The Brewers announced that reliever J.C. Mejía has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Nashville. The club hadn’t previously announced he’d been designated for assignment, but they apparently quietly placed him on waivers in recent days. The move opens a spot on the 40-man roster for Jake Cousins, who has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Nashville. Milwaukee also activated starter Adrian Houser from the 15-day IL to take the ball tonight against the Dodgers, optioning Trevor Kelley to clear a spot on the active roster.
Mejía made his big league debut with Cleveland last season. The right-hander logged 52 1/3 innings across 17 appearances (11 starts), but only managed an 8.24 ERA during his initial MLB action. He also struggled quite a bit in Triple-A, but he’d previously had strong minor league production. When the Guardians designated him for assignment after the 2021 season, the Brewers added him in a trade for a player to be named later (eventually announced as David Fry) with an eye towards converting him to relief.
That experiment never really got off the ground, as Mejía has pitched in just two big league games with Milwaukee. He tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance Stanozolol and was hit with an 80-game suspension in May. He returned from that ban last week, but the club evidently no longer felt they wanted to carry him on the 40-man roster.
Having never previously been outrighted nor not having eclipsed three years of major league service time, Mejía doesn’t have the right to refuse an outright assignment. He’ll remain in Nashville — where he’s only allowed four runs in 14 2/3 innings — and try to pitch his way back to the big leagues before the season is out. The 25-year-old (26 on Friday) would qualify for minor league free agency at the end of the season if Milwaukee doesn’t add him back to the 40-man roster before then.
Cousins hasn’t pitched since April, as he’s missed nearly four months with an elbow effusion. The right-hander has been on a rehab assignment since late July and fared quite well, allowing only three runs over nine innings in Nashville with 13 strikeouts against five walks. The club will give him a bit more time in the minors with his allowed 30-day rehab window wrapping up, but it seems likely he’ll be back in the MLB bullpen before too long. Cousins debuted in the majors last year and impressed, striking out a whopping 35.2% of opponents while working to a 2.70 ERA in 30 games.
Houser, meanwhile, is back after nearly two months on the shelf. The righty suffered a flexor strain in his forearm in late June, but he managed to rehab without requiring surgery. The veteran ground-ball specialist owns just a 4.72 ERA through 15 starts this season, but he worked to a 3.22 mark in 28 outings last year. He’ll reassume his rotation role for the stretch run as Milwaukee looks to erase a one-game deficit in the National League Wild Card standings.
Wowser!, Brew crew will need Houser! In order to close the gap on STL, Houser will need to return to 2021 form.
Montgomery, what an amazing upgrade for the Cards!
They’re not catching the Cardinals, Curly. The hope is to reel in the Padres for a fish fry.
Brother Lou, I didn’t say catch the Cards, I said close the gap!
As a Braves fan I’m astounded how well they’ve done recently.& gained on the Mets.
Pads have made all these huge trades, but where has it gotten them so far?
Fish fry could be right around the corner!
Your Braves are the “reel” deal. If the Crew slips by the floundering Padres, it will more than likely be a 3 game wild card in Atlanta. Or should I say 2, Braves win.
I like the “fish” theme, however with all the added play off possibilities, it’s a “crab” shoot. Repeating will be like a burp that tastes the same twice, won’t happen.
“If the Crew slips by…”
The Padres are *trying* to give the #3 slot away!
It’s still possible. I think they still play the Cards once more and if they swept, they’d only need to be 3 games better over the other 37 or so games. I think some guys are getting healthy who are upgrades over some bad players on the roster, but it also might be too little too late.
Houser is quite the world beater ain’t he. He’ll strike fear in the heart of that cardinal lineup for sure. Pujols is probably licking his chops
Come on Houser. Get back to last year’s form. Hopefully Cousins is able to get through some minor league appearances with no issues
Playing for the wild card. The Cardinals have 25 games left with: CUBS; Reds: Pirates. Enough said!
Wild Card or bust. Hader is no longer around to blow it. Still mad about that disaster in the wild card game in Washington. Ugh
Humm… Those three (Hader, Soto and Grisham) are all losing together in San Diego… Destiny.
Frelick hitting .440+ in AAA, am sure Brewers are looking at Sept 1, if not they are crazy
Give Frelick some AB’s! Taylor stinks and Davis has no power
Is this the thread to speculate on the Angel’s next Manager? Erstad? Salmon? Percy?
If the sale of Angels was in two months, the new owner would bring Madden back. Erstad is fine until they’re ready to compete
I dont think Erstad or Percival are ready to get back into managing, according to their wiki pages.. Salmon is the lowest hanging branch, coaching for some christian high school/academy.
Hmmm…I think Erstad could be the man for the job. But I also think Jose Mota has one of the all time great baseball minds and he is an all around tremendous individual. I hope he throws his hat in. I know pretty much only fellow halo fans are “in the know” about him but he is a hell of a guy.
I remember he interviewed for the GM job. I wouldn’t mind him being manager. If you can convince Erstad to come out of “retirement” — something about wanting to spend time with his family.
Bob Melvin can’t sit down anymore, his seat is too hot. Madden in SD if they don’t make the postseason
It will be Preller, not Melvin who goes.
Weird flex but ok