Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain has had a really bad week. First, he saw his performance at the plate continue to decline into “worst hitter in baseball” territory, then he gets hit in the grapes while trying to field a ball in the outfield, and now he’s been dumped by his team.
Today the Brewers designated Cain for assignment, which could very well mark the end of the 36-year-old’s career. The performance hasn’t been there for a while, and Cain was in the final year of his contract anyway. The Brewers simply couldn’t keep holding a 40-man roster spot for him, much less have him taking starts out there. (*coughs in the Cubs’ direction*)
Cain signed a five-year, $80 million deal with the Brewers before the 2018 season, and he was worth a whopping 6.1 WAR that season. But he thereafter played the part of the post-age-30 signing: tremendous in his first year, and then totaling just 2.4 WAR over his next three and a half seasons combined.
As much as he tormented the Cubs at times, Cain did always seem like a good guy. I wish him nothing but success in whatever comes next, so long as he doesn’t rob any Cubs homers in the process.