Milwaukee Brewers sign Pablo Reyes to minor league contract with Spring Training invite

The Milwaukee Brewers signed someone to a contract! The new addition is Pablo Reyes, who the Brewers inked to a Minor League contract which includes an invitation to Major League camp.

Reyes comes to the Brewers after spending his entire professional career with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization. Reyes was suspended for 80-games prior to the 2020 season for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. That substance was Boldenone, which is a performance enhancer often used on horses.

If Reyes was using the substance in 2019, it did not help him. He slashed .203/.274/.322 in 157 plate appearances. He was much better during his rookie campaign in 2018 where he slashed .293/.349/.483. Reyes did show promise as a minor leaguer, where he hit .278/.351/.421 over 2,587 plate appearances.

Not surprisingly, Reyes is another player that can play almost any position spending most of his time at shortstop and second base in the minors and logging time at third base and the corner outfield spots in the majors.

In a November 26, 2018 article by Eric Logenhagen and Kiley McDaniel in Fangraphs, the two prospect experts ranked Reyes as the #10 prospect in the Pirates’ system. Their scouting assessment read as such:

At some point in 2018, his hands became more active and his swing took on more movement, becoming whippy and more explosive, and the quality of Reyes’ contact was able to improve without costing him much in the way of contact. It culminated in an eye-opening September cup of coffee — an apt phrase for Reyes, who plays like he is extremely caffeinated — during which Reyes slashed .293/.349/.483. September numbers can be noisy because the talent pool has been diluted by roster expansion, but we’re cautiously optimistic that Reyes has become a different hitter. Namely, a gap-to-gap hitter capable of really punishing pitchers who try to beat him with heat on the inner half.

It is reasonable to assume Reyes may have been more than caffeinated in 2018. Reyes has already missed all of 2020 due to his PED suspension, which even though the season was only 60 games, Adam McCalvy reports as being completely served.

The Brewers top-brass wants to take a closer look at what Reyes is capable of, thus the invitation. At 27 years old, the Brewers are hoping he is on the verge of figuring something out that brings a value add to the Brewers lineup. Again we know the pattern: Versatility and minor league options. Reyes has two options remaining.

Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference