Brewers, Avisail Garcia agree to 2-year deal worth reported $20M
The Milwaukee Brewers signed outfielder Avisail Garcia to a two-year contract that includes a club option in 2022, it was announced Tuesday.
Financial terms have not been officially disclosed. It was reported Monday that the contract is worth $20 million, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
Garcia will earn $7 million in 2020 and $10.5 million in 2021, and he'll also receive a $500,000 signing bonus, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
The club option, if exercised, is worth $12 million, or it can be bought out by Milwaukee for $2 million, Nightengale added. If Garcia receives either 550 plate appearances in 2021 or 1,050 PAs across 2020 and '21 combined, it will be converted to a mutual option.
Garcia turned down three-year deals from teams, including the Brewers, because the collective bargaining agreement expires in two years and he believes he can earn more annually after that time, Heyman added.
The 28-year-old hit .282/.332/.464 with 20 homers and 10 steals over 125 games last season with the Tampa Bay Rays. He made the All-Star team in 2017 when he accrued an .885 OPS with the Chicago White Sox.
The addition of Garcia bolsters a crowded Brewers outfield that already includes two-time All-Star Lorenzo Cain and former MVPs Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun.
Garcia revealed Tuesday that he'll primarily play left field for the Brewers - a position he hasn't manned since 2016 - while also seeing a bit of time in center field. He spent most of 2019 as the Rays' right fielder, where he accrued three defensive runs saved, but he rated as a below-average defender across 94 innings in center.
"When I talked to the manager (Craig Counsell), I'm going to play left field because Yelich is in right," Garcia said, according to Adam Berry of MLB.com. "Sometimes, I'm going to play center. Most of the time, I'm going to play left field. I'm OK with it. I just like to play baseball. I'm ready to win."
Milwaukee's roster will look quite different in 2020 after adding Garcia, catcher Omar Narvaez, infielder Luis Urias, and starting pitchers Eric Lauer, Brett Anderson, and Josh Lindblom this offseason.
However, the team also lost two All-Stars in Yasmani Grandal and Mike Moustakas to free agency, with Moustakas defecting to the division-rival Cincinnati Reds.