2020 is the last guaranteed year of Ryan BraunThe Brewers’ contract and slugger hinted last January that he could retire at the end of the season. However, in today’s comments to the Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters, Braun said, “I feel like I’m more likely to play a year longer than I expected a few months ago. “
Both the shorter 60 game hours and the ability to serve as a designated hitter are contributing to Braun’s mindset. “For me personally, playing fewer games is beneficial“Braun said, and”where I am in my career, it’s very appealing to me to have the DH option for a decent percentage of my at-bats. “Although no decision has been made on whether or not DH will remain in the National League beyond the 2020 season, it has been widely speculated that MLB could adopt DH in both leagues in 2021 pending another one-year deal between owners and players., and then from 2022 onwards, according to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
A universal DH would obviously be a boon to older players like Braun, who turns 37 in November. A outfielder for much of his career, Braun has lost his part of the disabled list due to back and leg injuries, and was originally scheduled for part-time first base service (as well as some time in the yard) for the Brew The crew returned when the 2020 season was expected to continue as scheduled.
Now, Braun plans to get the bulk of Milwaukee’s DH at-bats, which could perhaps lead to a late career increase. While Braun’s injuries have limited his production in the past three seasons, he’s still been a bat above average (111 wRC +, 112 OPS +) over 1380 PA from 2017-19, hitting .270 / .331 /. 488 with 59 home runs.
If Braun wants to play next year, of course, the next hurdle could be finding a team. Braun and the Brewers share a $ 15MM mutual option on their services by 2021 and, like most mutual options, it will almost certainly be declined. While the Brewers would not want Braun priced at $ 15MM, Rosiak notes that the two sides could come up with a less expensive one-year contract for Braun to return for his fifteenth major league season. The x factor is the complete unknown that the 2020-21 free agent class is, as it remains to be seen how teams will operate following a season that saw such a massive decline in revenue, and whether non-superstar free agents will see real pressure on contracts.
