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The Milwaukee Brewers are in on shortstop Didi Gregorius according to Robert Murray.
#Brewers remain interested in Didi Gregorious, sources said.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) December 10, 2019
Gregorius is the top shortstop out on the market; however, he’s attempting to repair his value after a rough season. The former Yankee missed a majority of 2019 after undergoing Tommy John Surgery. He ended up hitting .238/.276/.441 with an 84 wRC+ last season. Because of that down year, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman is reporting that Gregorius could take a one-year deal.
While Gregorius has multiyear opportunities it’s possible he may choose to reset his value with a 1 year deal now that he’s at full health
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 10, 2019
Before his down 2019, Gregorius was a 4 WAR player the last two years with the Yankees. The lefty put up wRC+ marks of 122 in 2018 and 109 in 2017. Both were good for sixth in the MLB among qualified shortstops. His offensive numbers are less impressive before that.
Also of interest, Gregorius has played shortstop almost exclusively in his Major League career. He’s had a negative defensive runs saved at the position, but his UZR is above average. He did play 10 innings at third base for the Diamondbacks back in 2014. Of course, third base is one of two of the Brewers’ biggest positional needs. They already seemingly filled shortstop with the arrival of Luis Urias, so that would suggest third base could be the plan for Gregorius.
If they were to sign Gregorius, one might wonder how Milwaukee plans to solve its sudden middle infield log jam. There have been suggestions that Keston Hiura could shift to first so that Urias can play second, clearing the way for Didi. I guess we’ll have to wait to see if Milwaukee actually signs Gregorius to know what happens.
Statistics courtesy of FanGraphs