On Wednesday Kristie Rieken of the AP reported that the Milwaukee Brewers had signed Chris Carter to a one-year contract. The deal is worth $2.5 million.
Former Astros' slugger Chris Carter has signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract plus incentives with the @Brewers
— Kristie Rieken (@kristieAP) January 6, 2016
Milwaukee made several moves in December that left them with a major hole at first base. Adam Lind was dealt to the Mariners last month for three minor league pitchers. As Kyle Lesniewski wrote at the time, Jason Rogers would have been the best in-house option to fill Lind’s role. However, the Brewers sent him to the Pirates just a short time later. Before signing Carter, Milwaukee was left with two catchers filling out their depth chart at first (Jonathan Lucroy and Martin Maldonado).
Carter has been the epitome of a three true outcome player over the course of his career. The past three seasons he has hit a combined 90 home runs, but he’s also stuck out 545 times. He led the league in strikeouts in 2013 with 212. Strikeouts aren’t the only concern that analysts have had about Carter’s offense. While in Houston his batting average never rose higher than .227. The concerns about his low batting average are diminished by the fact that he still gets on base at around a league average rate (career .312 OBP).
Even though Carter is already 29 years old, 2016 will be his first year of arbitration eligibility, and he won’t be a free agent until 2019. For the next few seasons Carter could provide Milwaukee with a low-risk, high-reward option in the middle of their lineup. His 24 home runs in 2015 would have been the third most on the Brewers a year ago. Only Khris Davis (27) and Ryan Braun (25) hit more.
Next: Royals to re-sign Alex Gordon to 4-year contract
Did the Brewers make the right move in signing Carter? Is there someone else they should have considered? Let us know in the comments section below.