped.

[KeithStone53151]

1 hour ago, TURBO said:

Meh, I doubt it.  The chances of Voit coming in and displacing Rowdy are pretty slim.  We know what we have in Rowdy, Voit has not been good recently.  Maybe an attempt at catching lightning in a bottle, but I think Rowdy's at bats are safe.

He probably has a bit more of a shot than you give him credit for. To get the job, he'll have to earn it. If Voit looks in good shape and is hot a the plate all spring, the 5 million we are paying Tellez is not going to guarantee him a spot. I don't think anyone thinks Voit has the inside track by any stretch, but he certainly can win the job if he looks good and performs.

[wallus]

Great move on a minor league deal. We definitely needed some vets in case the rookies/young guys disappoint or need more time.