Brewers Lose 8-Year Veteran To Free Agency After Brief Reunion

Have we seen the last of Luis Urias in Milwaukee?

Jul 28, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a Milwaukee Brewers hat and glove on the bench against the Atlanta Braves in the second inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Sometimes, when a veteran Major League Baseball player signs with a former team, it can spark a resurgence. But the Milwaukee Brewers never really got the chance to find that out this year.

On Sept. 1, the Brewers re-signed infielder Luis Urias, who had just been released by the Athletics. It was a minor-league deal, but he was in the organization by the deadline to be eligible for the playoffs, where the Brewers, of course, ultimately ended up.

However, although Urias was an important player for the Brewers during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he didn't get a look in September. And on Thursday, his second stint in the organization may have met its end.

Brewers' Luis Urias elects free agency

After spending September playing in Triple-A and October waiting for a potential call-up to the postseason roster in case of emergency, Urias elected minor-league free agency, according to the transactions log on his official roster page.

He appeared in 13 games for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, batting .260 with a home run and 11 RBIs. With the Athletics at the big-league level, he slashed .230/.315/.338 in 96 games, totaling 0.5 wins above replacement.

It's been a bit of an odd trajectory for Urias, who was a steady major league contributor in his age-24 and 25 seasons, but has progressively been less impactful at each stop since.

In 2021 and 2022, Urias posted 6.3 combined WAR in 269 games, putting up a solid .766 OPS with 39 home runs. Since then, his hard-hit rates have plummeted, and though he cut down on his strikeouts with the A's this year, it didn't result in a better batting average.

The Brewers shipped Urias to the Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline in 2023, and at the conclusion of that season, he was traded again to the Seattle Mariners. He had a rough year in Seattle that resulted in his removal from the 40-man roster, so as a result, this is his second offseason in a row electing free agency.

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