The Brewers didn’t waste much time replacing Johnny Estrada because as expected, they signed Jason Kendall to a one year for an unspecified amount. Kendall is a career .297 hitter but his time with Oakland last year was pretty rough (he hit just .226). He picked things up just a bit when he was traded to the Cubs but it was his fourth straight season in which he hit three homers or fewer so you’re not going to get a lot of punch.
Kendall is a nice contact hitter though. He has just 538 career strikeouts in 6,225 at bats and that’s compared to 588 walks. I’d put more stock in his career .375 OBP but he hasn’t touched that mark since 2004 when he was with the Pirates. Still, this is a nice, low risk acquisition that should give the Brewers an upgrade behind the plate.
