Brewers News: Free Agent Brock Holt Signs With Crew

The Milwaukee Brewers were not quite done with their offseason additions, despite the full squad reporting to spring training already.

If you look at Brock Holt‘s career and his statistics, he seems like a perfect fit for the Milwaukee Brewers. He’s extremely versatile, hits left handed, and puts up strong offensive numbers.

According to reports, he’s now a member of the Brewers.

While details of the contract were not immediately available, this is likely a short-term deal.

UPDATE: On Wednesday, the Brewers announced the contract, with Holt signing a one year deal with a club option for 2021, similar to most of the other Brewers free agent signings this offseason.

Who Is Brock Holt?

Brock Holt is a super-utility player that has experience at every infield and outfield position. He can essentially replace Hernan Perez, but with better offense. Last year, Holt had a .297/.369/.402 slash line with 19 extra base hits and a 101 OPS+ in 259 at-bats.

Throughout Holt’s eight-year career, seven with the Red Sox, he’s hit .271/.340/.374 with a 92 OPS+. Holt is not a power hitter, with just 23 homers in his entire career.

Defensively, Holt rates highly as an outfielder, with 17 career defensive runs saved over nearly 1,400 innings. In the infield, his best defensive position is second base, where he has a net total of 0 DRS. Every other position rated negatively in terms of DRS.

Where does Holt fit in on the Brewers?

As a super-utility, he can fit in anywhere, and will likely help out on the infield depth for the most part. In the outfield, they have Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Ryan Braun, Avisail Garcia, and Ben Gamel for likely maximum of five spots on the roster.

The infield, however, is a tougher puzzle to put together. The only position that’s set in stone with one everyday starter is second base with Keston Hiura. First base will be between Braun and Justin Smoak, while shortstop will be between Orlando Arcia and Luis Urias.

Third base is the spot that could potentially be where Holt sees the most time. Currently, Eric Sogard and Jedd Gyorko figure to get time at that position, but Holt could prove to be an upgrade over both of them.

Holt was one of the top remaining free agents on the market as spring training opened, and the Brewers have continued to add depth to their infield. Craig Counsell will have no shortage of options this year. The Brewers will have to DFA someone off the 40 man roster to make room for Holt, and according to The Athletic’s Will Sammon, reliever Taylor Williams received the DFA.

We will provide updates on Holt’s contract and corresponding moves as they come in.