The second baseman/third baseman last played in July 2016 before being sidelined.“At the front end of this, we all agreed on a tentative time frame, with certain benchmarks. Positions: Third Baseman and Second Baseman Bats: Right • Throws: Right 6-0, 210lb (183cm, 95kg) . We weren’t quite able to meet some of those benchmarks. Originally drafted by Milwaukee in the first round in 2008 as a catcher out of Langley, British Columbia, Canada, he was traded to Toronto in December 2010 for pitcher Shaun Marcum.“Everyone tried their best,” Stearns said. They felt the experiment with Lawrie had a better chance of succeeding in those surroundings but also knew it might not work out.In 588 games in the majors, Lawrie is a .261 hitter with a .315 on-base percentage, .734 OPS, 71 home runs and 253 runs batted in.The hope was that Lawrie, 29, would eventually get back on the field with a minor-league affiliate but the process never advanced to that point, so it was mutually decided to part ways, according to Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns.After four years with the Blue Jays, Lawrie was traded to Oakland, then a year later to the White Sox. “It’s one of the reasons we built to the complex, to serve as a medical hub," Stearns said. Accordingly, the Brewers are taking a long view with him, including the option for 2020.“It has gone well to this point,” Stearns said. We’re still in the middle of that six-week time frame.Lawrie, 29, has not played baseball since the middle of the 2016 season with the Chicago White Sox. He's immersed in physical training with the Brewers, and the next step would be extended spring training. Instead, he would work on preventive measures and engage in a rigorous training program designed to get his body back in peak playing condition. So, it’s certainly understandable for there to be some disappointment (for Lawrie). At this point, it just made sense to move on.“It’s the ultimate opportunity for me,” he said. But we knew this was going to be a lengthy process, and this is step one of the process.”Stearns explained in mid-February that Lawrie would not participate in regular spring training with the minor-leaguers. When we couldn’t get over a few of those hurdles, this was the mutual understanding.“He put a lot of effort into this. It’s a minor-league deal, so he is not on the 40-man roster. We thought it would be about a six-week program and then a check-in. Unfortunately, we were unable to get over some final hurdles.”The Brewers greatly expanded and improved their medical and rehab operations with a $63 million renovation of their spring training facility, renamed American Family Fields of Phoenix.
He spent a lot of time working with our group in Phoenix. "The Milwaukee Brewers pulled the plug on the Brett Lawrie experiment Tuesday after insufficient progress was made during 3½ months of the unique project.“We had benchmarks in terms of certain rehab goals, in terms of competition goals. So, we remain cautiously optimistic.
Infielder Brett Lawrie is set to make his return to professional baseball. I think he’s enjoying the work. Lawrie, who last played in MLB in 2016, announced on Instagram that he’s signed a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Born: January 18, 1990 in Langley, Canada ca Draft: Drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1st round (16th) of the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft from Brookswood SS (Langley, BC).. High School: Brookswood SS (Langley, BC) Debut: August 5, 2011 (Age 21-199d, 17,637th in MLB history) We just couldn’t quite get there in the time everyone thought we were going to. I know our training staff worked hard. This is more corrective than anything else, because of previous problems.MONTREAL – While the Milwaukee Brewers were playing an exhibition game Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays at Olympic Stadium, one native Canadian was back at their spring facility continuing a soup-to-nuts conditioning program.“He’s still kind of in the ‘off-hours’ program right now,” general manager David Stearns said. So, we thought now was the right time to allow Brett to move on and allow us to devote our resources to other players.”Asked which side decided it wasn’t going to work, Stearns said, “There was an understanding going in that there were certain benchmarks we wanted to meet. This allows Brett to move on with his life and career.The Brewers’ agreement with Lawrie included a team option for 2020, so there was hope on both sides this project would work out and he would return to the field and continue playing.
Try to bullet-proof me so once I get back on the field with baseball activity, I go out there and stay out there.