Brewers: 3 Infield Free Agent Targets That Make Sense

David Stearns and Craig Counsell love infield depth and versatility on their roster. Here are 3 players who the Brewers could look to add.

The Brewers have a need for additional infielders. The super utility players such as Hernan Perez, Jonathan Villar, Jace Peterson, Brock Holt, have been on the roster before, and have received considerable playing time.

With Keston Hiura a lock at second base, and some combination of Luis Urias, and Orlando Arcia manning shortstop, the Brewers have gaps at first and third base to fill in their infield.

Here are three infielders who have experience all around, and would be valuable assets for the Brewers to add.

Marwin Gonzalez

Marwin Gonzalez is back on the free agent market. He spent two years with the Twins where he played first base, second base, and third base, and right field, and the previous seven seasons with the Houston Astros.

Throughout his career, Gonzalez has appeared at every position except for catcher. While never known for his offensive prowess, he is reliable, with a career wRC+ of 99, and he is looking to come back from a wRC+ of 66 in 2020. He had an exceptionally low BABIP in 2020, only .241, which is far from his career average of .306.

Taking out an anomalous 2020 season, Gonzalez has been a solid contributor throughout his career, even producing 0.2 fWAR despite his offensive struggles. Another plus surrounding Gonzalez is his switch hitting ability. Craig Counsell likes to play the match ups, and having a switch hitter is an additional plus.

Despite his struggles in 2020, Gonzalez is very consistent as a switch hitter. His career triple slash against a right handed pitcher is .261/.321/.411 (OPS of .732). Against a left handed pitcher, Gonzalez slashed .261/.307/.416 (OPS of .724).

Outs Above Average is a relatively new stat for infielders. It measures the impact of all plays the fielder is credited with, and allows for a conversion of outs saved to runs saves. In 2020, Gonzalez ranked in the 94th percentile, with an OAA of 4.

Gonzalez is projected to be worth 0.6 fWAR according to FanGraphs, which is in line with his production for 2020.  He has experience all over the infield, and is a switch hitter who can be plugged anywhere in the lineup and in the field. David Stearns should be in contact with Gonzalez.