Cain happy to be in Brewers blue
Fifth in a position-by-position series on the Milwaukee Brewers entering spring training. Today: Center field.
PHOENIX – When Doug Melvin was general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, he knew better than to chase his tail pursuing a free agent who had no intention of coming to Milwaukee.
“Players know where they want to play,” Melvin would say.
Melvin’s successor, David Stearns, did not have that problem in his courtship of free-agent outfielder Lorenzo Cain. As it turned out, there was an immediate mutual attraction.
“When Milwaukee called, we didn’t expect them to be interested because they had so many outfielders,” said Cain, on the market for the first time after sixplus seasons in the majors.
“Once I got the phone call, I kind of lit up a little bit. I was definitely excited to maybe come back to where it all started. I told my agent (Damon Lapa) this was
the place I wanted to come back to. If we could find a way to make it work, let’s make it work.
“It took a little longer than what I wanted, but at the end of the day we made it happen.”
In signing a five-year, $80 million contract on Jan. 25, the biggest of the otherwise quiet off-season to that point, Cain came back to where it all started for him as a professional. A 17th-round draft pick in 2004 out of Madison (Fla.) High School, he made his big-league debut for the Brewers in 2010, batting .306 with a .348 on-base percentage in 43 games.
Cain’s time with the Brewers proved brief, however. He was included in a package of four prospects traded to Kansas City that December for pitching ace Zack Greinke and infielder Yuniesky Betancourt.
Cain evolved into one of the best allaround centerfielders in the game with the Royals, becoming an American League allstar in 2015 and playing in consecutive World Series, the latter of which in ’16 resulted in a rare small-market championship.
Kansas City knew it couldn’t afford to keep its deep crop of talented free agents after last season, so Cain knew he’d be hitting the market. When the Brewers came calling, it immediately tickled his fancy that he might be able to return to his original club, to the point that he gave Milwaukee exclusive negotiating rights at the outset.
“Honestly, when we engaged Milwaukee, my focus was on them the entire time,” said Cain, who will be 32 on April 13. “We told them we were only going to negotiate with them at the time. That’s the way I wanted it.
“It’s the place I wanted to come back to. That’s what I wanted, so we were only talking to them for a while. Once I saw their interest was for real, we continued to push forward and found a way to get it done. I had a number I wanted to get to, and Milwaukee got to that number.
“Some other teams jumped in toward the end. I can’t tell you who but it was more than one. But I was never torn because this is the place I wanted to be. For me, it’s all about comfort. I knew this would be the most comfortable fit for me.
“I don’t need to be in a big city. I played for a small-market team in K.C. I get more joy out of beating big-market teams. It puts a smile on my face.”
Cain didn’t know it at the time but Stearns was simultaneously working on a trade for Miami outfielder Christian Yelich, put on the market by the Marlins in the new management’s fire sale. The announcement of the Brewers’ acquisition of Yelich, who has a similar skill set to Cain, came a couple of hours before reports of Cain’s deal surfaced.
Like the rest of the baseball world, Cain had no idea the Brewers were trying to pull off the salvo of reeling in two of the best all-around outfielders in the game.
“I did not know that’s what they were doing,” Cain said. “I knew they were working on something because (Stearns) told us he was but we did not know it was for Yelich.
“I found out when everybody else found out. I was in Milwaukee, getting a physical. Maybe they wanted to make a big splash that day.”
Yelich, 26, won a Gold Glove in left field in 2016 but played last season in center for the Marlins. Shortly after news broke of the Yelich trade, Stearns told Cain that the plan was for him to be the primary centerfielder, a pleasing yet unsolicited promise.
“I never said I had to play center to sign,” Cain said. “I’ve played all over. I assumed I was going to play center but they never said that until they made the trade for Yelich. That’s when they told me. They didn’t have to do that. I'm willing to do what’s best for the team.
“That’s all I know. I’m playing center. I’m not sure where I’ll hit in the lineup but that’s the position I’ll play. I’m looking forward to getting out there with the other guys and working with them, learning each other and get our communication together. We’ll get it done.”
If Stearns and manager Craig Counsell have a Plan A for how playing time will shake out in the corner outfield spots, they are keeping it to themselves. Ryan Braun, when healthy, has been the No. 1 leftfielder, and Yelich certainly will play regularly in the outfield. Where that leaves incumbent rightfielder Domingo Santana, not to mention centerfielder Keon Broxton and prospect Brett Phillips, remains to be seen.
As for the experience of donning a Brewers uniform again, Cain said, “It feels good. I always felt I looked good in these colors. It’s pretty much the same colors as Kansas City. Blue has been my color.
“It’ll be nice to only play for two teams in my career. I’d like to do what we did in Kansas City – get in the playoffs and win the World Series.”
Cain knows some folks wondered about a five-year commitment to a player on the north side of 30 but smiled and proclaimed, “You watch me out there; you’ll see. I’ve still got it.”