Milwaukee Brewers GM David Stearns told reporters on Friday that the trade that brought Jonathan Schoop to Milwaukee for the final months of last season was a “bad deal”.
The Brewers weren’t willing to take a shot at arbitration with Schoop and didn’t offer him a deal for 2019. It makes Schoop a free agent.
The Brewers also declined to make offers by the Friday deadline to left-handed relievers Dan Jennings and Xavier Cedeno. They tendered contracts to all of their remaining arbitration-eligible players, including infielders Hernan Perez and Tyler Saladino.
Schoop played 46 games with the Brewers, but struggled. He hit just four home runs and drove in 21 runs while striking out 41 times in 124 at-bats. He earned $8.5 million last season and was projected to get around $10 million in his final year of arbitration.
The Brewers currently have 36 players on their 40-man roster, giving them some flexibility in free agency.