Milwaukee Brewers: 3 Free Agent Infielder Targets
By Kenny Jilek
Milwaukee Brewers Free Agent Infield Target: Jonathan Villar
Once upon a time in 2016, Jonathan Villar was a fun, bright spot for an otherwise tough to watch Milwaukee Brewers squad. He gave us all a reason to come to the ballpark or tune in to watch games each day, leading off almost every game, slashing .285/.369/.457. He also attempted 80 steals, almost one every other game, and converted 62 of them.
Villar’s entire career has been very up and down, having a great year in 2016 followed immediately by a year and a half of below-average play that got him traded for Jonathan Schoop, right in the thick of the pennant race. He bounced back in 2019, starting every game for the Orioles and hitting a career-high 24 home runs, before being utterly awful in 2020. He finally leveled off with the Mets this past season and was about average.
While he’s increased his power to be a reliable 15-20 homer per year guy, he may have lost a step in the running game, attempting just 21 steals in 2021 and making just 14 of them count, as he’s now on the wrong side of 30 years old. He did go 16-21 on steals in the shortened 2020, however, so maybe it’s just a philosophy difference with the Mets.
Villar has a below-average glove, but not a bad one. He can play anywhere in the infield other than first base and has even played a little outfield. For a fun guy that has some ties here and could explode for another fun season, it could be a savvy signing. Or maybe he only plays good for struggling teams, and that’s why his two career-best years are for teams that went a combined 127-197; it could go either way.