Milwaukee Brewers: 4 Lefty relievers to target

1. Luis Avilan

Luis Avilan split his 2018 season between the Chicago White Sox, and the Philadelphia Phillies. He was non-tendered by the Phillies last week, and the Milwaukee Brewers should look to take advantage of the Phillies’ frugality.

Avilan manged a 3.77 ERA in 45 1/3 innings last year. He struck out 51, walked 18, and gave up three homers. He posted splits similar to Wilson last year with a .283 wOBA against lefties, and a .315 wOBA against righties.

Avilan earned $2 million last year in his third year of arbitration. He has one more arb-eligible season left, but it doesn’t really matter as he’s a free agent right now. He’ll either sign a one-year deal this year, and become a free agent next year, or look for a multi-year deal this year, and stay with the same team. Either way, he’s done with arbitration.

The Milwaukee Brewers could likely add Avilan to the mix on a one- or two-year deal that provides a slight raise over his 2018 salary. A two-year deal in the $5-to-$6 million range isn’t out of the question, and it won’t break the Brewers’ budget. Avilan is only in his age-29 season, and has been a solid performer for years. He’s not quite the power arm that Wilson is, but he also doesn’t have the control issues that Wilson is known for.