Brewers Lose Avisail Garcia In Free Agency To Miami Marlins

The Milwaukee Brewers have lost yet another player from their 2021 roster in free agency, with Avisail Garcia finding a new team.

In the beginning of a big rush to sign new contracts before the CBA expires in a few days, Avisail Garcia has signed a multi-year contract with the Miami Marlins. Craig Mish was the first to have the report.

Joel Sherman later added on that the four year contract was worth $53MM. That’s an average annual value of $13.25MM.

That average value is more than the $12MM mutual option he had with the Brewers for 2022, but far less than the $18.4MM value the Qualifying Offer would’ve carried had the Brewers chosen to offer that to him. They did not, and given his AAV, there would’ve been a big risk he accepted.

The Brewers now officially will have a new rightfielder in 2022 after Avisail Garcia’s free agent departure.

The Brewers signed Garcia two years ago on a two year, $20MM contract. His first year didn’t go that well but he performed as advertised in 2021 and made good on his deal. Because of that, he ends up with a raise on his next contract, even into his 30s rather than his late 20s.

As soon as Garcia reached the plate appearance threshold to turn his club option into a mutual option, his departure was already in the works. Given his strong 2021 season, going into free agency was the smart move, and it has clearly paid off for him with a long-term contract.

Given Garcia’s desire for a long term contract, the Brewers seemed an unlikely landing spot for him in free agency again this winter. With Tyrone Taylor ready for a bigger role as well as a large number of outfield prospects coming up through the minor league system, committing to Garcia for four years just didn’t seem to fit the Brewers plans.

But now, barring another signing of someone else in free agency, Tyrone Taylor is slated to take on the starting role in right field in 2022.

In 2021, Garcia led the Brewers with 29 homers, a new career high for him. He also hit .262/.330/.490, added 18 doubles, and drove in 86 runs.

For a team that is clearly in need of more offensive firepower, losing their top home run hitter in free agency doesn’t exactly help push the team in a positive direction. They’ll need to make up for those lost 29 homers somehow. Hopefully Taylor can fill that as much as possible.

This isn’t unexpected. The Brewers focus still remains on improving this offense.