Pina signs with Brewers 1.65 million

[markedman5]

[JimH5]

This one makes me very happy. He's a fan favorite, and seems to be liked within the organization.

[young guns]

So we have tendered both the catchers despite signing the new guy. Interesting.

[DR28]

Why the hell are we giving up on Nottingham... I thought for sure Pina was gone.

[markedman5]

So we have tendered both the catchers despite signing the new guy. Interesting.

 

New guy is likely just minor league depth since he has an option left and Nottingham does not.

[MNBrew]

Signing Maile and resigning both Pina & Narvaez sure suggests either Nottingham or Freitas is on their way our the door. To me, it has to be only a matter of time before Freitas is gone because Maile most likely is AAA-bound since he has an option remaining.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

So we have tendered both the catchers despite signing the new guy. Interesting.

 

Well, Freitas and Nottingham are out of options, and Maile was one remaining, so it makes sense to have an experienced vet in AAA. Bummer that this likely means Nottingham's route to big league time is tougher now.

[Lathund]

Wow. I did not expect both Piña and Narvaez to be retained. At all. This surely has to mean a trade is coming right; whether it's Narvaez (unlikely), Piña or Nottingham. Running 3 catchers on the ML roster tends to make more sense if they can play more than just C and perhaps 1B (And for them to play 1B they need to hit really well), but none of the Brewers catchers can do that. And then there's the Maile signing; major league deal to be 4th catcher? Seems excessive. In addition to trades, it could also be about insurance. Deals are not fully guaranteed, so they would get a chance to watch the players in spring training and release them with only paying 1/6 of their contract.

 

Surprising, but I like Manny a lot and he seems to work well with pitchers so I'll be happy to see him as a Brewer in 2021 if that's what this means. Even if I don't really understand what the plan is.

[pacopete4]

At the price, it made sense. They still can be traded which I am in the camp of trading Pina away and letting Nottingham take on that role.

[PinaMadness]

[MrTPlush]

We will see how this plays out, but one of Narvaez, Pina, or Nottingham is still likely to go before the season. The only way to keep all three is optioning the most expensive of the bunch (Narvaez) and having two right handed catchers. That doesn’t make sense obviously and keeping all three on the MLB roster isn’t happening.

 

I’d still expect a duo of Narvaez/Nottingham...I’d be pretty surprised if Stearns didn’t go with the younger catcher. Of course...maybe they think they can sneak Nottingham back to AAA. I would be a little surprised...but never know.

 

One theory is to hold all three until the last second and then send Nottingham to AAA...not many teams will be wanting to claim a catcher right before the season starts.

[Eye Black]

We will see how this plays out, but one of Narvaez, Pina, or Nottingham is still likely to go before the season.

Here is the quote from David Stearns on the catching situation:

 

"It will give us time through the coming months to sort through all of that. ... We're happy we have that level of depth at the catching position."

 

 

My best guess is that either Nottingham or Freitas gets moved at some point this offseason.

[djoctagone]

manny piña, the longest tenured brewer, has filed for free agency. is there a case to re-sign him?

[endaround]

manny piña, the longest tenured brewer, has filed for free agency. is there a case to re-sign him?

Yes. He's a 1.5 win backup catcher. Not resigning him would be bad. I know people got excited about 30 PAs from Maile in September, but he had a 88 wRC+ in AAA.

[adambr2]

Pina is a glove-like fit on this team as a backup catcher, and I hope he stays.

 

I didn't even realize he had enough service time to be a free agent. Not bad for a guy who didn't really have an MLB career until he was almost 30.

[Roderick]

manny piña, the longest tenured brewer, has filed for free agency. is there a case to re-sign him?

 

He is definitely worthy of a MLB roster spot, if you are asking that. But, obviously in FA - if the price is right.

[jerichoholicninja]

manny piña, the longest tenured brewer, has filed for free agency. is there a case to re-sign him?

Yes. He's a 1.5 win backup catcher. Not resigning him would be bad. I know people got excited about 30 PAs from Maile in September, but he had a 88 wRC+ in AAA.

 

Really?

[adambr2]

Yeah I don't recall anyone being excited about Luke Maile lol.

[tmwiese55]

Seems like the perfect RH compliment to our starter. Elite at defense, seems well liked by everyone. As long as the price is right I don't see why they wouldn't want to keep him and I can't imagine he gets starter money from anyone so I think they should keep him.

[jerichoholicninja]

You would think he would be a highly sought after free agent. Possibly the top backup in the league and certainly not a horrible option if he's forced to be the starter. He could very likely cost more than Stearns could or should spend for a part time player. It's certainly not going to be as simple as Milwaukee wanting him back so he signs.

[folly412]

Hopefully a re-sign. If not, Maile is serviceable but indeed a downgrade. Will be interesting to see if Feliciano or Fry can contribute next year, but a mistake to count on either.