Milwaukee Brewers Sign Tim Dillard, Ivan De Jesus, and Rene Garcia to MiLB Contracts

The Milwaukee Brewers announced a few minor league transactions earlier today, including confirming the previously reported signings of lefty Andrew Barbosa and righty Forrest Snow. The club also announced the signings of utilityman Ivan De Jesus as well as the re-signing of both catcher Rene Garcia and right-hander Tim Dillard, all to minor league contracts.

De Jesus, who will turn 30 next season, was a 2nd round pick by the Dodgers back in 2005. He was a well-regarded prospect coming up, including ranking in Baseball Prospectus’ top 100 prior to the 2009 season. He’s never quite been able to translate that into MLB success, however, and only recently gained a foothold in the big leagues as a backup player on a rebuilding team. He’s accrued 545 plate appearances over parts of four seasons in the majors (2011-12, 2015-16), batting .242/.303/.327 (71 OPS+) with five home runs and four steals for the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Reds. He doesn’t walk much and strikes out at a relatively high clip (23.9% career rate), offering little in the way of power or value on the bases. He batted .253/.311/.312 with a single home run and 3 steals in 243 plate appearances (a career-high) with the Reds in 2016.

De Jesus is a right-handed hitter whose calling card is his defensive versatility. He has appeared at first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and left field in the big leagues, though he hasn’t graded out particularly strongly at any of those positions in limited samples. De Jesus has extensive experience at the highest level of the minors, where he owns a much nicer .301/.362/.413 slash with 26 home runs and 21 steals across 2,326 trips to the plate. He’ll receive an invitation to spring training.

Rene Garcia, who turns 27 next spring, was a 35th round pick by the Astros back in 2008 and has never appeared in the big leagues. He owns a career .634 OPS across 2,252 plate appearances over the last nine seasons within the Astros, Phillies, and Brewers organizations. He spent last year split between AA Biloxi and AAA Colorado Springs and batted .247/.277/.286 in 193 plate appearances. He will also receive an invite to spring training.

Dillard, 33, has spent his entire career within the Brewers’ organization after being drafted in the 34th round of the 2002 MLB Draft, including parts of 2008-09 and 2011-12 in the big leagues. The side-armer tossed 47.1 innings for AAA Colorado Springs in 2016, posting a 5.13 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. He’s become much more well-known because of his Twitter account, Dubsmashes, recent stints in the broadcast booth, and as the Brewers social media call-up last September. He’ll report to minor league camp next spring to begin his 15th professional season.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference