Brewers: Finding David Stearns’ Actual Batting Average As GM

David Stearns’ Batting Average In Free Agency, Part 2

2019 Season

• Cory Spangenberg – Draw
• Yasmani Grandal – Hit
• Jake Petricka – Miss
• Mike Moustakas – Hit
• Gio Gonzalez – Hit

Cory Spangenberg signed a split contract, spent most of the year in the minor leagues, but came up for 32 games toward the end of the year. Spangenberg’s overall numbers weren’t that great, .232 average with .635 OPS and a 37.8% strikeout rate, but he did have some big hits and big plays in very important moments down the stretch in 2019. Because of that, he’ll go as a draw.

Jake Petricka only threw eight innings for the Brewers and then was shipped elsewhere for nothing. That goes as a miss.

Gio Gonzalez spent the final month of 2018 with the Crew and then signed as a free agent with the Yankees. They didn’t want to put him on their big league roster so he was released and the Brewers snatched him up. He also played extremely well in 2019 with a 3.50 ERA.

Hits: 11  Misses: 5  Draws: 1

2020 Season

• Alex Claudio – Miss
• Brett Anderson – Hit
• Josh Lindblom – Draw
• Avisail Garcia – Draw
• Ryon Healy – Miss
• Justin Smoak – Miss
• Eric Sogard – Miss
• Jedd Gyorko – Hit
• David Phelps – Hit
• Brock Holt – Miss

By far, this was Stearns’ worst offseason in free agency. It started with Alex Claudio, coming off a non-tender, Stearns signed him back and he posted another 4.00+ ERA and was non-tendered yet again this year. Another miss.

Brett Anderson ate up some innings as a lefty in the rotation and provided some veteran leadership. That is exactly what Stearns signed him to do and that’s what the Brewers got. Anderson will go as a hit.

Josh Lindblom had a slightly rough initial transition back to MLB, ending 2020 with a 5.16 ERA. But over his final five outings, Lindblom had a 2.45 ERA. He was starting to settle back in, and it may take more time to get some clarity since this was a three year deal, so he’ll go down as a draw for now.

Avisail Garcia is another one that’s too early to call. His first year as a Brewer didn’t go as planned as his power suddenly disappeared. Especially for the salary he’s getting, the Brewers need more production from him. Whether this goes as a hit or a miss will depend on his 2021 season.

Ryon Healy and Justin Smoak were signed to help out at first base. Healy had seven at-bats all year and Smoak was designated for assignment before the year was up. Both were huge misses.

Hits: 14  Misses: 10  Draws: 3

When it comes to free agent signings, Brewers GM David Stearns has a .574 batting average.

Prior to the 2020 season, Stearns actually had a .676 batting average in free agency. Last year was a bit of a slump for him.

Now let’s look to how Stearns has done in trades.