Brewers Sign 1B Lyle Overbay To Minor League Deal

Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Three days after signing Mark Reynolds, the Milwaukee Brewers have signed another first baseman in Lyle Overbay. The Brewers signed the left-handed hitter to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training.

Overbay, who played for the Brewers in 2004 and 2005, hit .240 with 14 home runs in 2013 for the New York Yankees after replacing injured first baseman Mark Teixeira. He is a career .267 hitter across 12 major league seasons.

He will compete with Reynolds and Juan Francisco for the starting first base job, although he seems to be the Brewers third option, as he will turn 37 next week.  However, he hits for a higher average and is by far a better defensive player (career .995 fielding percentage at first base) than Reynolds and Francisco. But I don’t see him anything more than a platoon player.

Overbay will try to recapture his magic he had in Milwaukee, as he enjoyed his best season in 2004, hitting a career-high .301 with 16 home runs and 87 runs batted in.

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