Carter becomes free agent Club unable to trade reigning HR champ
The Milwaukee Brewers knew the odds weren’t great of trading slugger Chris Carter after they designated him for assignment four days before the non-tender deadline, but general manager David Stearns said he actually had a few bites.
“There were points where we thought we were going to be able to get a deal done but ultimately we were not able to,” Stearns said Friday evening.
When the 7 p.m. deadline arrived with no trade, Stearns had no choice but to non-tender Carter and make him a free agent. It was an unprecedented move, cutting lose a reigning home run champ (Carter tied Colorado’s Nolan Arenado for the NL lead with 41), but the
Brewers already committed to free-agent first baseman Eric Thames on a three-year deal plus an option. Thames played the last three years in Korea.
“The fact it had never been done before makes it feel a little odd, but ultimately we think the series of transactions we’ve been able to make over the past two weeks will benefit our club going forward,” said Stearns, who spoke with Carter on the phone earlier in the day to discuss the situation.
“Chris did a really nice job for us this year. He was a valuable member of our team. I have no doubt that he’s going to continue to be a productive major-league player and that he’ll land on his feet with another organization.”
The Brewers didn’t say so publicly, but cutting ties with Carter had a lot to do with the $10 million or so he’d likely get through arbitration after playing with a $2.5 million salary in 2016. The Brewers didn’t feel that commitment would be in their best interests while still in the early stages of a large-scale rebuilding plan.
“Chris is a professional and understands the business aspect of the game,” Stearns said.
The Brewers had seven other arbitration-eligible players and signed two of them — second baseman Scooter Gennett to a $2.525 million deal and outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis to a split contract that pays him $900,000 if in the majors and $257,000 if in the minors. Pitchers Wily Peralta, Tyler Thornburg, Carlos Torres and Chase Anderson, and catcher Martin Maldonado will continue to negotiate with the club and either sign deals or go to hearings in February.
Stearns wouldn’t say if Gennett and Nieuwenhuis were nontender candidates if deals were not completed.
“I’m not going to comment on hypotheticals,” Stearns said. “We worked constructively with their representatives to keep them in Brewer uniforms and look forward to their production going forward.”
The Brewers had other personnel moves as teams jostled rosters in advance of the winter meetings that begin Monday in National Harbor, Md. Relievers Steve Geltz and David Goforth were sent outright to Class AAA Colorado Springs, and outfielder Adam Walker was claimed on waivers by Baltimore.
Walker, 25, a Milwaukee native, was claimed on waivers from Minnesota on Nov. 18 but designated for assignment 10 days later to open a roster spot when Geltz was claimed from Tampa Bay. The Brewers hoped Walker would clear waivers and stay in their system, but the Orioles grabbed him instead.
Goforth was designated for assignment to open a roster spot when the Brewers claimed reliever Blake Parker from the Los Angeles Angels on Nov. 23.
Geltz does not have to accept his assignment but Stearns said the hope was that he would. The move gave the Brewers one opening on their 40-man roster, providing some flexibility entering the winter meetings.
“This time of year, it’s always nice to have at least one spot open, whether it’s for a major league transaction or a Rule 5 selection,” Stearns said. “We anticipate there being a lot of talks over the next week and want to make sure we have roster flexibility to consummate a transaction if there is one we like.”
With a new collective bargaining agreement done, Stearns said he expects “a very busy week” for clubs at the winter meetings. The Brewers figure to be active in talks and should be able to discern if there are any serious suitors for leftfielder Ryan Braun, considered one of the top bats available on the trade market.
“I would say we’re active in a number of different discussions over the past week,” Stearns said without specifying which players were involved. “The amount of talk among clubs has accelerated, even more so with the completion of the CBA negotiations.
“I would imagine there will be a number of player moves, both free agent signings and trades. We’re going to see if there are things we can do to improve the team and improve our young talent. We’re active on a number of fronts.”