Brewers sign Daniel Robertson- 1 Year Deal, $900,000

[markedman5]

[owbc]

 

This guy checks all of the Stearns boxes.

 

Plays multiple positions [check]

Former Tampa Bay Ray [check]

Struggled in most recent full season [check]

Many years of team control remaining [check]

I've never heard of him [check]

[Eye Black]

This guy checks all of the Stearns boxes.

 

Plays multiple positions [check]

Former Tampa Bay Ray [check]

Struggled in most recent full season [check]

Many years of team control remaining [check]

I've never heard of him [check]

Although he can't be optioned, so he misses on one box.

[Madhawk23]

Man, this Brewers offseason just gets more brutal by the day!

 

Please...can someone (anyone!) provide me some sabermetric data on this guy that might get me even just the slighted bit excited about this signing. Anyone???

[sveumrules]

Somebody in the Brewers FO must have been reading an oldy copy of the 2015 Baseball America prospect handbook while they were sitting on the throne.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Huh ... don't get this one. He did have a decent 2018 I guess.

[PeaveyFury]

Seems to grade out as a passable 3B and SS defensively, and a plus 2B. Has played the OF and 1B as well.

 

He was really good in 2018. Since, not so much.

[Madhawk23]

Can someone explain the MLB contract to a guy like this? Seems like a guy that would have easily been attainable with no MLB spot guaranteed? Or, am I wrong in that line of thinking?

[Madhawk23]

Seems to grade out as a passable 3B and SS defensively, and a plus 2B. Has played the OF and 1B as well.

 

He was really good in 2018. Since, not so much.

 

"Really good" is a bit of a stretch IMO. I'd settle for "solid" in 2018.

[sveumrules]

Man, this Brewers offseason just gets more brutal by the day!

 

Please...can someone (anyone!) provide me some sabermetric data on this guy that might get me even just the slighted bit excited about this signing. Anyone???

 

Robertson posted a 122 OPS+ & 3.1 WAR over 340 PAs in 2018.

 

If he does something like that again in 2021 it would be pretty cool.

 

He probably won't though.

[PeaveyFury]

Seems to grade out as a passable 3B and SS defensively, and a plus 2B. Has played the OF and 1B as well.

 

He was really good in 2018. Since, not so much.

 

"Really good" is a bit of a stretch IMO. I'd settle for "solid" in 2018.

 

3.1 WAR is really good in my book...

[AKCheesehead]

From some cursory reading, Robertson's 2018 was shortened by a thumb ligament injury/surgery, 2019 he dealt with a nagging knee injury he played through and eventually went under the knife. So he's a former first rounder who had some good flashes. His minors numbers don't pop out at you but it appears he was progressed pretty aggressively since being drafted. I'm not necessarily trying to lead you down the primrose path, but if he's able to stay healthy I could see why Stearns sees something in him. If we're cash strapped, which we are, there's probably worse players to try to catch upside with.

[wibadgers23]

It’s pretty obvious where Stearns is going this offseason. Just about every signing so far has been a 26ish year old former high draft pick who just hasn’t gotten it going in the big leagues yet.

[CheeseheadInQC]

It will be interesting to see if the contract is guaranteed. If not, the Brewers have the 40-man flexibility to make it a more attractive version of a minor league deal.

[Simba2020]

I won't begin to say I'm excited about the signing but for $900K plus incentives, I think it's an ok signing. He offers good defense at multiple positions and isn't afraid to draw a walk. Batting from the right side doesn't exactly help with any possible platoons however.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

It’s pretty obvious where Stearns is going this offseason. Just about every signing so far has been a 26ish year old former high draft pick who just hasn’t gotten it going in the big leagues yet.

 

This is a good point. Instead of going after cheap guys who have proven that they can be productive major leaguers, but either fell on hard times or are one-dimensional, he's going after a bunch of "pedigree" types who have big tools, for for some reason or another have never hit it big. Interesting theory.

[MNBrew]

3+ career WAR isn't bad for a part-time player over 4-ish MLB seasons. Obviously he's competition Mathias, Lopes, & possibly Urias. One thing's for sure: they can't all stick.

 

Like Lopes, not an exciting move but maybe will provide some value.

 

Waiting for something more significant.....

[wallus]

Well we do need bench guys which is what I am assuming Robertson will be?

[MNBrew]

It’s pretty obvious where Stearns is going this offseason. Just about every signing so far has been a 26ish year old former high draft pick who just hasn’t gotten it going in the big leagues yet.

Obviously a decent and potentially value-laden profile for a cheaper price.

[Lathund]

Can someone explain the MLB contract to a guy like this? Seems like a guy that would have easily been attainable with no MLB spot guaranteed? Or, am I wrong in that line of thinking?

 

League average offense (97 wRC+) with solid defense at 2B/SS will usually get you a major league deal if there's multiple teams interested. If he played another position (except CF/C) with those numbers, probably not.

 

As always though it's more about what the front office expects going forward rather than what has happened in the past. What that is with Robertson I have no idea, I didn't know who he was. And I thought we had signed RP David Robertson. But he's 26, and has at least some past success. Something about his game makes them think he can do that again. Or perhaps they just wanted a more experienced player to fill the utility role. This team likes to not use a 5th OF and instead have a primarily infield utility guy who can fill in there short-term. Perez, Franklin, Holt, Peterson, Mathias, Sogard are all examples in recent yearsa.

[Eye Black]

It’s pretty obvious where Stearns is going this offseason. Just about every signing so far has been a 26ish year old former high draft pick who just hasn’t gotten it going in the big leagues yet.

 

This is a good point. Instead of going after cheap guys who have proven that they can be productive major leaguers, but either fell on hard times or are one-dimensional, he's going after a bunch of "pedigree" types who have big tools, for for some reason or another have never hit it big. Interesting theory.

It is the better approach in my opinion. The most likely window for a player to have a breakout career season is between ages 26-to-28. I know it would be preferred if they didn't have to rely on the "throw stuff against a wall" approach, but if you are going to employ such a strategy then finding guys that still have hope to boost the top of their career arc would be my choice every time.

[djoctagone]

Although he can't be optioned, so he misses on one box.

blame the rays for burning his first option his rookie year. had they recalled him on 1 september 2017 when rosters were eligible to expand, he wouldn't have burned his first option.

 

people do realize that by signing robertson, it's now extremely unlikely that the club re-signs eric sogard, right?

[AKCheesehead]

Although he can't be optioned, so he misses on one box.

blame the rays for burning his first option his rookie year. had they recalled him on 1 september 2017 when rosters were eligible to expand, he wouldn't have burned his first option.

 

people do realize that by signing robertson, it's now extremely unlikely that the club re-signs eric sogard, right?

 

That's an excellent point. I give Robertson a LOT of credit for not being named Sogard.

[trwi7]

A utility infielder that we're trying to talk ourselves into with one year of a fluke WAR? Why would I want to watch the sequel when the original sucked?

[CheezWizHed]

Although he can't be optioned, so he misses on one box.

blame the rays for burning his first option his rookie year. had they recalled him on 1 september 2017 when rosters were eligible to expand, he wouldn't have burned his first option.

 

people do realize that by signing robertson, it's now extremely unlikely that the club re-signs eric sogard, right?

 

That's an excellent point. I give Robertson a LOT of credit for not being named Sogard.

 

Meh... his parents really deserve that credit.