In a cruel twist of contract negotiations, the Brewers are locked in with their least productive outfielder while their most productive outfielder will likely find a home elsewhere in 2022.
After a down year in 2020, Avisaíl García had a major comeback year in 2021. This September, he logged enough at-bats across his two seasons with the Brewers to change his $12 million club option into a mutual option. By that point, García was already in an end-of-the-season, wear-and-tear-induced downturn. But he had been the outfield’s most consistent offensive contributor by a long shot.
With $55 million locked into an outfield that offensively did not produce (JBJ), under-produced (Yelich), or could only contribute limited plate appearances (Cain), the Brewers need to make moves so an impact bat is getting daily reps in the outfield, and they will likely try to do it on a budget.