Milwaukee Brewers add Shane Opitz on minor league deal

Connor Byrne of MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Milwaukee Brewers have added Shane Opitz to the organization on a minor league deal.

The Brewers have announced the signing of infielder Shane Opitz to a minor league pact. Milwaukee is the second organization for the 26-year-old Opitz, who had been with the Blue Jays since they used an 11th-round pick on him in 2010.

Byrne reports that Opitz has played all positions in the minors except pitcher and catcher, but hasn’t shown a major league bat and slashed just .252/.306/.333 last season in 274 plate appearances at the AAA level for Toronto. He hits from the left side.

Opitz looks to be no more than minor league filler for Milwaukee. He has just ten homers across 1972 career plate appearances. For his career he has a low strikeout rate of 14.6%, but he also carries an extremely low walk rate of 6.9%. He has just 113 extra base hits over those plate appearances, and his career OPS equals last season’s number of .639.

While he has appeared all over the field, he has primarily played at short for his career. To wildly speculate, Opitz provides some insurance if Mauricio Dubon is needed at the major league level or included in any further deals that Slingin’ David Stearns might have up his sleeve. More realistically, the Brewers needed a bit more infield depth with the departure of prospect Isan Diaz. The AAA Sky Sox roster isn’t filled with middle infielders beyond Dubon and Nate Orf, so there was an obvious need.

Minor moves are necessary, too!

Statistics courtesy of Fan Graphs