Omar Narvaez and Brewers agree to one-year deal to avoid arbitration, per report

The Milwaukee Brewers and catcher Omar Narvaez have agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal to avoid arbitration, according to Jon Heyman.

The Brewers acquired Narvaez last offseason from the Seattle Mariners for RHP prospect Adam Hill and a compensatory draft pick. He came with concerns about his defense but high marks for his left-handed bat. But the player the Brewers got was the complete opposite.

After an offseason putting a lot of work in on his defense, Omar Narvaez finished first in Baseball Prospectus’ catcher defense adjustment at +4.5 runs, half a run ahead of former Brewer Yasmani Grandal.

While his defense was much improved, his bat was miserable. In 126 at-bats, he slashed just .176/.294/.269 for a 59 wRC+. He had three straight seasons of a 100 or better wRC+, showing a marked decline in production.

The $2.5 million contract is a $250,000 paycut from 2020. That’s a reported $450,000 savings for Milwaukee from 2020 with Orlando Arcia’s pay cut.