The Brewers have officially announced their signing of infielder/outfielder Brian Anderson, making that deal official. In a corresponding move, first baseman Jon Singleton has been designated for assignment, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Singleton, 31, has had one of the more unique baseball journeys. Drafted by the Phillies in 2009, his strong work in the minors got him onto top prospects lists, jumping onto Baseball America’s top 100 in 2011. At that summer’s deadline, he was one of four players traded to the Astros in the deal that sent Hunter Pence to Philadelphia. Singleton continued to impress after switching teams, launching home runs and walking at very high rates for the next few seasons.
In June of 2014, just as he was to be promoted to the majors, he and the Astros agreed to a five-year, $10MM extension that also came with three club options. The club hoped for Singleton to be a staple of their lineup for years to come and locked him in at an affordable rate before he could increase his earning power. Unfortunately, the plan didn’t come to fruition. Singleton hit just .171/.290/.331 in 2014 and 2015. That led to a wRC+ of 81 indicating he was 19% below league average. He was kept in the minors for the next few seasons and released in May of 2018. At that time, Singleton had just been given his third suspension for a failed test for a drug of abuse. He would later go on to speak publicly with Adam McCalvy of MLB.com about his battle with marijuana addiction.
After getting let go by the Astros, Singleton sat out a few seasons, not playing official baseball anywhere from 2018 to 2020. He joined Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League for 2021 and impressed enough to get a minor league deal with the Brewers for 2022. He spent all of last year with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds and produced well overall. He struck out at a 27.7% clip but drew walks at an incredible 20.1% rate and popped 24 home runs. That led to a batting line of .219/.375/.434 and a wRC+ of 118, indicating he was 18% better than league average.
That wasn’t enough for Singleton to get called up during the season, but the Brewers did re-sign him to another minor league deal in October. A few weeks later, they were evidently concerned someone might take him in the Rule 5 draft and added him to the roster prior to the deadline. However, since that time, the club has been quite active despite a lack of splashy free agent signings. In addition to signing Anderson, the Brewers also signed Wade Miley and Blake Perkins and traded for William Contreras, Jesse Winker, Bryse Wilson, Javy Guerra, Payton Henry, Abraham Toro, Owen Miller, Janson Junk, Joel Payamps and Elvis Peguero, in addition to grabbing Gus Varland in the Rule 5 and Tyson Miller off waivers. All of those additions seem to have nudged Singleton out of his roster spot.
The club will now have one week to trade Singleton or pass him through waivers. In the latter scenario, Singleton has a previous career outright and could reject such an assignment in favor of electing free agency. For any club that needs first base help, Singleton could make for an intriguing flier as he’s coming off a strong campaign in the minors and still has less than a year of service time. However, he’s out of options and would need to hang onto a roster spot or else be designated for assignment again.
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I agree.
I second that
Thank you, thank you!!
This dude is an enigma
Someone know something no one else knows?
I think that is Welsh for Wow!
Incorrect, Welsh is even more wacky than that.
Blackadder:
Have you ever been to Wales, Baldrick?
Baldrick:
No, but I’ve often thought I’d like to.
Blackadder:
Well don’t. It’s a ghastly place. Huge gangs of tough, sinewy men roam the Valleys, terrorizing people with their close-harmony singing. You need half a pint of phlegm in your throat just to pronounce the place names. Never ask for directions in Wales, Baldrick. You’ll be washing spit out of your hair for a fortnight.
That does explain why the best musicians in history are Welsh.
I can’t get through the day without a little John Cale, Mclusky, or World Party.
That close harmony singing is where it’s at man!
Completely on point
Time for the Red Sox to step up and get their new man.
??? They have Casas, Turner, and Dalbec
Yeah, but those are just stopgaps. Singleton is the future.
Didn’t know Jon Singleton was still kicking around in the major leagues anymore.
They don’t let him into Gonzaga home games anymore.
He wasn’t. He just wandered back into the building.
Astros have made plenty of great moves, signing him to that extension was not one of them.
That extension is exactly why I don’t care when players complain about being offered a contract that small, that early in their career. It’s a risk for the team to offer him something that early.
When do players complain about that?
When they’re Freddy Peralta. Despite a fair amount of time missed due to injury, he’s vastly outperformed his extension deal.
He’d have gotten WAY more in arb and eventually in FA.
They complain all the time about what they perceive as low ball offers. When it is offered at a young age they can either bet on themselves or take the financial stability a lower offer provides for them.
It was 2 million a year. Sometimes these dont work out but it was not a dumb move and it didnt hurt them in the least.
The Jon Singleton Brewers Era – what if it was all just a dream?
Yeah – a pipe dream!
Seems his dream of joining the bigs went up in smoke
Single biggest bust of all time?
An 8th round bust?
Yeah but he got paid a lot before he made the majors. So there had to be some hype there.
Nah, just a poor evaluation by the Astros. An 8th rounder not panning out is nothing new.
@gone2
They only paid him $10mm over 5 seasons, so it’s not as though they bet the farm on him. Heck, the Mariners are paying Evan White $24mm.
Besides, Brien Taylor would like a word.
Also, the players union was not happy about him taking that deal
I think your pun might’ve gone over a few heads
Zaidi gonna sign him. Too many walks.
Pretty darn good OBP in triple A last year. 117 walks – that’s Bonds territory!
Problem is, he’s lucky to hit his weight.
When you are over 230 that phrase doesn’t have the same impact.
Imagine finding a 350 pounder with pop who could hit his weight.
Marijuana is addictive??
Gotta go with the weed cause they don’t tell you to drink beer with bowel diseases.
It’s horrifying now many people don’t know this.
Nope
Anything you do every day is an addiction. Particularly if you continue to do it despute negative consequences.
How dare you – I am NOT addicted to coffee. I simply think about it from the moment that I get up in the morning until I brew the first moka pot. And then, until I stop for more on the way out. Not addiction…merely consistency in behavior.
Hey! Can someone help me find the MLBTR Anonymous meeting?
That’s not even remotely the definition of addiction.
Except to far right wing tools and moral fascists.
Dude, there is almost no way a person could play a game like baseball high at the pro level. You’d probably have the record for being plunked, or walks, or both. You probably would want to watch a game, but not play in one. You’d be more inclined to eat a brat than pay attention to how many outs there are left in the inning. It’d be a recreational thing after a game, like grabbing a couple beers with ur buddies, except that it has a stigma attached to it that drinking simply doesn’t anymore.
Except for that time when Dock Ellis threw a no hitter when he was high on LSD
Addiction is often less about the substance and more about the person. It’s just like an alcohol addiction – a person that is prone to developing an addiction is more likely to become addicted to a non-addictive substance than a layperson using the same substance.
It’s absolutely about the substance. Addiction is NOT psychological. It’s NOT about the person.
It’s WHOLLY about the substance.
At least that’s what I learned in microbiology classes.
Heroin and nicotine: highly addictive.
Weed: 100% not.
@spike – Addiction is absolutely pertaining to the person. Yes, there are absolutely substances that are addictive on their own, but their existence does not mean both can’t be true. Some people have predisposed genetic disposition, others may have a traumatic or mental reliance on the substance. It’s the same reason I can go on a daily bender on a week-long trip to Vegas and come out just fine (short of maybe a few hangovers), while a single drink can lead a recovering alcoholic into a relapse.
Ask Cody Bellinger
I watched a lot of Dodger games and Belly always looked “Dazed and Confused”.
No but you have to pay lip service to it being addictive so you can seem repentant for doing something that is basically harmless but is also socially unacceptable.
@mule
This was really the thought that passed through your mind that made you say, “yep, gotta post this”?
@dis If we’re judging our posts on their necessity we can all go home.
Mule, rarely has a truer statement been written. In a society where bucking the norms is deeply resented, lip service is a way out; assuming you can do it with a straight face and can live with yourself after doing so. Looks like a few of these posters could stand to open their minds just a bit. On the other hand, the dude was given 10 million reasons to put the stuff down for a few years, so…
It’s never been more socially acceptable since the 1936 witch hunt by Harry P. Ainslinger. Prior to that it was wholly acceptable.
Yes, it is. It’s more of a mental than physical addiction.
Well, it’s not at all physiological.
It’s only VERY slightly mental. Even the most addictive personalities can use extreme mounts of it daily with absolutely zero negative affects.
I’m sure that’s true of Singleton.
He just sucked and wanted to blame it on something other than his lack of ability to put the bat on the ball (it never seemed to affect his eye or plate discipline, as he always walked at astonishingly high rates).
Maybe like so many disadvantaged youths, he just needed an eye exam.
@spike
What a weird take. His was suspended in 2013, when he was a top-30ish prospect, when he could hit as well as anybody. He signed his contract in 2014.
And then in 2018 while making $2mm under the final year of his contract, he went ahead and got caught smoking so he could forego 100-games worth of pay during his suspension, just so he could blame it on weed?
“Even the most addictive personalities can use extreme mounts of it daily with absolutely zero negative affects.” Have you ever met an addict? That’s… just not true.
Nothing weird about it Mr. Right Wing Troll.
When did he ever hit as well as anybody?
MINOR LEAGUE production does NOT count.
He hit a combined .171 in parts of 2 MLB seasons. Which is awful. He could NEVER make consistent contact against MLB pitching, despite a walk rate that suggest he has good plate discipline and a decent eye.
It was also 2012 in the minors for 50 games. Meaningless. The REAL suspension didn’t come until 2018, when he’d already proven he was a failure. What are you on? It’s worse than weed.
I’ve actually worked in some rehab clinics. Also smoked daily since age 18, even while dunking on future NBA hall of famers and taking titles from disc golf Rushmore players.
Weed is NOT addictive and absolutely does not affect–it probably enhances–performance, either in quality or quantity.
See: every rock album made from 1965-85, and the 500 shows a year that the Grateful Dead played (not to mention the dozens of albums Lee Scratch Perry produced each year, as well as Todd Rundgren, and those dudes went through 1/4 ounces daily).
You’re an idiot and obviously the one who has never met an addict. Or realized that some of the most productive people around you are using copious quantities of weed daily (considering your ugly personality, I’m not surprised they aren’t open with you).
You cannot by physically addicted to weed and it’s almost impossible to by psychologically addicted to it. I’d bet my A+ in biochemistry on it.
@spike
Yeesh! I said your take was weird and then proceeded disagreed with you. I mean, there was a healthy dose of incredulousness mixed in, but didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.
Anyway, your little petty insults and ALL CAPS made RANDOMLY in your post do not make you more right. You said:
“He just sucked and wanted to blame it on something other than his lack of ability to put the bat on the ball”
For that to be true, it stands to reason that all of his marijuana-related issues would have started after he underperformed at the Major League level. Instead, he was suspended for marijuana usage and went to rehab prior to his MLB debut or even signing his contract.
Ah! But you say his 2018 suspension was the real suspension! What makes it more real to you? It was longer because it was his third suspension. That’s it. That also means that he performed an action that resulted in suspension two times before. Whether he was an MiLB player or not is irrelevant because it’s not like the amount of marijuana detected is in direct correlation with the level of baseball the player is playing at. It also doesn’t really makes sense that he would wait until 2018, more than two years after he was sent back down to the MiLB that he would voluntarily forego more than half his contract just to use it as an excuse to not be able to hit, but maybe Jon thought that was what was best for him. Again, all caps does not make your point true. And what am I on? High on life, baby!
Overall, I agree with you that most people can smoke plenty of weed and be just fine. However, there are people that can develop an addiction based on genetic predisposition or as a coping mechanism.
In Singleton’s case, he shared with ESPN in 2014 that he had withdrawal symptoms, night sweats, and went into rehab (again, predating his MLB debut, so it wasn’t in defense of his underperformance). That also goes to show that his MiLB suspension came at the helm of some pretty serious marjiuana usage. So even if you wish to stick to your guns that it is impossible to become addicted to weed (although, even you say “almost” impossible, which while pedantic, does at least hint that some part of you can acknowledge that it is possible), you have to at least acknowledge that Singleton’s relationship with marijuana is, at best, unhealthy.
Marijuana IS addictive. At least, according to the CDC, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a study published in Lancet Psychiatry, and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, just to name a few.
Instead of government propaganda with an agenda that is racist–you might want to look up Harry P. Ainslinger–you might want to subscribe to the FB NORML page and see the REAL research that is coming to light (including that they knew in 1974 that it wasn’t addictive and shrinks tumors).
AND, last year an extensive study showed that it has ZERO impact on physical performance of any kind, though the study specifically targeted driving.
Which makes EVERYONE on here who makes jokes about weed or decries it as harmful or that Singleton had a problem he overcame, both racist and far right wing.
Total crap out of your mouth. There was a study published in January of last year from UC-San Diego that shows that cannabis affects a person’s ability to drive up to four hours after using.
Moron.
@spike
It’s quite ironic that you are so quick to label people you see as having myopic views when you refuse to believe Jon Singleton in fact had a problem because it goes contrary to your outdated sources. Not to mention, you’re making false equivalencies based on your sources. Anslinger (who you misidentified as Ainslinger), as you mentioned used racial undertones to spread the narrative that marijuana is dangerous. Mind you, he never made any logical prescriptions, such as some people being genetically predisposed to a marijuana addiction or that some people may develop an unhealthy relationship with it. That would be like if I called you a libertarian because your view that marijuana is completely safe narrowly overlaps with Gary Johnson’s.
Anyway, if you still believe that EVERYONE (emphasis yours) that “decries weed is harmful or that Singleton had a problem” is a racist far right-winger Singleton himself said, “I knew I had a problem.” He also goes on to call himself a drug addict and had withdrawal and night sweats when he tried to quit smoking. So is Singleton himself a racist far right-winger?
To that end, I am just not clear on what your conclusion is here. Do you think Singleton made it all up? Actually, you did say “he just sucked and wanted to blame it on something other than his lack of ability to put the bat on the ball”, but you seemed to back off of that point when you realized that his marijuana addiction was reported as early as 2012, long before he underperformed at the big league level. Maybe you just took the “L” on that one, like a man. In that case, bravo to you for realizing you were wrong.
Hey! Internet George Santos is NEVER wrong. How is it possible that a world-class disc golfer that can dunk on NBA players and has two Master’s degrees with an IQ of 150 ever be wrong about anything?
Were you dropped on your head a lot as a child?
Or is it the extra chromosome and 70 IQ?
You are an establishment tool.
Bet you got the jab too.
I guess I really never hit 8 three pointers in a quarter while stoned or shot -15 in disc golf.
Things that are APPRECIABLY harder than the simple task of driving a car.
You’re wrong moron (so want to use the r word).
Look at NORML. They are the ONLY valid site for info on weed.
Because they are the only ones without an agenda.
Bet you are a racist white supremacist too. Make a lot of money. Typical a hole.
@spike
Just to humor you, literally from NORML’s website: “… legalize the RESPONSIBLE use of marijuana by adults…” and “NORML represents the interests of the tens of millions of Americans who use marijuana RESPONSIBLY.” I won’t even get into the fact that they are an advocacy group so it is in their best interest to give marijuana the best possible press they can.
Your number one source referencing responsibility with regards to the use of marijuana sort of flies in the face of you screaming how safe weed is, does it not?
Anyway, you’ve devolved to non-sensical, insult ridden drivel, so maybe you should calm down. You’ve done nothing to maturely respond to PDX or I, so maybe you should take a break for a while.
“got the jab” George Santos showing off that 15000000 IQ.
Moron.
I imagine someone will pick him up.
I hope he does get another chance soon. Would be a great comeback story for a guy who has worked hard to put his life back together
It was never apart or needed fixing.
He was just not good at hitting a baseball.
I saw Singleton play last season. He’s in great shape and surprisingly agile around first base. A three true outcome guy that might hit for a better average without the shift. With the walks, power, and defense, Singleton is definitely worth a gamble. It’s easy to crack jokes, but don’t write him off wholesale. The Brewers didn’t protect him from the Rule 5 draft for no reason.
Joey Gallo Lite.
Meh.
i’m a little surprised the brewers DFA’d singleton over jason alexander… the brewers dont have much for depth at 1B
He’ll clear, that’s why.
i’m more worried he would elect free agency… again, not a huge loss, but if telle goes down, all we got is Hiura really
Alexander has options left.
there it is!
Um, currently, Keston Hiura and now Brian Anderson. Mike Brosseau played a few games.
4 bodies to play when Tellez isn’t playing.
so our 1B depth is now a DH, a utility infielder and a guy who has one career game playing 1B… tight. Guess they feel comfortable with Owen Miller at nashville?
Tellez is Left handed which puts him on the longer side of a platoon games started. 130-140 games worth. Most 1b tend to play a fuller season of games. Your concern is over roughly 30-35 games started. Hiura started 30 games to be exact at 1b last season. Rowdy 126 starts. 6 games overall by additional players. Until Tellez goes down for more than a 10day IL stint 1b has enough bodies to fill up 1b starts.
Tellez won’t be facing the shift this season which he face more than average amount. He’ll have a better year in 2023.
once again, i think you’re missing the point of my OP… i am well aware, and not concerned with what we have at the major league level, it’s below that that concerns me. furthermore, why protect singleton from the rule 5 draft and add him to the 40 man roster only to DFA him later? my argument is nothing but a minute doomsday preppong detail, but given our depth at starting pitching and the utter lack of corner infielder in the minors, jason alexander makes more sense to DFA then singleton IMO
True. And it’s even weirder because you have to expect that if Alexander pitches at some point this year, he will be downright terrible again. Maybe even worse than last year. He’s honestly probably the single worst MLB player I’ve ever seen.
He will get the DFA at some point.
Why wasn’t it now so that they could at least keep up the hopeful and positive story of Singleton (and wouldn’t it have been fun if he had to come up for a week and hit a HR that won a game? JA wasn’t going to come up and get us a win).
Anderson won’t play 1B. Or even much RF.
Agreed but there’s always health reasons that could cause a shift of the big plan. Forcing a defensive shift to accommodate.
Anderson is going to play more in RF than at 3B.
Brewers will be worse for it. 4 young minor league OFs and 2 certainly ready to play for ML team. Anderson should not see more games in RF than 3 b unless he only plays 30 games for the team and shipped out.
They have ONE young minor league OF that is ready in Mitchell. The others are at least half a season away. That’s why one year from Anderson is perfect.
That’s going to be hard to achieve when he starts 120 games at 3B.
No wonder you don’t get my logic (I tutored symbolic logic in undergrad and can do calculus btw).
Everything that comes out of your chicken lips is a lie. A flat out lie. George Santos looks at you and says “that’s one lying SOB.”
The Brewers have lots of infielders already. Brosseau, Urias, Turang, Toro. They are limited on outfielders. Yelich and Mitchell and a fourth-outfielder in Taylor. So let’s take a player that can play the outfield and put him in the infielder.
All those poor students you tutored that failed logic.
True. They say you can’t have too much pitching, but you can when it’s JA. I’m still mystified he hasn’t been DFA’d yet.
I never want to see him pitch again.
Unless it’s for a Brewer opponent.
Lindbloom would have been better.
Wonder if he can smoke his way back on a 40man roster
Try Hard, 20.1% walk rate in Triple A… Apparently the pot is very good for his glaucoma and batting eye.
I guess so, he was added to the 40 man roster with the Astros so he could avoid testing positive for a third time,which would have been a lifetime ban under the archaic drug policy in the minors
So the guy has a pot addiction and he goes to Mexico? That’s like an alcoholic going on a brewery tour.
Hey why don’t you do some digging on Jon. This kid has done an amazing job getting his life back on track. He is in great shape working hard and also got properly diagnosed for his mental condition. On proper meds. You know maybe some of you should ask why these teams didn’t help these younger players in every aspect of their lives.
What mental condition? There is/was nothing wrong with him. Ever.
“Paging Mike Elias, please come down to the Customer Service and claim your minor league lefty platoon first baseman”.
You mean Franchy Cordero, Lewin Diaz, and Ryan O’Hearn aren’t enough?
My point exactly. Mikey loves to hoard lefty 1B s. One of those guys should make it out of the pack and get some platoon ABs when Mounty sits to rest.
My guess is Cordero because he can play the OF whereas the others are basically just 1B/DH types
What sort of pinhead uses the term marijauna addiction?
It’s physiologically impossible to become addicted to the herb and it’s honestly the only so called drug anyone should ever put in their body.
Cue the right wing trolls.
Not a right wing troll and I think weed should be legal, but you 100% can be addicted to it. You can be addicted to anything.
NOT physiologically.
And psychological addiction is meaningless.
Singleton no doubt just wanted to blame his lack of talent on something other than his lack of ability to make contact often.
Doctors use the term. You know. People that are MUCH smarter than you.
IF they use it in reference to weed, they are on the take to big pharma and lying.
I do have 2 Master’s degrees, one in physiology and one in psych.
And I did 2 years of med school before dropping out.
So, no, considering my 150 IQ and ACTUAL ETHICS, there is no one smarter than me.
Especially not on a f-ing baseball fan site.
No freakin’ way your IQ is 150. Forrest Gump thinks you’re stupid.
my favorite baseball stat is safe; Singleton has exactly 420 plate appearances in the major leagues
Singleton should thank his agency for making sure he was going to get PAID!
He was nothing more than a AA type who got a stroke of luck to get the deal he got.
Love your significant other the same way Jon Singleton loves weed.