Brewers: 3 Infield Free Agent Targets That Make Sense

Hanser Alberto

Hanser Alberto was a surprise non-tender by the Orioles at the start of the month and is another interesting option for the Brewers. At 28, Alberto is one of the youngest players with infield experience on the market, and with only four years of service time, Alberto would be under team control through 2022.

Alberto appeared primarily as a second baseman for the Orioles but did see time at third base, and throughout his career with the Rangers and Orioles, he appeared at first base, second base, third base, shortstop, left field, and right field.

He is a right handed hitter, and he hits well against left handed pitchers. In 2020, he slashed .375/.396/.521 for an OPS of .917, with a 146 wRC+. Against right handed pitchers, he slashed .257/.278/.357, for an OPS of .635, and a wRC+ of 70.

For most teams, a talent such as Alberto would not hit the market, however the Orioles general manager, Mark Elias stated the decision was due to the team having to “[operate] within the economic framework of the collective bargaining agreement and the quirks of the arbitration system”.

The MLB Percentile Rankings show that Alberto does not have much power. He was in the 1st percentile for exit velocity (82.3 MPH), Hard Hit % (20.2%), and Walk % (2.2%). He also was in the 3rd percentile for Barrel% (1.0%).

In 2020, defense was not Alberto’s strong suit, as he was in the 6th percentile for Outs Above Average, worth -3. However, in 2019, he was in the 91st percentile.

Alberto has great bat to ball skills, but no power. He was worth 0.6 fWAR in 2020, and Depth Charts and Steamer both project him to be worth 0.7 fWAR in 2021. Alberto is quite young, and was projected to earn anywhere from $2 to $4 million.

With past defensive versatility across the infield, and contact skills, Alberto may be an option for the Brewers to consider as a bench piece who could see considerable time at third base or second base.

These are just a few options that could fit in for the Brewers across the infield either in a starting role or in a utility role. The Brewers have a number of different directions they could go.