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Brewers Place Jake Bauers On 10-Day Injured List

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The Brewers announced that first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left shoulder impingement.  Infielder Tyler Black has been called up from Triple-A to take Bauers’ spot on the active roster.

With Rhys Hoskins sidelined until roughly mid-August due to a Grade 2 thumb strain and a bone bruise, losing Bauers further depletes Milwaukee’s first base picture.  The Brewers called up Andrew Vaughn to pair with Bauers in a righty-lefty platoon, and on paper, that platoon can be preserved with the left-handed hitting Black now in the majors to join forces with Vaughn.

It helps that Vaughn has been on fire at the plate during his brief time with the Brew Crew, and Black is a former top prospect who might yet break out in his first taste of MLB action in 2025.  Black had a modest .561 OPS over his first 57 career plate appearances in 2024, and his work this season was put on hold when he fractured his right hamate bone at the end of Spring Training.  Black didn’t make his season debut until mid-May, and he has hit only .191/.301/.303 over 103 plate appearances at Triple-A Nashville, perhaps indicating that he isn’t back to 100 percent.

Bauers has been used primarily as a platoon bat over his two seasons in Milwaukee, though he has still hit a modest .198/.306/.359 over 497 PA in a Brewers uniform.  More details on Bauers’ injury and recovery timeline should be known later today, but barring a minimal 10-day absence, he’ll be out of action beyond the July 31st trade deadline.

First base figured to be a target area for the Crew even before Bauers’ injury, even if the club’s preferred goal was probably a player that can play first base amongst other positions, rather than a pure first base-only type.  The Brewers still have plenty of time before the deadline to monitor Hoskins and Bauers’ recoveries, and to see if Vaughn can keep rolling.  Beyond just first base, the Brewers could make more of a move to obtain a left-handed hitting outfielder, with Bauers and Sal Frelick both hitting the IL in the last few days.

Brewers Re-Sign Bruce Zimmermann To Minors Deal

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TODAY: Zimmermann has re-signed with the Brewers on a new minor league deal, as per his MLB.com profile page.  The southpaw has again been assigned to Triple-A Nashville.

JULY 16: Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann has opted out of his minor league deal with the Brewers, reports Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. The southpaw is now a free agent and free to sign with any club.

Zimmermann, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in the winter. Since then, he has been pitching for Triple-A Nashville. His season-long numbers are middling but he’s been in a good groove lately.

On the whole, he has made 13 starts and six relief appearances with a 4.35 earned run average in 89 innings. His 18.1% strikeout rate was a bit subpar but his 5% walk rate and 47.3% ground ball rate were both better than average. Through June 10th, he had a 5.90 ERA, but he has lowered that by putting together a good stretch of outings more recently. In his most recent 31 innings, he has a 1.45 ERA.

The Brewers are loaded with rotation options, so much so that they recently bumped Aaron Civale to the bullpen. He informed the club that he would prefer to be traded, and they obliged by sending him to the White Sox. Even with that trade, the Brewers have solid guys like Chad Patrick and Logan Henderson pitching in Triple-A. Nestor Cortes and Robert Gasser are working back from the injured list and could further crowd the picture.

Given that context, it’s understandable that Zimmermann would choose to pack his bag. He can likely find a greater path to the big leagues in another organization. Given his solid results and the high number of injuries around the league, someone should want him as a depth option. Some teams will also be trading away pitching in the coming weeks and will need to backfill roster spots.

Prior to this year, Zimmermann had spent most of his time with the Orioles. He got major league time with the O’s in four straight seasons from 2020 to 2023, totaling 158 1/3 innings pitched. He had a 5.57 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate, 5.7% walk rate and 41.1% ground ball rate in that time. He was outrighted during the 2024 season and elected free agency at the end of that campaign, which led to his deal with the Brewers.

Photo courtesy of Dave Kallmann, Imagn Images

Notable Draft Signings: July 18-19th, 2025

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Here’s a roundup of players from the recent draft who were signed or agreed to terms in the past two days. For an arbitrary cutoff, this post will focus on players taken before the second round or any later picks who signed a bonus of $2MM or more. Pre-draft rankings and scouting reports are provided by Keith Law of the Athletic, Baseball America, FanGraphs, MLB Pipeline and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.

  • The Cubs have signed outfielder Ethan Conrad to a bonus of $3,563,100, per Jim Callis of MLB.com. Conrad was selected 17th overall, a pick that comes with a $4,750,800 slot. Since the Cubs are saving over a million on their first-round pick, they should have lots of leeway to lock up the remaining players in their class.
  • The Tigers have signed shortstop Jordan Yost with a $3.25MM bonus, per Callis. Yost went 24th overall, a pick that comes with a slot value of $3,726,300. Per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, Detroit has also agreed to terms with their second pick, catcher Michael Oliveto. Selected in the competitive balance A round, 34th overall, his $2.45MM signing bonus is below his $2,827,300 slot value. Between Yost and Oliveto, the Tigers have saved close to a million bucks, which can be redirected to the other guys they drafted.
  • The Orioles have signed catcher Caden Bodine with a $3,113,300 bonus, per Callis. Callis also relays that shortstop Wehiwa Aloy has signed for $3,042,800. Bodine and Aloy were taken 30th and 31st respectively, with the compensation picks the O’s received for Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander rejecting qualifying offers and signing elsewhere. Both bonuses were full slot value for their respective picks. The O’s also signed first-rounder Ike Irish to a bonus right around slot value, so they’ve played things pretty straight-up with their top three picks.
  • The Brewers announced that they have signed shortstop Brady Ebel, the son of Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel. The younger Ebel was selected 32nd overall, the pick the Brewers received for Willy Adames rejecting a qualifying offer and signing elsewhere. That pick comes with a $2.97MM slot value. The signing bonus has not yet been publicly reported. [UPDATE: Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo reports that Ebel signed for a below-slot $2.75MM bonus.]
  • The Mariners have agreed to terms with 19 of their draft picks, reports Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. Top pick Kade Anderson’s bonus was previously reported. The M’s also gave catcher Luke Stevenson a bonus of $2.8MM and shortstop Nick Becker $2.75MM. Stevenson was taken in the competitive balance A round, 33rd overall. This bonus comes in just barely above the $2.76MM slot for that pick. Becker was selected in the second round 57th overall, a pick that comes with a slot of $1.64MM. Anderson’s bonus was about $700K under slot and it seems the M’s redirected those savings to get Becker to sign. Callis reported the Stevenson bonus earlier today.
  • The Yankees have signed shortstop Dax Kilby to a $2.8MM bonus, per Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. Kilby was selected 39th overall, though that was actually the club’s top pick. Their first-rounder was pushed back ten spots because they went over the third competitive balance tax threshold last year. Slot for the pick was $2,509,500, so they went a bit over to get him to sign.
  • The Rays signed outfielder Brendan Summerhill to a $1,997,500 bonus, per Callis. He was selected 42nd overall, in competitive balance round A. Slot value for that pick was $2,331,000, so the Rays saved a bit on this one. The Rays also went below-slot to sign first-round Daniel Pierce, so they have lots of extra powder for the rest of their class.
  • The Cardinals signed shortstop Ryan Mitchell to a $2.25MM bonus, per Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. Mitchell was taken in the second round, 55th overall. The slot for that pick is $1,720,300, so the Cards went about half a million above to get this one done. They saved close to a million when signing first-rounder Liam Doyle, so it seems some of those savings were used to ink Mitchell.

Photo courtesy of Dylan Widger, Imagn Images

Brewers Place Sal Frelick On Injured List

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The Brewers will open the second half without their starting right fielder. Milwaukee placed Sal Frelick on the 10-day injured list, backdated to July 15, due to a left hamstring strain. Blake Perkins was recalled from Triple-A Nashville to take his spot.

Frelick suffered the injury in Milwaukee’s final game before the All-Star Break. He first showed some discomfort on a stolen base and came out of the game after making a sliding catch in the following half-inning. Isaac Collins finished the game in right field and gets the start tonight against Dodgers righty Emmet Sheehan. The switch-hitting Collins has a solid .259/.363/.389 line with five homers in 228 plate appearances. He’d mostly been playing left field, where Jake Bauers and potentially Perkins could get more playing time.

This interrupts an excellent season for the 25-year-old Frelick. He has seven home runs and is hitting .294/.354/.404 across 385 trips to the plate. Frelick has stolen 17 bases in 21 attempts and is playing his usual plus defense in right field. The Brewers haven’t provided a timetable on his return, though it’s perhaps encouraging that they waited a few days to monitor his progress before making the injured list decision.

Milwaukee concluded the first half on a seven-game win streak. They’re a season-high 16 games above .500 and have pulled within a game and a half of the Cubs in the NL Central. The Brewers hold the first Wild Card spot in the National League and are 4.5 games clear of the Giants, the top non-playoff team in the NL.

Brewers Outright Drew Avans

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Brewers outfielder Drew Avans was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. Milwaukee designated him for assignment on Sunday when Blake Perkins returned from the 60-day injured list.

Milwaukee picked up Avans on a waiver claim from the A’s last month. The rookie outfielder went 0-2 in his only big league appearance before being optioned. He has made 23 appearances with Nashville, hitting .261/.358/.391 in 106 trips to the plate. While that’s serviceable production on the surface, Avans has struck out 32 times. He’d only punched out in 14% of his plate appearances with the A’s top farm team earlier in the year.

Before this season, the 29-year-old Avans had played in the Dodgers’ system. He’s a former 33rd-round draft pick who has stolen a decent number of bases but struggled to make contact in his minor league career. Avans signed an offseason minor league contract with the A’s and earned an MLB call by hitting .328/.414/.444 in Triple-A. This is his first career outright, so he’ll remain in the Milwaukee organization and try to play his way back onto the roster. He would become a free agent at the end of the season if the Brewers don’t reselect his contract.

Poll: Which Team Should Be Most Aggressive For Eugenio Suarez?

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After entering the season with big expectations, the Diamondbacks have been dogged by injuries throughout the year and seen key players like Zac Gallen and Brandon Pfaadt perform below expectations. It’s left them with a 47-50 record headed into the second half, and while the front office has not yet outright declared themselves sellers, they seemingly haven’t closed the door on the idea either.

Arizona has a number of intriguing rentals they could dangle this summer to contending clubs, but perhaps the best of them all is third baseman Eugenio Suárez. The 33-year-old is in the midst of what figures to be a career year and has already clubbed 31 homers in just 95 games. As the best bat available this summer, he should attract plenty of attention. For which teams would he make the most sense? A look at some of the top options:

New York Yankees

The Yankees entered 2025 without a solid plan for the infield, and their situation has only gotten more dire. Oswaldo Cabrera suffered an ankle injury that’s left him unlikely to return to the field this year, and the club recently cut ties with DJ LeMahieu in order to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to second base. That leaves New York to rely on Oswald Peraza and Jorbit Vivas at the hot corner, a combination that doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Suárez would be the perfect addition to a Yankees lineup that has too often relied on Aaron Judge to carry the load of producing on a regular basis by himself, and Suárez’s righty bat would help to balance a lineup dominated by lefties like Chisholm, Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice, and Austin Wells. As tempting as Suárez may be, however, injuries to players like Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt leave the rotation perhaps even more in need of reinforcements than the lineup. The Yankees would also pay a 110% tax on what’s left of Suárez’s $15MM salary ($5.89MM as of this writing).

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs have had a strong year so far and entered the All-Star break in first place thanks primarily to their star-studded offense. Shoring up a patchwork rotation should be the top priority for this team, but Chicago does have one of the worst third base situations in the majors. Matt Shaw entered this year as a consensus top-30 prospect in the sport and may well still be the team’s long-term solution at the hot corner, but his 61 wRC+ won’t cut it on a contender. Jon Berti and Vidal Brujan have been no better offensively, so any upgrade at third would need to be external. There aren’t many teams for whom Suárez would represent a more substantial upgrade over their internal options, and adding him to the middle of the Cubs’ order to push players like Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ down the lineup would make one of the league’s best offenses even more potent.

Milwaukee Brewers

Nipping at Chicago’s heels in the NL Central race, the Brewers sit just one game back after playing extremely well the past few weeks. With Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta and Jacob Misiorowski set to front the rotation and several solid back-end options, the Brewers appear to be the rare contender mostly set on the pitching front. Where they could use upgrades is on offense — particularly on the left side of the infield. Caleb Durbin has done a solid enough job at third base, but with Joey Ortiz struggling at shortstop and no obviously impactful trade candidates at that position, perhaps adding Suárez could bolster the lineup while allowing the Brewers to occasionally shift Durbin to second base and Brice Turang to shortstop. While the position fit is perhaps imperfect, Suárez would help transform the middle of a Milwaukee lineup that has seriously missed the contributions of Willy Adames this year. It’s fair to wonder whether Suárez fits the within the budget, however.

Seattle Mariners

Perhaps the best fit for Suárez would be a homecoming of sorts. The Mariners have long needed help on offense to complement their cache of young pitching talent, and this year is no different. Rookie Ben Williamson is handling the hot corner on a regular basis as things stand and playing good defense with minimal offense (.259/.294/.321, 79 wRC+).

Bringing Suárez back into the fold would transform the lineup, giving the team a second bona fide slugger alongside Cal Raleigh who could form a strong offensive nucleus with Randy Arozarena and Julio Rodriguez. The Mariners traded Suárez to the D-backs in the first place following the 2023 season — a move necessitated by an ownership mandate to reduce payroll. There is interest in a reunion, but would Seattle submit the top bid to reacquire a rental player they traded 21 months ago when other more surefire postseason clubs are in the bidding?

Other Options

The four clubs mentioned above are arguably the strongest fit for Suárez’s services, but they’re far from the only realistic options. The Reds would represent another homecoming for Suárez and have one of the worst third base situations in the majors at the moment. The Tigers — Suárez’s original organization — have gotten solid production from All-Stars Zach McKinstry and Javier Baez at the hot corner, but both are versatile and Suárez would add some more thump to a win-now lineup. The Blue Jays have a solid offense and are enjoying a breakout season from Addison Barger at third base, but he could just as easily be moved to right field to clear the deck for Suárez. The Mets have moved Mark Vientos off third base amid a difficult season, and Suárez would be a clear upgrade over Ronny Mauricio and Brett Baty on the infield.

Suárez’s elite power and ability to play a solid third base make him an attractive target for any club hoping to add a little thump to the lineup. Which team should push hardest to acquire him? Have your say in the poll below:

Orioles Claim Elvin Rodriguez

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The Orioles announced Wednesday that they have claimed right-hander Elvin Rodriguez off waivers from the Brewers and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. Milwaukee designated Rodriguez for assignment last week. Baltimore now has 39 players on its 40-man roster.

Milwaukee signed Rodriguez, 27, to a split major league contract in the offseason. He’d spent the 2023-24 seasons pitching well enough in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball to command a 40-man spot in his return to North American ball, but his time with the Brewers organization has been a struggle. He’s pitched in six big league games (two of them starts) and been tattooed for 18 runs on 23 hits and seven walks in 18 2/3 innings. A whopping seven of those hits were long balls.

Rodriguez has fared far better in Triple-A, where he’s pitched 29 2/3 innings and notched a respectable 4.25 ERA. His 20.3% strikeout rate in Nashville effectively matches his 20.2% mark in the majors, but he’s also logged a tidy 4.9% walk rate in Triple-A. Homers have been an issue there as well, however; he’s yielded another seven round-trippers in those 29 2/3 frames (2.12 HR/9). Rodriguez sits around 94 mph with his four-seamer and pairs that pitch with a cutter, slider, curveball and changeup.

Prior to his time with the Brewers, Rodriguez made his MLB debut with the 2022 Tigers (29 2/3 innings) and pitched even more briefly with the 2023 Rays (3 1/3 innings). He’s allowed more than a run per inning in his 51 2/3 big league frames but has a nice track record in Triple-A and turned in a sparkling 1.80 ERA in 45 innings pitching in Japan. He’s worked both as a starter and reliever but has been used primarily in stints of one to two innings recently. The righty’s last appearance of more than two innings, in either Triple-A or the big leagues, was back on May 7 when he tossed 3 1/3 innings.

Rodriguez is in the second of three minor league option years and will give the Orioles some flexible bullpen depth for the time being. If the O’s wind up trading rental arms like Charlie Morton, Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano, he could stretch back out as a depth option for the rotation in the season’s second half. He’ll also be a candidate to fill some innings in the ’pen if the O’s trade Gregory Soto, Andrew Kittredge or Seranthony Dominguez — all of whom are potential free agents at season’s end (though Kittredge has a 2026 club option).

Trade Deadline Outlook: Milwaukee Brewers

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MLBTR’s team-by-team look at the upcoming deadline continues with the Brewers. Milwaukee is firmly in a playoff spot and should be looking to buy. However, their financial restraints and apparent surplus of starting pitching could allow them to do some selling or some classic "baseball trades."

Record: 56-40 (82.9% playoff probability, per FanGraphs)

For other entrants in this series, see this post.

Buy Mode

Potential needs: Infield

As of a few months ago, starting pitching would have topped the list of potential needs, but that's no longer the case. The Brewers had a number of injuries early in the year, which spurred them to make a late-spring signing of Jose Quintana and an early-season trade for Quinn Priester. Since then, some of the injured pitchers have returned healthy while several young arms have stepped up to post encouraging results. Now the Brewers seemingly have a rotation surplus they could theoretically deal from. More on that later.

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Vinny Nittoli To Opt Out Of Brewers Deal

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Reliever Vinny Nittoli plans to trigger the opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Brewers, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC-2. The actual opt-out date is tomorrow and will give the Brewers 24 hours to add Nittoli to the big league roster, MLBTR has learned. If the Brewers choose not to select Nittoli to the roster, he’ll become a free agent.

The 34-year-old Nittoli pitched in the majors each season from 2021-24 but has totaled just 18 2/3 MLB frames in that time. He’s pitched to a sharp 2.41 ERA across those four seasons, which have been split between the Mariners, Phillies, Mets, A’s and Orioles. Nittoli has fanned 17.3% of his major league opponents against a 6.7% walk rate.

Nittoli has spent the 2025 season with the Brewers’ Triple-A club in Nashville, pitching to a 3.86 ERA with an impressive 28.9% strikeout rate and an 8.6% walk rate. The journeyman right-hander doesn’t throw hard, sitting just 88-90 mph with his go-to cutter, but he’s induced chases on pitches off the plate at a strong 35.1% clip and recorded an excellent 14.3% swinging-strike rate during his time in Nashville this season.

The Brewers already have a strong bullpen. Milwaukee relievers rank 18th in the majors with a 4.00 ERA, but that includes some early struggles by Joel Payamps, swingman Tyler Alexander and righty Elvin Rodriguez — none of whom are on the 40-man roster at this point. Each of Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby, Jared Koenig, Nick Mears, Grant Anderson and DL Hall has an ERA of 3.69 or better. Five of those seven are under 3.00 (including a 1.66 mark for Ashby). The Brewers’ bullpen has a flat 3.00 ERA over the past calendar month — second-lowest in MLB.

Given the strength of that group, there’s no urgent need to add Nittoli, who’s out of minor league options and would need to stick in the big league bullpen if he’s selected. If the Brewers don’t want to lose the depth, they could select Nittoli to the 40-man roster and option Tobias Myers back to Nashville. (Myers was just recalled a few days before the All-Star break and didn’t get into a game.) The rest of the ’pen is largely set, however, so the Brewers may wind up letting Nittoli explore opportunities elsewhere despite his solid results in Nashville.

Brewers Designate Drew Avans For Assignment

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The Brewers announced a trio of roster moves, including the news that outfielder Drew Avans has been designated for assignment.  The DFA opens up a 40-man roster spot for Blake Perkins, who was returned from his minor league rehab assignment and optioned to Triple-A Nashville, after spending the entire season on the injured list.  Right-hander Easton McGee was also optioned to Triple-A.

It was a little over a month ago that the Athletics designated Avans, which led to the Brewers obtaining the outfielder via waiver claim.  Avans made his Major League debut in the form of seven games with the A’s this season, and his time in the Brewers organization has mostly been spent in Nashville, apart from a lone appearance on Milwaukee’s active roster back on June 15.  Over 18 plate appearances at the big league level, Avans has two singles and only a .229 OPS.

The 29-year-old Avans has posted much more solid numbers during a minor league career that began when the Dodgers took him in the 33rd round of the 2018 draft.  Avans had played only in the L.A. farm system before joining the A’s on a minors deal this past offseason, and he has a .275/.374/.408 slash line, 37 home runs, and 145 stolen bases over 2328 career PA at the Triple-A level.

Between his speed, decent hitting numbers, and an ability to play all three outfield positions, Avans could very well get claimed again by another club in need of outfield depth.  If he clears waivers, he isn’t eligible to elect free agency, so the Brewers could either release Avans or just outright him off the 40-man roster and send him to Triple-A Nashville.

Perkins fouled a ball off himself during a Spring Training batting practice session back in February, resulting in a shin fracture that has cost the outfielder the entire 2025 campaign.  He started his minor league rehab assignment on June 14 but was set back by a minor groin injury in early July that cost him about a week of action.  Since his 30-day rehab window was up, Milwaukee had to make a decision on his status, and optioning Perkins to Triple-A allows him to keep playing throughout the All-Star break.

It is possible Perkins might be in line for his 2025 debut relatively soon, depending on Sal Frelick’s health.  Frelick is slated to undergo an MRI after the outfielder made an early exit from today’s game due to hamstring soreness.  Emerging as Milwaukee’s everyday right fielder this season, Frelick has hit .294/.354/.404 with seven homers and 17 steals over 385 PA, while also delivering outstanding defense.  Losing Frelick would be a blow to the Brewers’ playoff push, but the All-Star break will allow Frelick four days to rest up and hopefully avoid the IL.

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