The Milwaukee Brewers pared their number of arbitration-eligible players from seven to six early Friday by agreeing to a one-year contract with outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis.
Nieuwenhuis, who batted .209 with 13 homers, 44 runs batted in and .709 OPS in 392 plate appearances in 2016, signed a split contract that will pay him $900,000 if he's in the majors and $257,000 if in the minors. His salary was $514,000 last season.
That deal left the Brewers with pitchers Chase Anderson, Wily Peralta, Tyler Thornburg and Carlos Torres, second baseman Scooter Gennett and catcher Martin Maldonado remaining in arbitration. The deadline is 7 p.m. Central to tender contracts for 2017 to those players.
First baseman Chris Carter was arbitration-eligible as well, but the Brewers designated for assignment the National League home run co-champion earlier in the week when they signed free agent Eric Thames to a three-year deal. The Brewers were trying to trade Carter before the tender deadline, when he will become a free agent.
The Brewers had other personnel moves as teams jostled rosters in advance of the winter meetings. Relievers Steve Geltz and David Goforth were sent outright to Class AAA Colorado Springs, and outfielder Adam Walker was claimed on waivers by Baltimore.
Walker, 25, a Milwaukee native, was claimed on waivers from Minnesota on Nov. 18 but designated for assignment 10 days later to open a roster spot when Geltz was claimed from Tampa Bay. So, instead of Walker on their roster, the Brewers have Geltz in the minors.
Goforth was designated for assignment to open a roster spot when the Brewers claimed reliever Blake Parker from the Los Angeles Angels on Nov. 23.
Nieuwenhuis, 29, was claimed from the New York Mets in December 2015 and served as a platoon player in center field and backup in the corners. He is a left-handed hitter, a commodity the Brewers need, who posted a .953 OPS at Miller Park and .460 OPS on the road.
He finished the season with a sports hernia that required a medical procedure.
The contract decisions are the final order of business for the Brewers before their contingent departs for baseball's annual winter meetings, which officially begin Monday at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md.
With representatives of all the clubs under one roof, and a new collective bargaining agreement in place, the Brewers should get a better idea what the best moves will be to further their rebuilding process. In particular, they should be able to discern any serious suitors for leftfielder Ryan Braun, considered one of the top bats available on the trade market.
The Brewers came close to trading Braun to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 31 before the midnight deadline for postseason eligibility and there has been speculation those clubs would try again to do a deal. But word out of L.A. is that the Dodgers are trying to trim payroll to avoid a huge luxury tax bill, which wouldn't be easy to do with the acquisition of Braun unless the Brewers took on some contracts to lessen the financial blow.
Braun, 33, has four years and $76 million remaining on his contract, with $14 million deferred to future years. He has extensive no-trade protection that allows only six teams to which he can be traded without his permission.
Braun recently revealed he made one unspecified change to that list, which previously consisted of the Dodgers, Angels, Giants, Diamondbacks, Padres and Marlins. Despite having lower back surgery after the 2015 season, he had a productive year, producing a .903 OPS with 30 home runs and 91 RBIs over 135 games.
Because of Braun's stature in the organization, the understanding is that general manager David Stearns and principal owner Mark Attanasio will keep him apprised if any trade talks reach a serious stage. Obviously, if it involves a club on his no-trade list, it would require his approval to do a deal.
