Jeffress, Vogt avoid arbitration
But Brewers fail to reach deal with Hughes
Stephen Vogt had trouble sleeping Thursday night, but it was the good kind of insomnia.
The kind that comes with agreeing to a new contract.
The veteran catcher agreed to a $3.065 million deal with the Milwaukee Brewers for 2018, avoiding salary arbitration. And, in all likelihood, avoiding being non-tendered a contract.
The Brewers and reliever Jeremy Jeffress also avoided arbitration Friday by agreeing to a one-year deal with two club options that could keep him in Milwaukee for three more seasons. Jeffress received a $1.7 million salary for 2018 and a $50,000 signing bonus, with club options for $3.175 million in 2019 and $4.3 million in 2020. He can earn an additional $2.2 million in incentives each season for innings pitched and games finished.
The Brewers did not reach an agreement with reliever Jared Hughes, however, and opted to non-tender him rather than go to arbitration. Hughes pitched well last season (3.02 ERA in 67 games), but the Brewers weren’t interested in giving him a big raise from his $950,000 salary.
“Jared is a guy, that even with this non-tender, we’re open to bringing back next year,” general manager David Stearns said. “At the same time, Jared has the right to explore free agency and see what else is out there.”
The team’s other arbitration-eligible players — right-hander Jimmy Nelson, closer Corey Knebel, and infielders Jonathan Villar and Hernan Perez — were tendered contracts for 2018 with salaries to be worked out later. Stearns said he was open to multi-year deals with any of those players if talks lead in that direction.
Despite Villar’s poor showing in 2017, Stearns said there was no talk of nontendering him.
“Jonathan has proven he can be a valuable major-league player,” Stearns said. “We believe he’s going to be a valuable major-league player in the future and look forward to having him on the team.”
Vogt’s deal is not guaranteed and provides only a slight raise above his 2017 salary of $2.965 million, but he considered it a positive development.
“My wife and I enjoyed our time in Milwaukee so much last season,” said Vogt, who was claimed off waivers from Oakland in late June. “This is where we wanted to be; this is where we belong.”
Vogt, 33, was considered a non-tender candidate because of his age, salary and defensive shortcomings, but the signing removed the possibility of not getting an offer before the 7 p.m. Friday deadline.
“Any time you’re going up against arbitration, especially when you get to be in your 30s, I’ve been around long enough to know how this business works,” Vogt said. “At some point, a team has to make a tough decision.
“We were hoping for the best; we were hoping to come back. That’s really what we wanted, at the end of the day, to come back.”
After coming from Oakland, Vogt shared time behind the plate with Manny Piña except for one month spent on the disabled list with a knee injury. He made an impact as a left-handed hitter, batting .254 with eight home runs, 20 home runs and .789 OPS in 45 games.
Vogt had issues defensively, however, particularly throwing out runners. Opponents stole 27 bases in 28 attempts when he was behind the plate.
“Obviously, I need to make some improvement in my throwing and I’m taking steps this winter to do that,” said Vogt, who played in some discomfort with a brace on his knee after the injury.
“It’s going back to cleaning up my mechanics and gaining some arm strength. I’m doing some weight-ball stuff and throwing earlier in the winter than I’ve done in the past. I used to throw the ball well. And, at times, I did throw the ball well this year. I just didn’t get the results I got in the past.”
Arbitration deals generally are not guaranteed, and Vogt said the Brewers told his agent their policy is not to guarantee them. That means he could still be cut at the end of spring camp and receive only a fraction of his salary, so nothing is set until the final roster moves. The Brewers have four catchers on their 40man roster, including Jett Bandy, who is out of options, and Andrew Susac.
Jeffress’ salary for next season represented the maximum 20% cut allowed by clubs, but he decided to go for the sure thing and the possibility of three more years with the Brewers. In 180 appearances with them, he has a 2.56 ERA and 27 saves, compared to a 4.76 ERA and one save in 91 outings with Kansas City, Toronto and Texas.
“It’s always a give-and-take in a negotiation, and that’s certainly true as you approach the tender deadline,” Stearns said. “In Jeremy’s case, this gives him the ability to stay here for up to three more years.
“It allows us to bring him back here at a value that we’re comfortable with and Jeremy is comfortable with, and keeps him in a place where he has performed very well. That was in both parties’ best interest, and I’m certainly pleased we were able to work something out.”
Stearns confirmed the Brewers submitted the requested questionnaire to the representatives of Japanese free agent Shohei Ohtani to show the team had interest in signing the two-way sensation. Now, they wait to see if Ohtani shows reciprocal interest or if they are out of the contest to sign him.
“We’re very interested,” Stearns said. “I think all 30 clubs, to some extent, are interested. We believe he’d fit our team very well, both as a pitcher and position player. We submitted our presentation; we think it represents our organization well. We think as an organization we have a lot to offer.”