Report: Former Brewer Jonathan Schoop signs with Minnesota Twins

It didn’t take Jonathan Schoop long to find a new team after his non-tender last week. On Friday, the Brewers announced they would non-tender the second baseman, and David Stearns admitted it was his worst move as GM. Today, Schoop has a new team to work for, as Ken Rosenthal reports the Twins will sign Schoop to a one-year, $7 million contract.

Had the Brewers held on to Schoop, he would have been heading for a big pay day in his final year of arbitration. MLB Trade Rumors had a projection of $10 million of Schoop, even after his down year to end 2018. Since arbitration salaries usually go back two years, it would have been hard to see a scenario in which Schoop would take a pay cut through the arbitration process. At the same time, the Brewers tried to trade Schoop before a non-tender, but no other team was interested, especially considering what they would likely have had to pay him. As a result, he ended up being non-tendered.

With Schoop taking a one-year, $7 million dollar deal with the Twins, it shows that his value has declined significantly. By waiting until Schoop was non-tender, the Twins not only did not have to part with a prospect to sign Schoop, they also saved $3 million on what he would have earned through arbitration. At least it also sends Schoop back to the AL, where the Brewers will only have to worry about playing against him four games next season. For now, the Brewers can move on from Schoop and look to build their team in 2019.