The Brewers have signed infielder Luis Urias to a minor league deal, according to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Urias will report to Triple-A Nashville for what will be his second stint in the Brewers organization.
The veteran signed a $1.1MM free agent deal with the Athletics last winter, and Urias banked an extra $300K in bonus money by making at least 300 plate appearances in an A’s uniform. In 330 PA, Urias hit .230/.315/.338 with eight home runs while getting mostly regular action at second base, with a handful of starts at third base as well.
Since the A’s are well out of playoff contention and wanted to give playing time to younger talent, the team opted to designate Urias for assignment last week and then released him after he cleared waivers. There is only around $180K remaining on Urias’ salary, and the A’s will cover whatever remains of that total, minus the portion of the prorated MLB minimum salary that will be paid by the Brewers for however much time Urias spends on the active roster.
While he’ll start his Brewers return in Nashville, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Urias back up in Milwaukee before too long. Joey Ortiz is expected to return from his hamstring strain pretty soon, but a veteran like Urias may be a preferable depth option over rookie Anthony Siegler on the Brew Crew’s bench. Urias could also get some time at third base in place of Caleb Durbin, even though Durbin has been reinforcing his spot in the lineup with some hot hitting as of late. Bringing Urias back before September 1 makes him eligible for the postseason, and the league-leading Brewers certainly are already thinking about October roster plans.
A veteran of eight MLB seasons, Urias enjoyed his two best years as a regular with Milwaukee in 2021-22. He hit .244/.340/.426 over 1042 plate appearances while getting close to everyday playing time as a third baseman and shortstop in 2021, and then in more of a utility role at those two positions plus second base in 2022. A dropoff at the plate in 2023 led the Brewers to trade Urias to the Red Sox at the deadline, and his bat didn’t fare much better during his time in Boston or with the Mariners in a part-time role in 2024.
I hope he regains his former Brewer self.
Considering the Brew Crew’s affinity for reviving retreads, I wouldn’t be surprised. I’ll always root for Wicho
So if he’s not on the major league roster as of tomorrow (9/1) is he still playoff-eligible? Or is it only making the 40-man?
A player has to be on the 40 man roster, bereavement list or 60 day injured list by September 1 to be postseason eligible. So in his case, the 40 man.
If he’s not on the 40-man by midnight tonight but is in the organization, he can still become eligible for the postseason if he is replacing an injured player. So on a minor league contract he provides some insurance.
Good catch, thank you!
The rule states only by petition to the commissioner so it’s technically not a given but I don’t know enough about such examples where it’s ever happened and been declined, so I can’t speak to that.
I’m guessing it is to prevent a team from bringing a player outside of the organization into the postseason. Wondering if that happened at some point to necessitate the rule.
Dafuq. I assume its just emergency depth.
He will in 1-2 weeks replace Seigler, who will be a valuable piece in the future which could yet be this year.