SEATTLE, WA - SEPTEMBER 04: Eric Thames #10 of the Seattle Mariners triples in the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Safeco Field on September 4, 2012 in Seattle, Washington. The Red Sox defeated the Mariners 4-3. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
Free agent Eric Thames agreed Tuesday to a $16 million, three-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, who cut first baseman Chris Carter following a 41-homer season that tied for the National League lead.
A 30-year-old first baseman and outfielder who spent the last three seasons with the NC Dinos in South Korea, Thames is still expected to collect $4 million next season, $5 million in 2018 and $6 million in 2019. Milwaukee has a $7.5 million option for 2020 with a $1 million buyout.
Thames hit .348 with 124 home runs, 379 RBIs and 64 steals in 388 games in South Korea– and says he is prepared to play next season with a strong attitude.
”Obviously, during my career there have been coaches, organizations and GMs that have given me the cold shoulder,” Thames said. ”That fuels me but I also have to focus on what my goals are. I want to play every day, stay healthy and help this team win.”
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It’s not the standard offseason acquisition, but with the Brewers still in the early stages of a full-scale organizational rebuild, general manager David Stearns and his staff believed the time was right to take a flyer on Thames, whom they had scouted extensively for some time.
“In any acquisition we make or any player evaluation we conduct, we take in a large variety of information,” Stearns said. “Scouting is one of the main components of that and comes in a number different forms. We have a long history of reports going back to his days at Pepperdine. We have a long history of him as a player.
“When you combine that with all the other information sources we have at our disposal and as we got to learn more about Eric as a person and his journey and what he’s gone through, we became more and more confident in our decision that he was the right fit for the Brewers at this time.”
Thames fills a position of great need for the Brewers, who parted ways with Carter, 29, after just one season. Thames also provides a left-handed bat to a lineup that was heavy on right-handers last season.
Originally an outfielder, Thames made the switch to first base upon arriving in Korea prior to the 2014 season.
Carter agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract last year after he spent his first three seasons in Houston. He had 94 RBIs and earned $500,000 in performance bonuses based on plate appearances, but his just .222 in 160 games last season with an NL-high 206 strikeouts.
SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 04: Eric Thames #10 of the Seattle Mariners triples in the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Safeco Field on September 4, 2012 in Seattle, Washington. The Red Sox defeated the Mariners 4-3. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
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