The Milwaukee Brewers announced that they have signed catcher Jakson Reetz and outfielder Garrett Whitley to minor-league contracts. In another post, FanSided’s Robert Murray broke the news that the Brewers also signed infielder Tyler White to a minor-league contract. The Brewers Player Development Twitter account then announced that the club signed first baseman Jon Singleton to a contract, a move that Call to the Pen’s David Hill takes a look at here.
The #Brewers just announced three MiLB signings that include invites to big league camp:
— The Brewer Nation (@BrewerNation) December 9, 2021
• C Jakson Reetz
• OF Garrett Whitley
• RHP Moises Gomez
Milwaukee Brewers look to shore up minor league rosters with depth signings
Tyler White, 31, is by far the most accomplished of this group, with over 800 MLB plate appearances over parts of four seasons with the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers. His best season came in 2018 as he slugged 12 home runs through 66 games while playing strictly first base.
As White has aged, his defensive versatility has dipped somewhat. Since 2019, the big infielder has exclusively played first base aside from four emergency appearances out of the Astros bullpen in 2019 and one start at third base in 2021 as a part of the Toronto Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate. Earlier in his career, he moved around a bit more, making professional appearances at all four infield spots and left field.
White sports similar batting-lines against both right-handed pitching and left-handers in his career. He is slightly below average when it comes to on-base percentage and slugging percentage through his big league career while being right at league average in OPS.
Don’t expect White to be much more than minor league depth for the Crew. He should only see time on the Major League roster if an injury or two sneaks up on the Brewers.
Jakson Reetz is a 25-year old catcher who has spent the entirety of his professional career as a member of the Washington Nationals to this point.
Reetz was drafted in the third round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Nationals and has gradually progressed through the minors in every season since he was drafted. He has never played in over 100 games in a season and has only hit more than 10 home runs once in his career. Reetz is more of a defense-first catcher than an offensive one.
In 2021, Reetz got his first taste of Major League Baseball when the Nats recalled him to replace the injured Yan Gomes. Reetz appeared in only two games for the club, but he can at least join the Brewers’ minor league system knowing that his first career base hit is behind him, as he doubled off San Francisco’s John Brebbia in his first at-bat.
A former top-10 Tampa Bay Rays prospect has also found a new home in the Milwaukee farm system. Garrett Whitley is a 24-year-old outfielder who ranked as high as ninth in the Rays’ prospect ranking back in 2016, falling to #11 in 2017, and not even cracking the top 30 in 2018 and beyond.
Whitley has fallen from grace a little bit over the years, but 2021 showed that he still possesses double-digit home run and stole base abilities. Whitley’s last full season in the minor leagues, 2019, was a bit of a down season for the speedy outfielder, but he appears to have improved in his first full season since the canceled 2020 campaign.