Milwaukee Brewers: 3 Free Agent Infielder Targets
By Kenny Jilek
Milwaukee Brewers Free Agent Infield Target: Josh Harrison
At 34 years of age, Harrison isn’t quite the young kid he was for his first, and more impressive, All-Star season in 2014, but he still has plenty of value to bring to this squad. Being one of the older guys in the clubhouse, he can now take on more of a leadership role, but let’s not discount his fun-loving spirit that comes to the ballpark every day and would no doubt keep the energy going in harmony with guys like Willy Adames, Brent Suter, and Lorenzo Cain.
Of the three options here, he definitely has the best glove, especially at third base, where he owns a career 24 runs saved above average. He’s also an above-average baserunner. Over his career, he’s taken an extra base on a hit (going first to third or second to home on a single, or first to home on a double) 52 percent of the time, compared to the league average of 40 percent. Even slowing down with age, that number was 44 percent in 2021.
His bat isn’t slowing down either. He had that one great season for the Pirates but was never anything more than an average hitter in eight seasons there. The past two seasons, he’s had OPS+ numbers of 108 and 106, making him an above-average hitter both times.
This is all before mentioning that he’s played every position on the field other than catcher in his time in the majors. His contract last year was a pedestrian $1 million, and even with a solid season in 2021, it shouldn’t be too much higher. There’s not tons of upside here, but getting a solid veteran who can play wherever you want him to for pretty cheap is usually a good investment for a club that’s pretty strapped for cash.
So what do you think of these three free agent infielder options? Do you think the Milwaukee Brewers should take a swing at any of them? Let me know in the comments below.