The Brewers have acquired right-hander Burke Badenhop from the Rays for Raul Mondesi Jr., the team announced. Milwaukee has made finding bullpen help a priority this offseason.
Badenhop, 29, pitched to a 3.03 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings for the Rays this season. He excels at generating ground balls (52.9%) and keeping right-handed batters in check (.239/.260/.350 this year), though lefties give him a tough time (.300/.356/.488). Badenhop is arbitration-eligible for the third time this offseason, and Matt Swartz projects a $1.6MM salary for next year.
Mondesi, 20, is the son of the former big leaguer by the same name. The outfielder hit .231/.282/.374 with five homers and eight steals in 298 plate appearances down in Rookie ball this summer. Baseball America did not rank him as one of the Brewers' top 30 prospects before the season in their 2012 Prospect Handbook.
