Brewers sign Eric Thames to play first base

Milwaukee Brewers general manager David Stearns and his staff are not averse to thinking out of the box during their ongoing rebuilding process.

That became quite clear Tuesday morning when the Brewers announced a three-year deal with a club option for a fourth year with free agent Eric Thames, who played the last three seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization. The agreement guarantees Thames $16 million.

The deal will pay Thames $4 million in 2017, $5 million in 2018 and $6 million in 2019, with a club option for 2020 at $7.5 million, with a $1 million buyout. The contract stipulates that Thames cannot be sent to the minors without his permission. The Brewers also agreed not to offer him salary arbitration after the contract expires, allowing Thames to become a free agent ahead of schedule.

Thames, 30, began his career as an outfielder but will take over at first base as the Brewers move on from Chris Carter, who tied for the National League lead with 41 home runs in 2016 but was expected to receive a huge pay raise through arbitration. The Brewers designated Carter for assignment rather than offering him a 2017 contract by the Friday night deadline and are attempting to trade him.

During three years playing for the NC Dinos of the hitter-friendly KBO, Thames put together fantasy league offensive numbers, batting .348 over 388 games with a .450 on-base percentage and .720 slugging percentage.

Thames put together seasons of 37 home runs and 121 RBI; 47 homers and 140 RBI; and 40 homers and 118 RBI, respectively. He was named most valuable player of the KBO in 2015 after belting 47 homers with 140 RBI and 40 stolen bases while hitting .381 over 142 games.

Originally an outfielder, Thames moved to first base while in Korea. The Brewers scouted him exclusively yet extensively via videos of games he played there.

Thames' agent, Adam Karon, said as many as a dozen major-league teams showed interest at various points but his client quickly decided the Brewers were for him.

"He really wanted to come here," Karon said. "The Brewers were very aggressive and open with him."

Despite Thames' overwhelming success in Korea, this deal represents a considerable risk for the Brewers. The pitching in the KBO is below major-league quality, perhaps more comparable to the Class AAA level in the United States.

In letting home-run champ Carter go and committing to an unproven player in the majors, the Brewers showed they are willing to push the envelope to further their rebuilding process.

"It’s fun to bring good players into the organization, regardless of whether it’s mainstream or non-mainstream, domestic or international," Stearns said in introducing Thames to local media at Miller Park. "We like bringing good players into the organization, and we certainly think Eric adds to our group of very solid major league players.

"We spent a good amount of time with Eric throughout this process. There is a lot of networking that goes on in this game whenever you’re making any acquisition. Regardless of the size of the investment, big or small, you do a lot of work to make sure that you understand the person you’re getting, along with the player. That was no different in this case.

"We’re building something here where we want to establish a core of players that is going to lead us to a competitive team and a team that reaches the playoffs. As we evaluated the market this year and the areas where we can add players to help us accomplish that, we noted that Eric could be one of those players."

The Brewers have taken chances on players before that worked out, such as pitchers Junior Guerra and Zach Davies, infielders Jonathan Villar and Hernan Perez, and outfielder Keon Broxton. Each of those players had something to prove, and Thames said he fits that bill as well.

"During my career, there have been coaches and GMs and organizations that have given me the cold shoulder, and stuff like that," he said. "That’s life; that’s baseball. That fuels me but I also have to focus on what my goals are. My goal is to play every day, stay healthy and help this team win. That’s when fate gets involved.

"Last year, two or three years ago, I had no idea what the future had in store for me. I’m very fortunate for the Brewers organization to look at me with hope, and believe in me and my talent set. I’m excited to be here. I’ll take it one day at a time, work as hard as I can, play for the team and win a championship. Why not?"

Manager Craig Counsell welcomed the left-handed presence of Thames, who should bat somewhere in the middle of an order that was very right-handed in 2016. He also commended the newest Brewer on being willing to re-establish himself abroad and pave the way for another chance in the big leagues.

"His journey, thus far, is inspiring," Counsell said. "You always respect and admire someone who has gone through a journey like this and ended up in a place like this and a day like this. You also respect and understand that someone like him is going to feel like he has more to do, and that his journey is not finished.

"That sets him up to have success here, and I’m excited he has chosen this as the place to continue his journey."

Thames was Toronto’s seventh-round draft pick in 2008 out of Pepperdine University and played in 95 games for the Blue Jays in 2011. Traded to Seattle midway through the 2012 season, Thames batted .250 in two years in the majors with 21 home runs, 62 RBI and .727 OPS.

Thames was traded to Baltimore in June 2013 but did not play in the majors that season. He was claimed in September by Houston but released in December, and embarked on his career in Korea.

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Carter, who turns 30 in a couple of weeks, signed a $2.5 million free-agent deal with the Brewers last winter and became a bargain at that price. He tied for the league lead with 160 games and 41 homers but also topped the NL with 206 strikeouts, a club record. Carter batted only .222 with a .321 OBP but led the Brewers with 94 RBI.

The Brewers didn’t emphasize the financial component of their decision but Carter was expected to get around $10 million in arbitration, which they considered high on a one-year deal for a rebuilding club. Combined with $19 million owed Ryan Braun in 2017 and Matt Garza’s $12.5 million salary, that would be a substantial commitment to three players for a team still in the early stages of retooling.

It’s not easy to trade a player when teams know you will not tender him a contract but the Brewers hope to find a team specifically seeking a first base slugger before Carter becomes a free agent at 11 p.m. Friday.