Brewers News: Brewers Looked Into C Matt Wieters

The Brewers did their research on free agent catcher Matt Wieters before deciding they were content with the catchers on their current roster.

Matt Wieters just reached a deal with the Washington Nationals on Tuesday but the Brewers were in the mix until the end. General manager David Stearns claimed to have done “due diligence” on Wieters before deciding he was fine with heading into Spring Training with the options they already had on the team behind the plate.

Stearns never said if the team offered Wieters a contract or not but he did admit to contacting agent Scott Boras about his client.

“We talk about a wide variety of free agents throughout the offseason, and certainly when there is a player of that magnitude who remains a free agent at this stage of the offseason, we’re going to have our conversations about him,” Stearns said. “We’re going to make sure we do our due diligence. In this case, Wieters is no different.”

Matt Wieters would have likely been a much better option at the catcher spot for the Brewers than any of the three other catchers on their current MLB roster.

He could have been had at an affordable price as well as he signed with Washington for $21 million over two years with an opt-out clause after the first year.

Milwaukee will instead head into Spring Training with a trio of catchers who have all been acquired by Stearns from other teams. These three catchers – Manny Pina, Jett Bandy, and Andrew Susac – are all under 30 years old. They also have another thing in common – they are all running low on Minor League options left.

The competition figures to be fierce since this is likely all three of these guys’ best shot at finding a permanent home behind the plate in the Major Leagues.

The Brewers are confident that all three will play to the standards they are looking for.

“We think we’ve got a talented trio of catchers, all of whom deserve some Major League exposure. None of them has really gotten that chance to play regularly or consistently at the Major League level, and we’re eager to see how that competition plays out,” said David Stearns of his backstops for the 2017 season.

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