Milwaukee Brewers: Ryan Braun Will be Playing some 1B in 2020

With the recent signing of outfielder Avisail Garcia, it looks more likely that Ryan Braun will be playing some first base for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020.

Slowly but surely David Stearns and the Milwaukee Brewers are filling out their roster for the upcoming season. While some of he pressing needs that the team has at the moment include third base, first base, and starting pitching, their most recent free agent signing was outfielder, Avisail Garcia.

Stearns’ approach since taking over as the General Manager has been to acquire the best players possible and figure out playing time and positioning later on. So although on the surface it appears that there is a log-jam in the outfield with Garcia, Chrisitan Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Ryan Braun, and Ben Gamel, as many have suspected, Braun will be playing some first base for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020.

While this won’t be Braun’s only position as he is still going to see time in the outfield, it sounds like Garcia will be the primary left fielder after slashing .282/.332/.464 along with a wRC+ of 112 with Tampa Bay in 2019:

"“When I talked to the manager, I’m going to play left field because Yelich is in right,” said García. “Sometimes, I’m going to play center. Most of the time, I’m going to play left field. I’m OK with it. I just like to play baseball. I’m ready to win.”"

However, while Garcia will see plenty of playing time in the outfield, it is also important to keep Braun’s bat in the lineup after a very nice 2019 season where he recorded an OPS of .848 with a wRC+ of 117, and a few clutch moments as well. Which is why we can expect to see him spending some time at first base this season and Stearns has recently confirmed that:

For a majority of his career, Braun has primarily been an outfielder, but he does have some experience at first base. In 2018 he would play 109.1 innings there over the first half of the season while also taking his lumps as well. Over his 18 appearances, Braun would be a below average defender with a DRS of -1 and a UZR of -1.8. With that said, as we have seen during the last two years, the Milwaukee Brewers will sacrifice some defense for a more potent offense.

And just because Braun is going to be playing at first base, it doesn’t mean the Brewers won’t add a true first baseman to their roster. For one, Braun is still going to need his days off, and bringing in a left-handed bat to platoon at first should still be on their to-do list. So don’t rule out a reunion with Eric Thames who had his team option declined by the Brewers back in November.

Back when the offseason was just getting started, there may not have been many who predicted that this would be how the Brewers would go about building their team after letting so many players walk. However, under David Stearns this is how they operate, so realistically we shouldn’t be all that surprised by these moves. Not to mention that Stearns has earned the benefit of the doubt until shown otherwise.