Brewers’ Broxton still having fun despite crowded outfield

The Major League Baseball offseason preceding this 2018 campaign had a strange, eerie silence for months. Top talent remained on the free-agent market and all 30 teams seemed to be in a standoff, waiting for an organization to step up and make the first move.

That is until Brewers general manager David Stearns set the league ablaze in a two-day span in late January, bringing back former Milwaukee draft pick Lorenzo Cain to the Brewers via free agency and swapping four prospects for rising star Christian Yelich of the Marlins to further bolster an outfield that was already looked at as a strength heading into 2018.



The moves clarified Milwaukee’s legitimate bid to end the franchise’s six-year postseason drought. But it muddled the role of Keon Broxton, who served as Milwaukee’s starting center fielder in 113 games last season.

“We just acquired two really good baseball players,” said Brewers manager Craig Counsell. “There's no questioning these guys in what they've accomplished and where they are in their careers. From Keon's perspective, you're not happy about it, it doesn't make you feel great, but then you have a decision to make -- how do I approach that?”

Broxton’s role is suddenly unknown in a crowded outfield that already featured former National League MVP Ryan Braun, a fan-favorite with a powerful arm in Brett Phillips and Domingo Santana, who mashed a career-best 30 homers in 2017.

Those three seem to have the upper hand on the depth chart over Broxton, who finished an up-and-down 2017 season with a .220/.299/.420 slash line, 20 home runs and 49 RBI. He committed seven errors, the most among NL center fielders, and his 175 strikeouts were tied for fourth in the NL.

A solid start to the year -- .289/.349/.536 slash and 12 extra-base hits, including five homers in May -- was erased by a long, sufferable midseason slump. Broxton was sent down to Triple-A Colorado Springs after a rough stretch of going 3 for 45 (.067) at the plate in late July. Not ideal for a 27-year-old trying to make his mark at the big league level.

But Broxton isn’t one to get too low on himself. The Brewers recalled Broxton from Triple-A a week later after the outfielder went 10 for 26 (.385) with two doubles, a home run, seven RBI and seven walks in seven games with Colorado Springs. He rallied the rest of the season to become one of nine big leaguers to swipe 20+ bases and mash 20+ homers last year.

“Keon's had a long road of disappointments,” Counsell said. “But he's persevered through a lot of challenges in his baseball career, and he’s proven his worth at the big-league level.”

A lot of his worth comes from his athleticism. Broxton’s game-saving catch in a critical late-season matchup with St. Louis kept Milwaukee in the middle of the NL wild-card race and was one of the top highlights of 2017.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g6cZvOPeNc

Although his role is still mostly unknown for 2018, Broxton’s off to a solid start this spring. He owns a .286/.474/.571 slash line with five walks, one dinger and one stolen base in seven spring-training games.

His solo homer this spring made headlines, too. Broxton spoiled the debut on the mound for Shohei Ohtani, a highly anticipated prospect from Japan who signed with the Los Angeles Angels in December.

This loaded outfield might not be ideal for Broxton, who’s still figuring things out in the big leagues, but he isn’t letting the situation affect another two strengths: his love for his teammates and for the game of baseball.

“Keon is a guy who loves to have fun. He has a smile on his face every single day,” Counsell said. “He rubs off on everyone else. When he steps into that dugout, he's going to have fun playing baseball, and it's a great thing to be around.”