Milwaukee Brewers Reunite with Travis Shaw on Minor League Deal

It’s been a busy few weeks for the Milwaukee Brewers. They’ve been linked to several different rumors and made some new additions along the way. However, the third base position remained a big question mark, and it still might be. But for help, the Crew brought back an old friend in Travis Shaw.

It was first reported by Robert Murray of FanSided that the Milwaukee Brewers and Shaw were in “serious talks.” A short while late, Mark Feinsand reported that Shaw had agreed to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training that will pay him $1.5 million with another $1.5 million in incentives available. Shaw can also opt-out of the deal on March 15th if he is not on the big league roster.

Shaw came to Milwaukee prior to the 2017 season as a part of the Tyler Thornburg trade with Boston, and for two seasons, it looked like the Brewers had found their third baseman of the future. During the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Shaw slashed .258/.347/.497, totaling an .844 OPS and an OPS+ of 120. He also tallied 63 home runs.

Unfortunately, 2019 was far from kind to Shaw. He batted just .157 with a .551 OPS, had only seven home runs, and an OPS+ of 45–for some context, the league average is 100. He had a few stints in the minors that year in hopes that he would regain some of his old form, but that never happened. That offseason, he was non-tendered.

In 2020, Shaw signed with Toronto and saw his numbers rebound, although not to where they were during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. In 180 plate appearances, Shaw slashed .239/.306/.411 for a .717 OPS and six home runs.

However, it’s worth noting some of Shaw’s peripheral numbers are quite promising. While still high, his strikeout rate did drop six percent, his hard-hit rate was the highest of his career, his exit velocity was ranked in the 82nd percentile, and his xSLG was above league average, according to Baseball Savant.

The hope with this signing is that Shaw will continue trending in the right direction and provide some stability at third base. A position that is currently in flux and brings a lot of unknowns for the Brewers. Milwaukee, of course, is a place that he has found success at before, and as we all know, American Family Field is a hitter-friendly ballpark, especially for lefties like Shaw.

On the flip side, if this signing doesn’t work out, it’s a relatively low-risk one for the Crew that they can get out of with relative ease. But then again, we are left wondering what third base will look like this season.