Outfielder Lewis Brinson signed a minor league contract with the Astros, and he has joined the club in camp as a non-roster invitee, per Michael Schwab of The Schwabcast (via Twitter). GM James Click confirmed the signing to a number of reporters this morning, including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
Brinson has long been a tantalizing talent because of his off-the-page athleticism, but the potential has not translated to on-field results for the 27-year-old outfielder. Brinson slashed just .226/.263/.376 over 290 plate appearances with the Marlins last season. It was his fourth year in Miami since being one of the premier pieces in the deal that sent Christian Yelich to Milwaukee.
Over his four seasons with the Marlins, Brinson posed an overall triple-slash line of .203/.248/.325 over a not-insignificant 1,056 plate appearance. Brinson appeared in no less than 75 games for a full-length season over that time with Miami, appearing in 47 of the 60 games in 2020 as well. He will now have to fight for a roster spot with the Astros.
Houston has the relatively unproven Chas McCormick in center, though he performed well enough last year to all but guarantee himself the starting role this year. Jose Siri is also on hand as a spare outfielder, and infielders Aledmys Diaz and Niko Goodrum can also man the grass. Jake Meyers had a productive season last year and would be in the running for playing time were it not for the torn labrum suffered at the end of last season.
A solid replacement player option. I hope they get another reliever and I have no idea what they’ll do at shortstop.
In 5 full seasons, Correa only crossed 110 games played one time. I love watching him play, but giving him 300M is stupid. So, I hope he goes to the Angels or Mariners.
Solid??? Brinson is terrible
It’s not a bad depth move on a minor league deal. Yeah Brinsons been atrocious but he’s still only 27 years old.
Nothing wrong with signing him for depth, he still has upside, was highly touted for a reason. He may put it together with the Cubs, may not, but nothing really not to like with this move. Not sure about the sabermetrics with Brinson, but I’m guessing he brings above average defense and base running.
He isn’t coming to the mariners. Yankees perhaps
Brinson has been below replacement level his entire career. Literally one of the worst hitting OFs of all time.
Was part of the yelich trade to Milwaukee.
I think the brewers won that one….even with current yelich. (Here’s hoping for a bounce back in 2022.)
Sneaky good deal here. Former super highly ranked prospect goes to a train wreck of an organization in Miami and was set up to fail from the beginning… I’m not saying the Astros will flip him back to his old potential, but it wouldn’t shock me with the right coaching to see him turn into a significant contributor…
Wow,the Marlins are a decent organization. Yes just like all they all make mistakes. In turn of organization with the best overall accomplishments Miami has done that over Atlanta in a short amount of time.
No.
Lol not even a debate at all lol!!!!! Since inception, they only have 6 or 7 winning seasons, most of them sub .400 records, and have yet to win the division. However, the Braves have repeatedly won the division a baseball record x amount of times in a row and won 2 World Series and make the playoffs almost every year. There is no rational argument to suggest the marlins haven’t been horribly mismanagement since creation.
The Braves are good I will give you that. However the Marlins have been to the WS twice and 2 pennants in just 29 seasons. The Braves have 4 WS and 18 pennants in 146 seasons. Mathematically the Marlins are the better team. So the laugh is on you. Lol!!!!!
Plus Atlanta is well know as the city to get to the dance but just can’t close the deal in all sports.
Oh, the “right coaching”. I’m not sure telling Brinson what pitch is coming is going to help. Maybe if they let him use a tee… and golf balls.
Guy is athletic and he can drive the ball when he makes contact. Problem is he strikes out way too much.
Guy couldn’t stick on the Marlins begging for OF depth. He’s fools gold going forward.
Where are all the comments about how this is a dumpster diving move, and along with failing to bring back Correa, shows what a cheap organization they are?
Astros seem to know what they are doing, after letting Springer and Cole walk in consecutive years. By letting Correa walk too they must have some sort of plan
I mean, they have Pedro Leon and Jeremy Pena waiting in the wings.
Nowhere because the Astros have not been a cheap organization in over half a decade.
Jose Siri 2.0
More like Fernando Martinez 2.0, overhyped prospect that became a bust.
Worth a flyer.
Another prime example as to why you shouldn’t be afraid to trade prospects for proven studs.
Lewis Brinson was impossible to develop in OOTP. That’s my basis for real life development. Best case scenario, he’ll be another Jake Marisnick and bounce around for another 6-7 years as a 4th-5th OF.
On a minor league deal it could be a much worse player
Here is a full and complete list of OFs with 1000 PAs and an OPS+ of less than 55:
Lewis Brinson
A low risk move obviously. The Astros know how to spot talent, if there’s something there this is the organization that will bring it out of him.