Baseball notebook: Brewers gets Narvaez from Mariners
The Milwaukee Brewers acquired catcher Omar Narváez from the Seattle Mariners on Thursday for minor league pitcher Adam Hill and a compensation round pick in next June’s amateur draft.
Narváez becomes Milwaukee’s replacement for Yasmani Grandal, who signed a $73 million, four-year contract with the Chicago White Sox. Narváez, 28, was excellent at the plate in his one season with the Mariners, hitting 278 with 22 home runs and 55 RBIs in 132 games. Narváez led American League catchers in on-base percentage (.373), slugging percentage (.516) and OPS (.889), and was second among catchers in those categories.
“Omar has established himself as one of the best offensive catchers in the game,” Milwaukee general manager David Stearns said. “We believe his bat will give us an impactful left-handed presence in our lineup.”
The issue for Narváez has been his defense, although he improved last season with Seattle. He had just three passed balls after being charged with 12 in 2018 with the White Sox.
Mets acquire Marisnick:
Outfielder Jake Marisnick was acquired by the New York Mets from the Houston Astros for two prospects – left-hander Blake Taylor and outfielder Kenedy Corona.
Marisnick is an excellent defender with speed but hasn’t hit well in the majors. He could play center field and allow the Mets to use Brandon Nimmo primarily in left.
Michael Conforto figures to get most of the starts in right. Former Gold Glover Juan Lagares played 125 games in center for New York last season and became a free agent.
The 28-year-old Marisnick hit .233 with 10 homers, 34 RBIs and 10 steals last season. In advanced metrics, he ranks seventh among outfielders with 64 defensive runs saved since 2004.