past couple years http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , and David Stearns has been interested in the versatile All-Star for some time"With Ian Kinsler agreeing to a two-year deal with the San Diego Padres, the Brewers had to cross one of the options they were considering off their list.According to Ken Rosenthal, they may be replacing Kinsler with another name. In his latest notes column, he says the Brewers are “showing interest” in Jed Lowrie.As Rosenthal points out, there’s some level of familiarity at play here — the well-traveled Lowrie was in Houston in 2015, David Stearns’ last year in that organization before he was hired by Milwaukee in September.Tom Haudricourt adds that Stearns and the Brewers have long been interested in the utility man who has spent most of his time at second base in recent years:The Brewers were mentioned as a potential landing spot for Lowrie last winter, too, when Oakland was weighing the idea of dumping the $6 million he was going to be due in 2018.Lowrie’s been a favorite of the analytics crowd for some time, and it makes sense that he’s spent his career in organizations that tend to lean that way in Boston, Houston and Oakland, serving two stints each for the latter two, including the past three seasons with the A’s.At 34, Lowrie made his first All-Star team this past season Boone Logan Jersey , ending the year with a .267/.353/.448 line with 23 home runs and 37 doubles. He slowed down considerably in the second half after a .285/.357/.492 (.849 OPS) start that landed him that All-Star spot, but he stilled finished strong enough to get some downballot AL MVP votes.Still, Lowrie has flown under the radar for much of his career. Part of that is the time he’s spent out of the spotlight in Oakland, and you’d be forgiven if you didn’t know that he’s put up fWAR totals of 3.6 and 4.9 over the past two years, with only Jose Altuve and Jose Ramirez totaling more among second basemen in that time.Perhaps most appealing to the Brewers as they wait for Keston Hiura to arrive in the majors: Lowrie has a history of playing multiple positions. While Oakland has used him mostly at second base over the past two years, he has played a handful of games at third base in that time, and does have experience at shortstop — although he hasn’t played in a full game there since 2015 and hasn’t played the position for more than a handful of games since 2014.As a switch-hitter, Lowrie is also versatile with the bat, and while he’s better as a left-handed hitter, he’s not a liability on the other side of the plate, either. In 2018 he hit .273/.365/.477 against right-handed pitching and .254/.327/.386 against left-handed pitching. He’s definitely a weaker hitter from the right side against lefties, but considering he plays a middle infield position he’s not exactly a black hole, either.Considering he’ll be 35 in 2019 and the fact they may be anticipating Hiura being in the big leagues in the next year or so Josh Hader Jersey , the Brewers would likely prefer to sign Lowrie for one year, but as Haudricourt notes — and using Kinsler as a guide — it’ll likely take a two-year offer to get Lowrie to sign.Even if Hiura debuted and took a hold of the second base job in 2019 (we should probably remember that this is no guarantee), Lowrie’s ability to occasionally spell Travis Shaw at third base or maybe even stand in at shortstop for a few games could make him a valuable bench piece if the Brewers had to make a multiple-season commitment to him.MLB Trade Rumors speculated that at Lowrie’s age, not only would he be looking for more than one year, but he may even be looking for a three-year contract, projecting him for a 3-year, $30 million deal. If that’s the case, that may end up being a dealbreaker for Stearns and the Brewers, especially if they don’t have plans to start him long-term.Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs Philadelphia Phillies (30-21, first in the NL East) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (29-23, second in the NL Central)Milwaukee; Saturday, 4 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Phillies: Jake Arrieta (4-4, 3.77 ERA Starlin Castro Jersey , 1.36 WHIP, 51 strikeouts) Brewers: Jhoulys Chacin (3-5, 4.65 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 36 strikeouts)Article continues below ...BOTTOM LINE: Philadelphia’s Segura puts 15-game hit streak on the line against Brewers.The Brewers are 17-10 on their home turf. Milwaukee has hit 83 home runs this season, fourth in the National League. Christian Yelich leads the team with 20, averaging one every eight at-bats.The Phillies are 12-11 on the road. Philadelphia has slugged .411 this season. Rhys Hoskins leads the team with a mark of .519. The Phillies won the last meeting 6-4. Vince Velasquez notched his second victory and Hoskins went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI for Philadelphia. Freddy Peralta took his second loss for Milwaukee.TOP PERFORMERS: Yelich leads the Brewers with 20 home runs and has 42 RBIs. Yasmani Grandal is 10-for-32 with two doubles, a triple, three home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for Milwaukee.Hoskins leads the Phillies with 39 RBIs and is batting .260. Andrew McCutchen is 14-for-38 with six doubles, two home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for Philadelphia.LAST 10 GAMES: Brewers: 5-5, .274 batting average, 4.45 ERA, outscored opponents by six runsPhillies: 6-4 http://www.marlinsfanproshop.com/authentic-starlin-castro-jersey , .254 batting average, 4.94 ERA, outscored by seven runsBrewers Injuries: Bobby Wahl: 60-day IL (knee), Brent Suter: 60-day IL (elbow), Corey Knebel: 60-day IL (elbow), Travis Shaw: 10-day IL (wrist), Manny Pina: 10-day IL (hamstring).Phillies Injuries: David Robertson: 10-day IL (elbow), Edubray Ramos: 10-day IL (biceps), Tommy Hunter: 60-day IL (arm), Victor Arano: 10-day IL (elbow), Roman Quinn: 10-day IL (groin).
