MLB Roundup 12/17: Avisaíl García signs with the Brewers

Avisaíl García signs with the Brewers

There have been rumors about Avisaíl García connecting the outfielder to multiple teams over the last week or two. On Monday, we finally got a resolution, with the former Ray signing a two-year deal worth $20 million with the Brewers. It’s been a tough offseason for Milwaukee thus far, losing Yasmani Grandal plus two-fifths of their rotation, but García does help the lineup recover a bit. The addition allows them to move the aging Ryan Braun to first base on a more regular basis after losing both Eric Thames and Jesús Aguilar this winter. García’s bat can be inconsistent and his defense isn’t the best, but he’s coming off a good year and has always had a knack for making good contact. It’s worth the risk for a Brewers team in a division that is totally up in the air.

Sox Spin: The flip side of this is that the Rays, obviously one of the Red Sox’ biggest threats in the playoff race, loses one of their better bats from 2019. The signing of Yoshitomo Tsutsugo will ease the pain, but they still need a right-handed bat as they are getting awfully left-handed in the corners.

Wade Miley signs with the Reds

Old friend alert. Wade Miley has totally remade his career since leaving Boston a few years back, and now it’s earned him a multi-year deal. Coming off a solid year with the Astros, albeit one that started better than it finished, the southpaw is heading to the NL Central, signing a two-year deal worth $15 million with the Reds. I’m not a total believer in Miley, but for this money it’s hard to argue with taking a chance. Since adding a cutter in 2018 with Milwaukee the results have improved tremendously, with ERAs well above-average in each of the last two seasons. Granted, some of the peripherals don’t totally back those numbers up, but for an AAV that is only a little more than that of Martín Pérez (obviously with the extra year guaranteed), I’ll take that chance. The Reds have been fairly aggressive this year and Miley now rounds out a rotation with the potential to be one of the better ones in the National League.

Sox Spin: As you can probably tell from above, I would rather have Miley than Pérez, even considering the Red Sox’ whole luxury tax creed. That said, after signing Pérez they probably aren’t doing anything else until they trade David Price, assuming that’s coming. On that front, this helps as the Reds probably weren’t real players for the Sox veteran and any time a pitcher signs with someone not in that sweepstakes, the better. Of course, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Dallas Keuchel will be more analogous to Price.

Twins sign Sergio Romo

It’s not clear whether or not the Red Sox are going to add to their bullpen or not this winter — their group last year was fine, albeit middle-of-the-pack rather than great — given the money concerns from ownership. They were, however, connected to Sergio Romo at one point, which made sense given his ties to Tampa Bay when Chaim Bloom was there. Well, it’s not going to happen. The veteran is heading back to Minnesota where he closed out the 2019 season, signing a one-year deal worth $5 million with a chance to double that with incentives. There’s not really any downside here for Minnesota, who can simply cut bait if age finally starts to catch up with Romo. If it doesn’t and he pitches enough to hit his incentives, it’ll certainly be worth $10 million. The righty was fantastic for them down the stretch this past year, and it’s worth trying to run that back again in 2020.

Sox Spin: I wanted Romo as I’ve been a fan for a long time now, but it’s hard to argue with how this played out. Generally speaking, when a player goes back to their former team I suspect that was the inclination all along if the money was there. This does give an idea for what this level of the relief market — the level Boston would presumably be in if they do decide to shop — will cost.