The Milwaukee Brewers made their first roster addition for their 2020-21 campaign by signing Luke Maile among other moves made before Wednesday's non-tender deadline.
The 29 year-old catcher was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012 and was selected in the eighth round of the draft. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal announced that the Brewers and Maile agreed to a major league deal that allows for a minor-league option. Maile was non-tendered by the Blue Jays during the 2019 offseason and signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates immediately after but missed 2020 due to a finger injury. Maile’s best season came in 2018 when he hit .248 with three home runs over 231 plate appearances. Milwaukee currently has Omar Narvaez and Manny Pina sharing catching duties but both players are arbitration-eligible.
Pina was among the four Brewers players signed to one-year deals on Wednesday. Dan Vogelbach, Orlando Arcia, and Omar Narvaez signed one-year deals for in some cases less than their 2020 pro-rated salaries. Pitchers Josh Hader and Brandon Woodruff were tendered contracts but could get big raises through the arbitration process. Ben Gamel, Jace Peterson, and Alex Claudio were not tendered contracts while Corey Knebel's time with the Brewers is also done after being sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later and cash.
