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Brewers Outright Kevin Herget

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Right-hander Kevin Herget has cleared waivers and been outrighted by the Brewers to Triple-A Nashville, per Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Brewers had designated the righty for assignment on the weekend.

Herget, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in the offseason. He had his contract selected April 9 and was bounced off the roster five days later without making an appearance. Prior to joining the big league club, he made four scoreless appearances in Triple-A, striking out five batters while only issuing one walk. He also had two scoreless appearances in Spring Training.

Though he didn’t get into a big league game with the Brewers, he has 31 1/3 innings of major league experience with the Rays and Reds. He has a 5.74 earned run average in that time, striking out just 12.6% of batters faced but limiting walks to a tiny rate of 4.4%. His work in the minors has naturally been more intriguing. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has tossed 230 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 3.86 ERA, 24.1% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate.

Herget has been outrighted before in his career, which gives him the right to reject this outright assignment and elect free agency. It’s not yet clear whether he’s chosen to report to Nashville or head back out to the open market.

Brewers Select Tobias Myers, Designate Vladimir Gutierrez For Assignment

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The Brewers announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Tobias Myers. In corresponding moves, they optioned left-hander Jared Koenig to Triple-A Nashville and designated right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez for assignment.

Myers, 25, will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game, though he took quite a circuitous route to get here. Drafted by the Orioles way back in 2016, he was traded to the Rays the following year as the O’s acquired Tim Beckham. Ahead of the 2021 Rule 5 deadline, he was flipped to Cleveland in exchange for Junior Caminero and then added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster. Myers was designated for assignment in July of 2022, getting traded to the Giants for cash. He was later claimed off waivers by the White Sox, though that club outrighted him off their roster towards the end of the 2022 season. He reached minor league free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Brewers prior to 2023.

Along that winding road, he saw his prospect stock rise and fall. Baseball America considered him the Rays’ #15 prospect going into 2018, which was on the heels of a strong 2017 performance wherein Myers tossed 56 minors league innings with a 3.54 earned run average, 31.9% strikeout rate and 4.4% walk rate. Were in not for a very unlucky 52.1% strand rate, his performance would have been even better, which is why his FIP was a tiny 1.81.

But his strikeout-to-walk ratios were less impressive in the two following two seasons. He had a combed 3.05 ERA over 2018 and 2019 but with a subpar 18.7% strikeout rate and average-ish 8.1% walk rate. The minors were canceled by the pandemic in 2020 but Myers bounced back somewhat in 2021. He tossed 117 2/3 innings over 25 outings, 22 starts, with a 3.90 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate. It was then that he was traded to the Guards for Caminero and BA ranked him the #23 prospect in Cleveland’s system.

But in 2022, as he bounced to the Guardians, Giants and White Sox, he tossed 76 innings on the farm with a ghastly 7.82 ERA, striking out just 14.2% of opponents while giving them free passes at a 13.5% clip.

With the Brewers last year, he improved in terms of strikeouts and walks but the long ball was an issue. He threw 140 2/3 frames with a 29.3% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate, but the 30 home runs allowed led to a 4.93 ERA. So far this year, he’s made three Triple-A starts with a 1.84 ERA in that small sample.

Given the inconsistency, it’s hard to know what to expect from Myers at this point, but the Brewers have largely been getting decent results out of him in the past year-plus. Since he’s stretched out, he can give the club a bit of length. He has a couple of options and can provide the club with some roster flexibility well into the future if he continues to hang onto his 40-man spot.

Gutierrez, 28, was claimed off waivers by the Brewers less than two weeks ago. He was optioned to Triple-A and made two appearances on the farm before getting bumped off the 40-man roster today. Milwaukee will have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers.

He was once a highly-touted prospect himself but has a 5.47 ERA through 154 2/3 major league innings thus far, mostly with the Reds. He missed most of 2023 while recovering from Tommy John surgery and was outrighted by the Reds at season’s end. He signed a minor league deal with the Marlins this winter and was selected to the roster but was designated for assignment after one appearance, which led him to the Brewers via the aforementioned waiver claim.

He could perhaps garner interest from other clubs, either due to his previous prospect pedigree or the various injuries piling up around the league or both. The fact that Gutierrez still has a couple of options means he won’t even need an active roster spot.

Brewers Place Christian Yelich On Injured List Due To Back Strain

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The Brewers announced that outfielder Christian Yelich has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 13, due to a low back strain. Infielder/outfielder Owen Miller was recalled as the corresponding move.

Yelich, 32, last played on Friday with back soreness keeping him out of the lineup in recent days. Since IL stints can be backdated by three days as long as a player doesn’t play, the club waited to see how he responded to a bit of time off. It seems he is still sore enough that he’ll need a bit more time on the shelf, but the backdating means he could potentially be back in a week.

Though the move isn’t surprising and his absence may be brief, it’s nonetheless frustrating for the Brew Crew. Yelich hit a torrid .333/.422/.744 in his first 11 games, launching five home runs in that time. He wasn’t going to be able to maintain that forever but it’s still unfortunate that he was dragged down in the middle of such a heater.

With outfielder Garrett Mitchell also on the injured list, Milwaukee has mostly been using Jackson Chourio, Blake Perkins and Sal Frelick as their regular outfielders in recent days with Joey Wiemer in a fourth outfielder role.

The recall of Miller gives them a versatile bench piece for the time being. Since the start of 2022, he has played all of the non-shortstop infield positions as well as the outfield corners. He’s hit just .241/.289/.349 in that time but has 17 stolen bases in 19 tries and has received solid grades for his glovework.

Brewers Claim Corbin Martin

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The Brewers have claimed right-hander Corbin Martin off waivers from the Diamondbacks, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Hogg adds that right-hander Kevin Herget was designated for assignment to make room for Martin on the club’s 40-man roster. The Brewers subsequently optioned Martin to Triple-A.

Martin, 28, was a second-round pick by the Astros in the 2017 draft and, after dominating the Double-A level of the minors in his first full pro season, garnered plenty of top-100 prospect buzz prior to the 2019 season, even making his big league debut early in the season. Martin’s rise was thrown off course by him undergoing Tommy John surgery midway through the 2019 campaign, but that didn’t stop Houston from packaging him alongside Seth Beer, JB Bukauskas, and Josh Rojas to acquire future Hall of Famer Zack Greinke from the Diamondbacks in a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline that summer.

The right-hander’s career began to come off the rails once he arrived in Arizona, however. Martin missed the entire 2020 season while rehabbing from surgery and didn’t make his organizational debut with Arizona until May of that year. He struggled through 43 1/3 innings of work split between the major league level and Triple-A that year, posting a whopping 10.69 ERA in five big league appearances along with a 5.93 ERA in 27 1/3 frames with the club’s affiliate in Reno. Martin’s struggles continued in 2022 as Martin pitched to a 4.84 ERA and 4.59 FIP in seven appearances for the big league club. The righty spent the majority of the season in the minors before once again being shut down due to injury in August of that year.

That proved to be the last time Martin would pitch in the majors for the Diamondbacks. The right-hander missed the entire 2023 campaign after suffering a lat tendon tear in his right shoulder that ended up requiring surgery. He returned to action with the beginning of the 2024 season, but allowed a 9.00 ERA in three innings of work before being designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks last week.

Now with the Brewers, Martin will be reunited with Bukauskas as a potential bullpen option in Milwaukee, though the right-hander will begin his tenure with the club in the minor leagues. Given Martin’s previous prospect pedigree and impressive results when healthier earlier in his career, the Brewers are no doubt hoping they can tap into some of that potential Martin has flashed throughout his career now that he’s fully healthy. If he does enough to earn himself an opportunity in the majors, he’ll enter the club’s middle relief mix alongside the likes of Bryse Wilson and Thyago Vieira.

Making room for Martin on the Brewers’ 40-man roster is Herget, who was selected to the club’s roster earlier this week after signing with Milwaukee on a minor league deal last month. The 33-year-old ultimately did not make an appearance with the Brewers at the big league level, though he had posted 5 1/3 scoreless innings of work in Triple-A. After being drafted by the Cardinals in the 39th round of the 2013 draft, Herget bounced around the minor leagues before eventually making his big league debut with the Rays in 2022. He’s made brief cameos in the majors in each of the past two seasons with Tampa and Cincinnati, pitching to a combined 5.74 ERA and 4.56 FIP in 31 1/3 innings of work. The Brewers will now have one week to waive, trade, or release Herget.

Brewers Select Jared Koenig

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The Brewers announced a flurry of roster moves this morning, highlighted by the club selecting the contract of left-hander Jared Koenig. The club also called up outfielder Joey Wiemer. To make room for the duo on the active roster, right-hander JB Bukauskas was placed on the injured list while infielder Andruw Monasterio was optioned to Triple-A, while outfielder Garrett Mitchell was transferred to the 60-day IL to make room for Koenig on the 40-man roster.

Koenig, 30, is getting his second crack at the major leagues after initially making his debut with Oakland back in 2022. A 35th-round pick by the White Sox out of high school in the 2014 draft, the southpaw didn’t receive an offer from the club after being drafted and was never drafted again, instead fashioning a career for himself in independent ball after college. After several years spent in indy ball, Koenig had a strong season with the Frontier League’s Lake Erie Crushers that saw him post a 2.24 ERA in 104 1/3 innings of work with a 30.6% strikeout rate. That performance earned him the attention of the A’s, who signed him to a minor league deal.

The left-hander continued to find success upon being assigned to the Double-A level in 2021, leading to him eventually contributing to the big league club in 2022. Koenig’s long road to the major leagues ended with him pitching 39 1/3 innings for the A’s that saw him post a lackluster 5.72 ERA with a 4.84 FIP, striking out just 12.4% of batters faced. Koenig returned to the minors last year, this time in the Padres organization, before signing on with the Brewers prior to the 2024 campaign.

In Milwaukee, Koenig figures to join the bullpen in a short relief capacity after transitioning out of his previous long relief/starting role last season. He’s looked good in four appearances with Triple-A Nashville, posting a 1.93 ERA while punching out 50% of the batters he’s faced. He’ll try to carry that success over to the big league Brewers, where he’ll join Bryan Hudson and Hoby Milner among the left-handed options at manager Pat Murphy’s disposal.

Coming up from Triple-A alongside Koenig is Wiemer, who appeared in 132 games for the Brewers as a rookie last season. The 25-year-old offers stellar outfield defense (his +8 Outs Above Average placed him in the 93rd percentile of major leaguers last year, per Statcast) and is capable of handling all three positions on the grass, but struggled to a .204/.283/.362 slash line in 410 trips to the plate last year.

While that offense certain left something to be desired, Wiemer was actually well above average against southpaws in 2023, slashing a much stronger .267/.298/.517 with seven home runs and eight doubles in just 121 trips to the plate against lefties. Wiemer figures to provide a right-handed complement to the club’s current center field duo of Blake Perkins and Sal Frelick, while also potentially freeing up Frelick for occasional reps at third base where the club is currently utilizing a combination of Joey Ortiz and Oliver Dunn.

Making room for Wiemer on the active roster is Monasterio, who has struggled in limited playing time this season. He’s gone hitless in nine plate appearances this season despite drawing two walks against just one strikeout, and will now head to Triple-A where he can get more regular playing time. Monasterio made his big league debut with the club last season, slashing .259/.330/.348 in 92 games while splitting time between second and third base.

Meanwhile, Koenig takes the roster spot of Bukauskas, who is headed to the injured list due to a lat strain. Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Bukauskas is set to undergo imagining on his shoulder before the Brewers determine a timeline for his return due to the right-hander’s lengthy history of lat injuries. Bukauskas has looked good through six appearances with the Brewers this year, striking out 27.3% of batters faced with just one earned run allowed on a solo homer to this point. Mitchell’s placement on the 60-day IL, meanwhile, hardly comes as a shock given the club does not expect him to return until June as he rehabs from a hand fracture.

Brewers Notes: Mitchell, Williams, Clarke, Wilken

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Brewers outfielder Garrett Mitchell has been on the injured list all season thus far after suffering a hand fracture during the spring. Reporting in early April suggested he was facing a timeline of about four to six weeks but it may end up being more than that. General manager Matt Arnold informed reporters this week, including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that the club is expecting a return around June 1.

It’s the second straight year where Mitchell has been prevented from getting into regular action. He debuted late in 2022 and hit .311/.373/.459 in his first 28 major league games, setting himself up for a prominent role on the 2023 club. But he suffered a left shoulder subluxation in April last year and required surgery, ultimately only playing in 19 games during that campaign.

Mitchell has provided above-average outfield defense and has stolen nine bases in ten tries while hitting .278/.343/.452 in his limited action. That has come with a concerning 38.3% strikeout rate that he and the Brewers would surely love to drop, which likely makes it even more frustrating that he keeps missing out on key development time.

So far this year, the Brewers have been using a regular outfield rotation of Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, Blake Perkins and Sal Frelick. During the spring, the club was experimenting with the idea of moving Frelick to the infield but Mitchell’s injury allowed him to go back to his regular outfield job.

Arnold also relayed that reliever Devin Williams is looking at a return around the All-Star break. That roughly aligns with the three-month estimate given when it was reported in March that the closer had been diagnosed with two stress fractures in his back. Taylor Clarke, meanwhile, is looking at a late May return from the meniscus surgery he underwent on his right knee a few weeks ago.

Today, Arnold provided an unfortunate update about prospect Brock Wilken, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Wilken was playing for Double-A Biloxi last night when he was hit in the face by a pitch, suffering multiple fractures but no concussion. Once the swelling subsides, Wilken will likely undergo surgery.

Wilken, who turns 22 in June, was the club’s first-round pick last year. Selected 18th overall, the Brewers sent the third baseman through the Complex League, High-A and Double-A last year after drafting him. Baseball America ranked him as the club’s #10 prospect coming into this year while FanGraphs had him at #5.

This news is obviously a bit scary but Arnold says the long-term prognosis is good. Given his potential importance to the club’s future, the Brewers will likely be cautious in getting Wilken back onto the field.

Jeferson Quero To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

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Brewers general manager Matt Arnold informed reporters, including Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, that catching prospect Jeferson Quero will undergo surgery for a torn labrum. The recovery time is expected to be nine months, which obviously ends the season for the young backstop.

It was reported last week that Quero, 21, had been diagnosed with a subluxation in his right shoulder. The club didn’t make the next steps known at that time as they were planning to get a second opinion, but it now seems that a determination has been made with surgery required for Quero.

It’s an unfortunate development for the Brewers, both in the short term and in the long term. In the short term, it will put a notable dent in the club’s catching depth. Quero was added to the club”s 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft and he was sent to Triple-A to start this year.

The Brewers have William Contreras and Gary Sánchez handling the catching duties at the big league level but Quero could have been in line for his big league debut this year if an injury arose to either of those two. Instead, Quero is the one who is injured, subtracting that option from the club this year. Eric Haase and Francisco Mejia are in Triple-A as non-roster depth options and one of those two will likely be the first up if another catcher is needed at the big league level.

In the long term, it’s an unfortunate loss of a development year for a notable young player in the system. Quero was a consensus top 50 prospect in the league coming into the year and is currently listed #35 in the league by Baseball America, #41 at FanGraphs, #33 at MLB Pipeline, #32 at ESPN and was all the way up at #12 on the list of Keith Law of The Athletic.

Long considered a strong defensive catcher, Quero hit well in the lower levels of the minors but without much power. Over 2021 and 2022, he hit .290/.357/.448 but with just 12 home runs in 488 plate appearances as he climbed to High-A. Last year, he was sent to Double-A and hit 16 homers in just 381 plate appearances while walking in 10% of his plate appearances and striking out just 17.8% of the time. He slashed .262/.339/.440 for a wRC+ of 107 despite being just 20 years old.

That strong showing vaulted him up prospect lists and seemed to have him in place to be pushing for a major league debut, perhaps as soon as this year. But after just one plate appearance at the Triple-A level this year, he suffered this injury and will have to sit out the remainder of the campaign. Quero is still young and will have plenty of time to get back on track but it’s obviously less than ideal for a young player to miss an entire year of reps as he is trying to grow as a player.

Since Quero was in the minor leagues when he suffered his injury, he’ll be placed on the minor league injured list. The Brewers could recall him and place him on the major league injured list if they want to open a 40-man roster spot, but doing so would start Quero’s service time clock.

Brewers Select Kevin Herget, Option Aaron Ashby

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The Brewers announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Kevin Herget, with left-hander Aaron Ashby optioned in a corresponding move. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, righty Devin Williams was transferred to the 60-day injured list. It was reported a few weeks ago that Williams has stress fractures in his back and will be out of action for about three months.

Herget, 33, has logged big league time in each of the past two seasons, spending the 2022 campaign in the Rays organization and the 2023 season with the Reds. He’s posted a 5.74 ERA in 31 1/3 MLB frames, with a 12.6% strikeout rate that’s only a bit more than half the league average but an outstanding 4.4% walk rate. Herget delivered pedestrian numbers in 47 1/3 Triple-A innings with the Reds’ top affiliate last season but was excellent in Triple-A with the 2022 Rays when he racked up 97 1/3 frames with a 2.95 ERA, 24.4% strikeout rate and pristine 3.9% walk rate.

Though Herget doesn’t throw hard (92.6 mph average fastball) or miss many bats, his command is sharp. He’s only walked 6% of the hitters he’s faced in pro ball, including just 6.3% in parts of seven Triple-A seasons. He’s walked only one of his 17 opponents (5.8%) in 4 1/3 shutout innings to start the Triple-A season with the Brewers’ affiliate in Nashville. Herget also has a pair of minor league options remaining, so if the Brewers decide this will be a short stint in the big league bullpen, he can be sent back to Nashville without first needing to clear waivers.

Optioning Ashby is the latest discouraging development in what’s been a frustrating couple of years for the former top prospect. The now-25-year-old lefty debuted late in the 2021 season and impressed down the stretch, fanning nearly 30% of his opponents in 31 2/3 innings. Ashby split the 2022 season between the Brewers’ rotation and bullpen, pitching quite well through the season’s first few months — so much so that Milwaukee signed him to a five-year, $20.5MM contract extension.

That hasn’t gone nearly as well as hoped. Ashby posted a decent 4.23 ERA with a 4.31 FIP and much more promising 3.44 SIERA in his final 38 1/3 innings that season. He fanned 26.1% of his opponents, issued walks at a 9.1% clip and kept the ball on the ground at a 57.4% rate in ’22 following the extension.

Shoulder troubles popped up in 2023, however, eventually requiring arthroscopic surgery. Ashby wound up pitching just seven innings all season — all of which came in the minors. He returned this season but was rocked for 11 runs (nine earned) on 14 hits and five walks with seven punchouts in just 8 1/3 spring innings. His regular season began with a the left-hander yielding eight runs (four earned) on six hits and a pair of walks in 3 2/3 innings. Ashby averaged 96.5 mph on his sinker in 2021 and 95.8 mph in 2022; he’s sitting at just 93.8 mph to begin the current season.

The Brewers are surely still hopeful that Ashby can rebound to an extent. Whether he factors into the rotation or eventually settles in as a bullpen piece, the former fourth-round pick has shown clear ability to miss bats and generate grounders at a premium level. Command has long been an issue, and Ashby probably won’t ever excel in that regard, but he could still play a prominent role on the team if he can get back to the 27.1% strikeout rate, 12.6% swinging-strike rate and 34.1% opponents’ chase rate he displayed in 2021-22.

Under the terms of that previously mentioned contract extension, Ashby is being paid $1.25MM in 2024. He’s owed salaries of $3.25MM, $5.5MM and $7.5MM from 2025-27, and Milwaukee has club options on what would’ve been his first two free agent seasons: $9MM in 2028 (with a $1MM buyout) and $13MM in 2029.

Offseason In Review: Milwaukee Brewers

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The Brewers lost their manager and traded their ace. They also focused on big league talent in their trade returns and added several win-now veterans as they look to stay relevant in a wide-open National League Central division.

Major League Signings

2024 Spending: $39.75MM
Total Spending: $72.75MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Waiver Claims

Extensions

Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

The manager’s chair hasn’t been a question for the Brewers in nearly a decade. Craig Counsell helmed the Brew Crew from 2015-23, guiding the club to a 707-625 record (.531) and five postseason appearances in nine seasons. His status as a managerial free agent was a major storyline early in the offseason not only for the Brewers but for several clubs around the sport. The Mets, Astros and Guardians were all connected to Counsell after his contract expired on Nov. 1, but the Cubs made a surprise push to bring in their longtime division foe, dismissing David Ross and signing Counsell to a record-setting five-year deal that’s worth a reported $40MM.

The Brewers not only lost their longtime skipper but also their longtime president of baseball operations. David Stearns stepped down following the 2022 season but stuck with Milwaukee in an advisory role for the 2023 season. After his own contract expired, perhaps baseball’s worst-kept secret quickly came to fruition; Stearns accepted the job as president of baseball operations for his hometown Mets, departing the Milwaukee organization entirely one year after ceding baseball operations autonomy to current GM Matt Arnold.

Arnold’s presence gave the Brewers’ front office some continuity even as Stearns departed, and Milwaukee opted for continuity in the dugout as well. Although they were tied to a host of external candidates (e.g. Toronto’s Don Mattingly, Houston’s Joe Espada, L.A.’s Clayton McCullough), the Brewers stayed in-house and elevated bench coach Pat Murphy to the skipper’s chair. Murphy, who previously coached Counsell in his college days at Notre Dame, had served as Counsell’s bench coach since 2015. He lacks big league managing experience but has two decades of NCAA experience and is quite familiar with the Brewers organization, their current talent and the upcoming wave of prospects.

As for the roster itself, starting pitching has been the hallmark of the Brewers for several years, with co-aces Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff atop the rotation and the underrated Freddy Peralta standing as an overqualified “third” starter. That all changed in a back-and-forth offseason that at times left fans wondering whether the Brewers were rebuilding or whether they were fully committed to winning in 2024. Toeing that line is nothing new for the Brewers, who regularly make hard roster decisions and trade players with dwindling control for MLB-ready prospects.

Setting aside the turnover with regard to some of the team’s key decision-making personnel, the offseason was in many was bookended by a pair of seismic transactions regarding their longtime one-two punch. Woodruff was non-tendered in November after undergoing shoulder surgery that’s expected to wipe out the majority of his 2024 season. And while it took Arnold & Co. most of the offseason to make it happen, they traded Burnes for a pair of immediate, controllable big leaguers and the Orioles’ Competitive Balance pick (No. 34) in this summer’s draft.

Joey Ortiz stepped right into the Brewers’ infield, and they’ll hope he can hold down a role there for six or more years. He’s controllable through at least the 2029 season and is a premium defensive player with modest power, above-average speed and a plus hit tool that gives him a chance to hit for average. He’ll play second base and third base in 2024, but if impending free agent Willy Adames departs either at the trade deadline or in free agency this winter, Ortiz has the defensive chops to step right in at shortstop.

Left-hander DL Hall, the other player to come over from the O’s in the Burnes swap, jumped right into the rotation spot vacated by the former NL Cy Young winner. Like Ortiz, he’s a touted prospect who’s drawn his share of top-100 fanfare in recent years. Scouts question whether the 2017 first-rounder (No. 21 overall) has the command to stick in a big league rotation, but even if he doesn’t, Hall’s velocity and quality secondary pitches give him a good chance at being a high-end leverage reliever.

Burnes was one of four notable veterans whom the Brewers traded away this offseason — and the returns on the others weren’t as impactful. Mark Canha was flipped to the Tigers in exchange for minor league righty Blake Holub — a 25-year-old relief prospect who’d yet to pitch in Triple-A at the time of the swap.

Right-hander Adrian Houser and outfielder Tyrone Taylor were both targets of Stearns with the Mets. He acquired his two former players in exchange for an upside play for the Brewers’ development staff: righty Coleman Crow. The former 28th-round pick signed for fifth-round money with the Angels back in 2021. He’s now twice been traded and made only four starts last year before requiring Tommy John surgery.

Mark Chiarelli wrote for Baseball America at the time of the trade why some of Crow’s fastball traits and his curveball movement made him a favorite of analytically inclined clubs. Unlike Ortiz, Hall and Holub, he’s further from MLB readiness. But Houser is a back-end starter entering his final season of club control and Taylor is a fourth outfielder coming off a down year at the plate. Adding some legitimate upside, even if it comes with significant injury concern, surely held appeal.

Subtracting Burnes, Houser, Woodruff, Canha and Taylor was a notable hit for the Brewers — particularly with veterans Carlos Santana, Victor Caratini and Andrew Chafin all hitting free agency. However, the Brewers never seemed interested in any sort of protracted rebuild. That was never Stearns’ M.O. and doesn’t seem to be Arnold’s, either. The Brewers could’ve traded Peralta (signed through 2026), Devin Williams (signed through 2025) and Adames (controlled for this season only), kept payroll in the gutter and made the 2024 season one focused primarily on development.

Instead, they made a slew of short-term free agent investments that helped backfill some rotation depth and add some punch to the lineup. No free agent pickup was larger — either in pure financial terms or in terms of potential 2024 impact — than Rhys Hoskins, who inked a two-year, $34MM deal to step an everyday role between first base and designated hitter. Hoskins is playing his first season since 2022, as a spring ACL tear cost him all of 2023. He can opt out of his contract at season’s end and quite likely will, if he performs anywhere close to his prior standards in Philadelphia. He gives the Brewers a legitimate middle-of-the-order threat at first base — something they’ve lacked in recent years. As a bonus, he didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Phillies, meaning he’s eligible to receive one at season’s end if he indeed takes that opt-out.

In addition to first base, Milwaukee stocked up on catcher depth and brought in some low-cost bench help. Eric Haase signed a one-year, split big league deal and was set to be the backup catcher — until he very suddenly wasn’t. Gary Sanchez’s price tag dropped to the point where the Brewers opportunistically snagged him as well, inking him to a one-year deal worth $3MM in guaranteed money (restructured from his original $7MM guarantee after some concerns arose on his physical). That pushed the out-of-options Haase, who had a mammoth spring showing, off the 40-man roster. The Brewers succeeded in passing him through waivers, and Haase opened the year in Triple-A to serve as a very nice piece of depth behind the dish.

Other bench pickups included journeyman first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers and unheralded infield prospect Oliver Dunn, acquired from the Phillies. Bauers hasn’t hit in the big leagues but showed enough power and plate discipline with the Yankees last year that the Brewers traded some low-level prospects for him. Dunn was a squeezed out of the Phillies’ 40-man picture thanks to a crowded infield mix, but he posted huge Triple-A numbers last year and won a roster spot in Milwaukee with a big showing in camp. He’s been excellent so far in his brief MLB debut. Veteran Christian Arroyo joins that bench depth as a minor league signee who opened the year on the Triple-A injured list.

As those bench pieces filtered in, others familiar faces moved out. Abraham Toro and Taylor were traded. Rowdy Tellez was non-tendered. Santana, Caratini and Jesse Winker reached free agency. Fringe 40-man arms Ethan Small and Clayton Andrews were traded for modest returns. Bullpen fliers Taylor Clarke and Bryan Hudson were added via trades that sent a series of low-profile prospects to Kansas City and Los Angeles, respectively.

Perhaps the biggest area in need of an overhaul was the rotation. With Woodruff injured and non-tendered and Burnes (eventually) traded, things would’ve looked unsettled, to say the least, without some form of reinforcements. Milwaukee didn’t break the bank but brokered affordable one-year deals with a returning Wade Miley, a returning Colin Rea, swingman Jakob Junis (who’s pitching in a starting role) and former Nats righty Joe Ross, who’s returning from several injury-ruined years.

Milwaukee also surprised some by ultimately retaining Woodruff on a two-year, $17.5MM deal that’ll pay him just $2.5MM in 2024 and $5MM in 2025. There’s a $10MM buyout on a $20MM mutual option for the 2026 season that is highly unlikely to be exercised but helps Milwaukee kick some of the payments down the road a bit. That move won’t make a big impact for ’24, unless Woodruff returns for a theoretical playoff push, but it’s a big boost to their 2025 outlook when Woodruff can rejoin Peralta and some combination of Hall, Rea, Aaron Ashby, top prospect Robert Gasser and any other external additions in the rotation mix.

Miley and Rea were both with the Brewers last year. Rea technically never reached free agency before signing a new one-year deal with a club option. He can max out at two years and $10MM on the contract and should at the very least eat up some innings near the back of the rotation. Miley, currently nursing a minor shoulder issue, has had a late-career renaissance in the NL Central. Over the past three seasons he’s pitched with the Cubs, Reds and Brewers — combining for a 3.26 ERA in 320 1/3 innings. After signing, he was open about how his priority had been to return to Milwaukee. Ross has shown solid strikeout capabilities and good command at his best, but he’s been beset by injuries. His Brewers debut was his first MLB appearance since the 2021 season.

While the Rea deal technically counts as an extension, given the timing of the deal, that clearly wasn’t the team’s big extension move of the offseason. That came in the form of a record-setting eight-year, $82MM deal for 20-year-old Jackson Chourio, who entered the season as a consensus top-five prospect in the sport. Chourio spent the 2023 season as one of the youngest players in Double-A, though you wouldn’t have known he was 19 by looking at his numbers. The uber-talented Venezuelan outfielder hit .280/.336/.467 with 22 homers, 44 steals, plus defense and just an 18.4% strikeout rate against much older competition. He cracked the Brewers’ Opening Day roster, and the hope is that he can be a foundational piece for the better part of a decade.

There’s clear risk when signing a player who’s never taken a single big league at-bat to this type of contract. The Brewers invested just $2MM more in a then-19-year-old Chourio than they did in Lorenzo Cain when he was one of the market’s top free agents. Milwaukee already controlled Chourio for six, if not seven seasons (depending on when they’d have chosen to call him up sans extension). They’re buying three or four extra years of control with this deal, which would be worth 10 years and $130MM if both options are exercised (with the potential for more based on MVP voting).

It’s a steep bet for a team that tends to operate with a mid-range payroll, but it’s a necessary one of they were to have any real hope at keeping Chourio beyond his initial window of club control. Extensions for young stars like Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez (12 years, $209MM) and Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. (11 years, $288.7MM) show just how expensive a star player can get after even a year or two of MLB service. Milwaukee, already with Christian Yelich’s nine-year, $215MM contract on the books, surely was none too keen on the notion of dishing out a second $200MM+ contract down the road. The Brewers clearly believe Chourio has star potential, and even if he settles in as “only” an average regular, the contract would hardly be an egregious overpay.

The 2024 Brewers scarcely resemble the 2023 unit — particularly with Williams on the shelf for the next several months due to stress fractures in his back — but there’s a nice crop of young talent bubbling up. If they’re not contending when the deadline rolls around, expect veterans like Adames, Williams (if healthy), Junis, Sanchez and others to hit the trade block. But the NL Central also lacks a clear favorite, and there’s enough promising young talent on the Milwaukee roster (e.g. Ortiz, Hall, Chourio, Sal Frelick) and enough established contributors (e.g. Peralta, Adames, Yelich, Hoskins, William Contreras) that this club could very well be right back in the mix even after subtracting a series of high-profile names.

NL Central Notes: Gray, Cubs, Brewers

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The Cardinals started the season without their biggest offseason signing, as staff ace Sonny Gray opened the 2024 campaign on the shelf due to a hamstring strain. The right-hander was scheduled for a final rehab start this past week before returning to big league action, but those plans were dashed by an unfortunate rainout that kept Gray from taking the mound. The club initially announced that Gray would have his Triple-A start pushed back to this coming Tuesday, but manager Carlos Marmol revealed to reporters (including The Athletic’s Katie Woo) today that Gray’s start that day will actually be for the big league club.

Per Marmol, Gray will be limited to around 65 pitches in his Cardinals debut, where he’ll take on the Phillies in the second game of a three-game set between the clubs. Gray landed in St. Louis back in November on a three-year, $75MM deal following a dominant 2023 season in Minnesota. The right-hander posted a 2.79 ERA with an MLB-best 2.83 FIP for the Twins last year in a performance that earned him his third career All Star appearance and a second-place finish in AL Cy Young award voting behind Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.

The Cardinals are surely hoping Gray will bring that same form to St. Louis. The club was plagued by one of the worst starting pitching staffs in the majors last year, and the early returns haven’t been much better so far with the rotation’s 5.64 FIP in the young 2024 campaign is better than only the Rockies and Blue Jays among all big league clubs. Upon his return, Gray figures to replace struggling youngster Zack Thompson in the club’s rotation mix, slotting in alongside fellow veterans Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Kyle Gibson, and Lance Lynn.

More from around the NL Central…

  • The Cubs made a surprise roster move just before the start of their game against the Dodgers this afternoon, placing right-hander Julian Merryweather on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain as noted by Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. It’s a significant blow to the club’s relief corps, as Merryweather has dominated with a 3.29 ERA (136 ERA+) and a nearly matching 3.46 FIP in 73 appearances for the Cubs across the past two seasons. Merryweather’s absence will pave the way for right-hander Daniel Palencia, who pitched to a 4.45 ERA across 27 appearances in his rookie season last year, to join the club’s bullpen. Meanwhile, Merryweather’s role in the club’s late-inning mix alongside Adbert Alzolay and Hector Neris figures to be filled by Mark Leiter Jr.
  • Speaking of pitching roster moves, the Brewers placed right-hander Jakob Junis on the 15-day IL yesterday due to a right shoulder impingement. Fortunately for Milwaukee, it sounds as though the issue isn’t particularly serious. According to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, an MRI on Junis’s shoulder came back clean and Junis told reporters that he hopes to begin ramping back up in a few days. That would seem to indicate an absence near the minimum for the right-hander, who’s been replaced by southpaw Aaron Ashby on the active roster while he recuperates. Ashby, 26 next month, did not pitch in the majors last year after undergoing shoulder surgery but now appears to be healthy, having already made a five-inning start at the Triple-A level this season.
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