Milwaukee Brewers Free Agent Targets: 1B Howie Kendrick

With Eric Thames now a free agent, the Milwaukee Brewers have a hole to fill at first base and veteran Howie Kendrick should be a top target.

A few weeks ago the Milwaukee Brewers decided not to pick up Eric Thames’ team option for the 2020 season. While given his price tag along with him really only being able to face right-handed pitching, I can understand the move, but it left another void for them to fill at first base.

Internally, they have a full outfield with Lorenzo Cain, Trent Grisham, and Christian Yelich, so they could move Ryan Braun over to first or if they believe Travis Shaw can bounce-back, he could play there as well. However, these options are more so last resorts and especially with the recent loss of Yasmani Grandal’s offensive production, they’ll need to bolster their lineup elsewhere because they aren’t finding a comparable bat in the catcher market.

That leaves free agency as the best alternative for the Milwaukee Brewers and while there is the possibility that they reunite with Thames at a lesser amount, the best first baseman available at the moment is Howie Kendrick and GM David Stearns should have his sights set on him.

After being traded to the Washington Nationals during the 2017 season, Kendrick has spent the last two and a half seasons there and capped it off with a World Series win that included two key home runs during the postseason. Not to mention that as a whole, Kendrick is coming off the best season of his entire career which began back in 2006 with the Los Angeles Angles.

In 370 plate-appearances that covered 121 games, Kendrick would slash .344/.395/.572, giving him an OPS of .966. He’d also hit 17 home runs and recorded a wRC+ of 146, all of which were career highs. Additionally, Kendrick walked 7.3 percent of the time and would strikeout just 13.2 percent in 2019. Also of note, his fWAR of 2.9 was the sixth best in all of baseball among first basemen.

Although his numbers from last season are well above his career averages, Kendrick puts the ball in play and now at 36-years-old, he just keeps getting better with age. In fact over the last three seasons he is averaging .321 at the plate, with an .872 OPS, and a wRC+ of 126.

Defensively, Kendrick has that versatility that Stearns and manager Craig Counsell covet. While he was primarily a first baseman in 2019, he also played 23 games at second and another 15 over at third. As we’ve seen, that ability to play multiple positions is held at a high value to this Milwaukee Brewers’ organization.

Given his age as well as where he is at in his career, Kendrick likely won’t come with a hefty price tag or be expecting a long-term deal. MLB Trade Rumors is projecting that he signs for a two year – $12 million contract, which would be right up the Brewers’ alley. They would get a quality bat on offense, that is relatively inexpensive, and for only two years.

Really this seems like a perfect match for both parties. Kendrick gets a pay raise and joins a contender, while the Brewers get a much-needed boost on offense that fills a position of need and they will still have plenty of money left to bolster the roster elsewhere. When it comes to filling the hole over at first base, Howie Kendrick should be at the top of Stearns’ list of candidates.

All stats via Baseball Reference and Fangraphs