Former Brewers Lewis Brinson and Luke Maile find new homes

Amongst the chaos that has been MLB free agency today, two former Milwaukee Brewers players found themselves on new teams. Former top-prospect Lewis Brinson latched on with the Houston Astros on a minor-league contract while catcher Luke Maile has signed a big league deal with the Cleveland Guardians.

For 27-year old Lewis Brinson, the new minor-league deal he signed with Houston says a lot about how far his stock has fallen since being a highly touted prospect in each of the Rangers, Brewers and Marlins organizations.

His Brewers career was a short one after carrying so much hype when he was acquired from Texas, appearing in just 21 games, hitting two home runs and posting an alarmingly low .106 batting average.

After being included in the Christian Yelich trade as the biggest piece going from Milwaukee to Miami, Brinson continued to flop, hitting just 23 home runs and a .203 batting average over the course of 320 games in four seasons. He struck out around 30% of the time and has ultimately been worth -3.4 bWAR.

While the Brewers have been quiet so far in this free agency period, former Brewers Luke Maile and Lewis Brinson have signed with new teams.

With the Astros, Brinson will be organizational depth, slotting behind Chas McCormick, Michael Brantley, Kyle Tucker, Aledmys Diaz, Niko Goodrum, Jose Siri and the injured Jake Meyers in the outfield.

31-year old catcher Luke Maile also had a brief Brewers career, albeit a slightly more successful one on paper than Lewis Brinson. The six-year veteran appeared in 15 games for the Crew down the stretch last season, hitting .300 and scoring six runs in a small timeframe.

Maile is not known for his bat but is a serviceable backup catcher who is much more defensive-minded than offensive-minded. Per Jon Heyman, his deal is a major league one and he will immediately slot into the backup catcher role behind Austin Hedges in Cleveland.

The Guardians had signed switch-hitting veteran Sandy Leon to a minor-league contract earlier in the offseason but the Maile signing will bump him down to the organization’s Triple-A affiliate to start the season, as Maile is out of minor league options and cannot be sent down to the minors.

Amongst the free agent frenzy today, two former Milwaukee Brewers players found themselves joining new organizations. Former top prospects Lewis Brinson joins the Astros on a minors deal and catcher Luke Maile has signed a big league deal with the Cleveland Guardians.