What It Means:

With this, Brown is eligible to become a free agent, or he can elect to accept a demotion to the minors. The left-handed batter will be entering his age-28 season.

This is a steep fall for Brown, who was an All-Star only two seasons ago. After breaking out with 27 home runs and a .272/.324/.294 slash in 2013, Brown posted nearly identical slashes of .235/.285/.349 and .228/.284/.349 the last two years respectively. Brown's previous success will make him an interesting case if he hits free agency, though he seems like a longshot to earn anything more than a one-year, minor-league deal.