The Brewers announced this afternoon that outfielder Lorenzo Cain has cleared release waivers and reached free agency. That was a mere formality after the team designated him for assignment over the weekend.
Cain now has the right to explore other opportunities, but it remains to be seen whether he plans to continue his career. Shortly after his DFA, Cain met with reporters and reflected on his career (Twitter link with video from Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). The 36-year-old expressed pride about recently eclipsing ten years of MLB service time, and he noted he’s “put (his) body through a lot over the years” and is “ready to rest for sure.” He struck a similar tone in a chat with former Royals beat reporter Jeffrey Flanagan yesterday, saying he “must admit it is very nice being home” (Twitter link).
If this is the end of Cain’s playing days, he’ll step away as one of the better outfielders of his generation. A former 17th-round pick, Cain overcame his low draft status to reach the majors with the Brewers by 2010. Milwaukee flipped him to the Royals the following offseason, packaging him with Jake Odorizzi, Alcides Escobar and Jeremy Jeffress to land Zack Greinke.
The blockbuster played a huge role in the course of MLB history during the 2010’s. Cain and Escobar became key members of back-to-back pennant winners in 2014-15, while Odorizzi was eventually flipped to the Rays in the James Shields/Wade Davis swap. Cain played in Kansas City from 2011-17, settling in as the club’s primary center fielder by 2012. He hit .289/.342/.421 while playing excellent defense and swiping 120 bases over that stretch. He earned his first career All-Star selection in 2015 and finished in third place in AL MVP voting after posting a .307/.361/.477 line that year.
After that run in Royal blue, Cain hit free agency for the first time. He inked a five-year, $80MM guarantee to return to the Brewers in January 2018. That came within days of Milwaukee’s acquisition of Christian Yelich, and the pair of marquee pickups helped kick off a stretch of at least four straight playoff appearances. Yelich wound up being the more impactful add, claiming an MVP award during his first season in Wisconsin, but Cain was a high-end player in his own right in 2018.
That year, Cain hit .308/.395/.417 and stole 30 bases. He earned his second All-Star nod and finished seventh in NL MVP balloting. He only posted a .260/.325/.372 line during the second season of that deal, but he picked up a long-awaited Gold Glove award for his work in center. After sitting out most of the 2020 campaign due to COVID concerns, Cain returned in a more limited role last year. He played at a roughly league average level through 78 games, but he scuffled this season. Milwaukee’s DFA came after Cain posted a .179/.231/.234 line through 156 plate appearances.
Cain’s contract stays on Milwaukee’s books for this year. The club will owe him what remains of his $18MM salary for the final season of his deal. Were he to sign anywhere else, another club would only pay the prorated portion of the $700K league minimum for any time he spends in the major leagues.
While Cain has hinted at retirement on multiple occasions in recent weeks, he’s not made any formal announcement about his future. If he decides he’s interested in continuing his career, his defense and respected clubhouse presence would certainly at least get him minor league opportunities. If Cain is finished playing, he’ll step away a career .283/.343/.407 hitter through parts of 13 big league seasons. FanGraphs has valued his career around 30 wins above replacement, while Baseball Reference has him at about 38 wins. By the end of this season, Cain will have banked a little more than $100MM in earnings between his arbitration salaries and contract with Milwaukee.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Orioles?
Would he be an improvement for the O’s though? McKenna has speed & plays CF already. I guess from a mentorship standpoint they couldn’t go wrong with him.
Lorenzo isn’t Abel, but he Cain & will be back again!
We don’t need him
Where would the Orioles put him at? The outfield is loaded.
Have to admit, that gave me a chuckle, but yeah, he’s probably a 4th OF on that team even.
Orioles are getting a lot better .. watch out Yankees. In 2 years you can hold out jockstraps
Why would he go to a team with no playoff chance. Don’t see him coming back but only if a contender. He sounds like he is done though.
Why do people think that players at the end of their career are only interested in playing if they can contend for a championship? This is just made up. There are plenty of reasons for a player to want to continue no matter what situation the team is in. Passion for the game, pride, a hope to rejuvenate oneself and continue a successful career. Fans just make stuff up and repeat it but where does this come from?
Cosmo, have you watched Cain play this year? It’s always possible he gets the urge tomorrow or next week, but given his body language (and statistical results) this season, he didn’t seem to want to play while he was actually on the field.
Why in the world would he suddenly decide “oh I love the game so much, I’m gonna sign a minor league deal with the Reds/Cubs/Pirates/Tigers in the hope I can become their 4th OF’er and ride off into the sunset of my career on a 90+ loss team! Woo-hoo.”
Agreed 100%. He didn’t seem to want to play, but he did take the money.
Has anyone here watched an Orioles game lol They are set up well in the outfield. Future of the infield looks bright as well. Starting pitching is the only concern for that team.
Very few…….
Most people here go by statistics, past reputation, and media narratives……including many of the writers.
Am very excited about the Orioles. The infrastructure to acquire and work with players – both in the minors and the majors – is pretty much in place. Some players are beginning to matriculate up to the big league club. This is very much the same timetable the Astros had when they totally rebuilt their organization. For years they’ve had the best in MLB.
The pitching will come. Some of it’s already up, but needs to be worked with. (Still love Zimmerman, there’s no reason at all to give up on him. The organization will rework him the the minors.)
If he retires, he had a helluva run..Fun player to watch..
Always seemed like a good dude. Ring. .750 career OPS. 100 mill. 30+ WAR. An absolutely successful ride for Lo Cain. Cheers from this Cubs fan.
Also a great success story. Didn’t start playing baseball until I believe his sophomore year of high school. Literally didn’t even know which hand to put his glove on and held the bat with his left hand on top.
He is a class act. Hope my Sox take him…..especially considering the sad sacks we have in the outfield. He can’t be any worse.
Probably rest on his laurels, not hall of fame but not much left to achieve.
Wonder how KC Fans compare him to Beltran ulitimately.
Beltran was the more talented player but spent his prime elsewhere. Cain on the other hand sort his prime in KC went to 2 straight World Series winning one. Cain is far and away the choice for me.
Yeah, and Beltran’s legacy is tainted by his cheating, whether it matters or not; whereas Cain has been the consummate professional.
And if he’s crippled, he will walk with a Cain!
Curly, you’re trying to hard.
” he will walk with a Cain!”….only if he is Abel.
(I’ll be here all week. Don’t forget to tip your bartender and waitresses)
Beltran was cheating, and so were the Yankees…..and probably 20 other teams in some fashion. I’m not letting the Astros or Beltran off the hook here, Manfred did that. That championship will always have an asterisk. No debate there. I’m also not a “Yankee Hater”. Baseball is more exciting when the Yankees are a factor. I’m just saying that the Yankees have acted pretty holier than thou through all this, and they ain’t exactly squeaky clean. Every team looks for advantages, and I’m sure quite a few cut some corners, just probably not to the extent of the Trashstros.
actually i dont think a team escaped “tacky” so pretty much every team cheated. It all depends on what level of cheating your looking at and whether you consider everyone else is doing it so it must be ok. .
A very nice MLB career for Mr Cain. Probably time to “bring it on home”.
LF Gordon-CF Dyson-RF Cain might have been one of the best defensive outfields I ever saw in terms of range. Watched a lot of that 14-15 team. They were a fun team to follow and pull for. Especially since those were some boring Yankee years.
Cain played CF and Dyson platooned in RF with other players.
Gordan may well have been the best defensive LF in the last 50 years.
The dodgers were looking for a right handed right fielder…
Who’s hitting .170? What on earth would be the point?
To have a right handed hitting right fielder?
Who’s hitting .170. Here I thought the point would be to have a right handed hitting right fielder who could actually, you know, hit?
They signed a guy hiring .071, so this would be a huge upgrade, same with Reyes
It might be..if the goal is to be slightly less awful.
And there’s still the matter of whether he even wants to play. Either way, I don’t see the Dodgers doubling down on poor hitting guys, when they have the dollars and prospects to get a difference maker if they need 1.
Not every player is a HOF player. But players like Cain are a lot of fun to watch as well. I hope that if this is it, he is happy in retirement and he will be missed. Apparently a good guy as well as a good player.
Kenny Williams will be on the phone shortly…
Wouldn’t be a surprise.
The quotes make it sound like he’s pretty checked out – am I misinterpreting?
That’s kinda what I’m getting. Dude hasn’t looked into it all year. I’m wondering if it goes back to the opt out 2 years ago. Just hasn’t been the same since IMO.
Hope the Royals trade Michael A Taylor, let Isbel play CF every day and sign Cain as a reserve outfielder / clubhouse leader / Salvy sidekick.
Uhhh Dodgers anyone???
Lorenzo Cain was on a contender so I doubt going to another would make a difference. How s play has degraded to the point that I don’t think he can improve PHI’s defense.
Would love the Braves to pick him up. Could use a good 4th OF. He could platoon with Rosario when he gets back and Harris occasionally.
Duvall’s bat is coming around so likely a Duvall/Rosario platoon in LF for the Braves when Eddie comes back
Wouldn’t presume to tell someone when to hang it up, but the timing seems right. Salute to Lorenzo, he was always a lot of fun to watch. Always hoped the Nationals would pick him up late in his career as he seems their type of veteran. Great career, great guy.
A change of scenery might bring out the Lorenzo Cain. I would sign him…my Sox could use him.
“the pair of marquee pickups helped kick off a stretch of at least four straight playoff appearances.”. At least 4? How can there be a question about the number? Is it a secret?
All things considered Cain has had a pretty solid career. 87 Homers, 454 RBI’s, 190 Stolen Bases, World Series ring, Gold Glove, 4 time defensive player of the year, and a 2 time All Star.
Lets hope he locked in those 10 full years of service time though. Would hate to see him find out 10 years from now that he is 3 hits short,er, three weeks short and have to come back (sounds like something from a movie…)
Have enjoyed watching Lorenzo play. Was always impressed that he didn’t start playing ball seriously until high school. He’s quite an athlete. Best to Lorenzo wherever he lands.
Time to see what Taylor can do every day. Cain deserves a happy reitenent