Toronto Blue Jays added their second ex-Houston Astros goalkeeper in a few days, agreeing to a three-year contract with designated outfielder / hitter Michael Brantley on Wednesday, a source confirmed to ESPN.
The Jays reached an agreement on a six-year, $ 150 million contract with former Astros player George Springer on Tuesday night, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
News of the Brantley deal was first reported by sports announcer Hazel Mae.
Brantley, 33, had problems with injuries for much of his career – last season it was an ATV that took him to the injury list for some time. Although these injuries reduced his strength, he remains a dangerous hitter with a high contact rate and a low strikeout rate.
In 46 games with Astros in 2020, alternating between left and DH, Brantley got it right. 300, with five homers, 22 RBIs and an OPS of 0.840.
He has reached at least 0.300 in five seasons since 2014, drawing with four other seasons in baseball in that period. He was also eliminated in just 10.1% of his plate performances since 2014, the third best in baseball in that period, with a minimum of 2,000 plate presentations.
In a 12-year career with the Cleveland Indians and Astros, Brantley averages 0.297, with 114 homers, 640 RBIs and 0.794 OPS. He was an All-Star four times and in 2014 finished third in the MVP vote.
Brantley had a two-year, $ 32 million contract that he signed before the 2019 season.
ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.