The Brewers took a chance on Lawrie over the offseason, signing him to a minor-league deal despite the fact that he hadn't appeared in a game at any level since 2016. He never made it into a game this season either, spending his time working out at the team's spring training facility before the Brewers elected to cut bait.

Lawrie needed some time to get his body back into baseball shape after signing with the Brewers in early February, but he has now reached that point, and confirmed that by posting a video on his Instagram account. Lawrie still has a ways to go in his recovery, but GM David Stearns said Lawrie is "on plan."

Lawrie was an interesting flyer on a minor-league deal for the Brewers, as he's still just 29 and owns a respectable .261/.315/.419 slash line in parts of six big-league seasons. He's been out of the game altogether since being cut by the White Sox in March of 2017, and the fact that he won't even participate in baseball activities this spring indicates how far he is from returning to the majors.

Lawrie has been out of baseball since being released by the White Sox in March 2017, though likely not as a result of any lack of interest from teams. Still just 29 years old and with a career .261/.315/.419 batting line (100 wRC+) in the majors, Lawrie makes for a high-upside, low-stakes flier for the Brewers, who previously nabbed the Canadian with the 16th overall pick in the 2008 first-year player draft. It's unclear if Lawrie's deal includes an invitation to big-league camp, but he'll probably first need to prove himself in the high minors regardless after a lengthy layoff from professional baseball.