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Giannis Antetokounmpo Purchases Minority Share In Brewers’ Ownership Group

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Two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has joined the Brewers’ ownership group, the team announced. (Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the news shortly before the official announcement).

Antetokounmpo becomes the third superstar from a different professional sports league to purchase a share in an MLB ownership group. 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes joined the Royals’ ownership group last July, while four-time NBA MVP LeBron James purchased a stake in the Red Sox this March.

The 26-year-old Antetokounmpo stars for the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, whom he led to their first championship in fifty years this season. According to the Brewers, Antetokounmpo is the first individual brought into the ownership group since majority owner Mark Attanasio bought the franchise in 2005.

Brewers Place Freddy Peralta On Injured List

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The Brewers announced they’ve placed right-hander Freddy Peralta on the 10-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation. Reliever Hoby Milner was recalled from Triple-A Nashville to take his active roster spot.

Peralta left last night’s start against the Cardinals after just two innings due to shoulder discomfort. He downplayed the issue postgame, telling reporters (including Adam McCalvy of MLB.com) last night that he expected to be able to make his next scheduled start. That obviously won’t be the case, but there’s no indication he’ll require much — if any — time more than the minimal ten days on the shelf.

The Brewers can afford to err on the side of caution. Last night’s win over St. Louis and the Reds’ loss to the Cubs pushed Milwaukee’s lead in the NL Central out to nine and a half games. They’re a very good bet to hang on to a division title, so there’s every reason to play things safe with a pitcher who’ll surely be lined up to start one of their Division Series games if healthy.

Peralta had flashed promise in a swing role between 2018-20, but he’s taken his game to new heights this season. The 25-year-old has finally locked down a permanent spot in the rotation and pitched to a brilliant 2.45 ERA across 121 1/3 frames. That innings total is already the second-highest of any year in his career, trailing only the 141 1/3 frames he logged between Triple-A and the majors in 2018. A brief IL stint can serve to keep his workload in check heading into the season’s final couple months.

Among hurlers with 100+ innings pitched, only Carlos Rodón, teammate Corbin Burnes, Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer have a strikeout rate superior to Peralta’s 34% clip. Between Burnes, Peralta and Brandon Woodruff, the Brewers figure to enter postseason play with one of the game’s most fearsome playoff rotations.

Brewers Sign David Dahl To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers have signed free-agent outfielder David Dahl to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A, tweets Will Sammon of The Athletic. They’ve also released infielder Kevin Kramer from their Nashville roster.

The 27-year-old Dahl was a first-round pick and longtime top prospect with the Rockies. After debuting as a 21-year-old back in 2016 and hitting the ground running with a .315/.359/.500 slash in 237 plate appearances, Dahl looked like a potential building block for the Rox.

However, Dahl came to the Majors with an injury history of note. He suffered a lacerated spleen during an outfield collision in the minor leagues and had an emergency splenectomy, and since his big league debut he’s incurred a stress reaction in rib cage, a broken foot, a lower back strain, a high ankle sprain and a right shoulder strain — all over the course of about four years.

Dahl spent the 2017 season on the injured list but returned to enjoy productive 2018-19 campaigns. The 2020 season was a disaster, however, as he posted a .183/.222/.247 batting line in 99 plate appearances with the Rockies, who somewhat surprisingly non-tendered him in the offseason. The Rangers swooped in to add Dahl on a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $2.7MM, but he looked nowhere near the 2016-19 version of himself; in 220 plate appearances this season, Dahl has batted only .210/.247/.322.

Texas designated Dahl for assignment earlier this month, and no team saw fit to claim the remainder of his $2.7MM salary on outright waivers. Dahl rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency, and he’ll now join the Brewers in hopes of finding another big league opportunity with a third organization. Milwaukee would only owe Dahl the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster — if he’s called up at all before season’s end.

Kramer, 27, came to the Brewers via a July 4 swap that sent lefty Nathan Kirby to the Pirates. It was an intra-division swap of two formerly high-profile draft prospects who simply haven’t panned out as their organizations had hoped. Kramer improved upon the woeful numbers he’d posted with the Bucs’ top minor league affiliate in what will go down as a brief run with the Brewers’ Nashville affiliate, but his output was still below average overall. In 66 plate appearances with Triple-A Nashville, Kramer hit .245/.379/.321.

Brewers Designate Kyle Lobstein For Assignment

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The Brewers have designated left-hander Kyle Lobstein for assignment in order to open a roster spot for infielder Keston Hiura, per a club announcement. Hiura has been formally reinstated from the Covid-19-related injured list and will be active on the Brewers’ Triple-A Nashville roster.

Lobstein, 32, came to Milwaukee in a minor mid-July swap that sent cash back to the Nationals, who’d designated him for assignment. The former Tigers and Pirates hurler made his return to the big leagues earlier this season with Washington after a five-year absence, but he appeared in just three games, yielding three runs in 1 1/3 innings.

With the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate, Lobstein pitched quite well, compiling a 1.69 ERA with a very strong 29.8 percent strikeout rate, a 9.5 percent walk rate and an elite 69.4 percent ground-ball rate. Things didn’t go as well with Milwaukee’s top affiliate in Nashville, however, as Lobstein has been tagged for 5.40 ERA with nine strikeouts, four walks, three hit batters and a diminished 52.1 percent grounder rate in 13 1/3 innings.

In 129 1/3 Major League innings overall, Lobstein carries a 5.22 ERA with a 13.3 percent strikeout rate, an 8.9 percent walk rate and a 49.8 percent ground-ball rate, although his improved strikeout numbers in the minors in recent years suggest he’s made some changes from earlier in his career when he was struggling as a starter in Detroit. The Brewers will have a week to place him on outright waivers or release him now that the trade deadline has passed.

Brewers Sign Connor Sadzeck

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The Brewers signed reliever Connor Sadzeck to a minor league contract last week (h/t to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America). The 29-year-old has been assigned to Triple-A Nashville, where he made his first appearance last Friday.

Sadzeck was once one of the more promising pitching prospects in the Rangers organization, where he made his big league debut in 2018. Texas traded the right-hander to the Mariners the following year, where he pitched fairly well but wound up ending that season on the injured list with elbow trouble. Between the two clubs, Sadzeck posted a 2.18 ERA over 33 innings but walked a highly alarming 17.1% of batters faced.

Signed to a minors deal by the White Sox over the winter, Sadzeck spent most of this year with their top affiliate in Charlotte. Over 27 2/3 frames, he pitched to a 5.86 ERA while continuing to struggle with his control, doling out free passes at a 15.5% clip. Chicago released him shortly after the trade deadline. During his big league action, Sadzeck worked in the mid-high 90’s, so the Brewers took a no-risk flier on a live arm to serve as high minors bullpen depth.

Injury Notes: Winker, Lindor, Phillies, Brewers

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Jesse Winker’s return to the Reds lineup was short-lived, as the outfielder left today’s game prior to the bottom of the third inning.  Winker went 0-for-2 with two flyouts in his first two plate appearances before re-aggravating the mild intercostal strain that sidelined him for Cincinnati’s previous two games.  A previous MRI didn’t reveal any damage, though manager David Bell told reporters (including The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans) that Winker will be re-evaluated prior to tomorrow’s game against the Cubs.

While the Reds are in the thick of the wild card race, the team will surely be careful with one of their top bats to prevent a longer-term injury.  Winker has hit .307/.395/.560 with 24 home runs over 481 plate appearances this season, and he entered today’s action as the NL leader in doubles (32) and total bases (235).  The Reds are in the midst of a grueling stretch of 29 games over 30 days, so there isn’t any built-in time for Winker to really get a break, and a trip to the injured list might be necessary to fully correct the issue.

More on other injury situations from around baseball…

  • Francisco Lindor participated in just about a full range of baseball activities prior to today’s game against the Dodgers, and Mets manager Luis Rojas told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bill Ladson) that Lindor could potentially be activated off the injured list when New York begins its next homestand on August 24.  Lindor will travel with the Mets on their road trip and continue to work out, so the club will monitor his progress and then determine whether a minor league rehab assignment is necessary, or if Lindor could return to the active roster without the benefit of any minor league tuneup games.  A Grade 2 oblique strain sent Lindor to the IL on July 17, so even a return by that Mets homestand would be a pretty decent turn-around time for the shortstop, given how more severe oblique problems can sometimes linger.
  • Zach Eflin (right knee tendinitis) threw a live batting practice session today, while Vince Velasquez (right middle finger blister) and Sam Coonrod (forearm tendinitis) threw live BP sessions yesterday.  The Phillies pitchers are at different stages in their recoveries, and Velasquez and Coonrod will each begin minor league rehab assignments on Tuesday.  Eflin’s next step could be another simulated session before he starts his own rehab assignment, though the right-hander told NBC Sports’ Jim Salisbury and other reporters that he “felt great” during today’s 28-pitch session.
  • The Brewers are almost all the way out of a COVID-19 outbreak on their roster, and two of the remaining sidelined players (Adrian Houser and Jandel Gustave) are nearing returns.  As Brewers manager Craig Counsell told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak and other reporters, Gustave is working out with the team and Houser is expected to join the club when the Brew Crew begin a series with the Cardinals on Tuesday.

Red Sox Claim Travis Shaw Off Waivers From Brewers

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The Red Sox have claimed Travis Shaw off waivers from the Brewers, according to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. Shaw was placed on waivers by the Brewers yesterday. Rob Bradford of WEEI notes that the Red Sox plan to have Shaw with the team by Tuesday’s game. A spot on the 40-man roster was opened earlier in the day when Josh Taylor was placed on the COVID IL.

This will be a homecoming for Shaw, returning to the organization that drafted him and gave him his first MLB experience. In 2015 and 2016, he played 210 games for the Red Sox, slashing .251/.312/.442, producing a wRC+ of 97. In December 2016, the Sox traded Shaw to Milwaukee, along with Mauricio Dubon and Josh Pennington, for Tyler Thornburg.

Shaw was excellent in his first two season for Milwaukee, slashing .258/.347/.497 for a wRC+ of 120 over that span. Unfortunately, it’s been up-and-down since then. 2019 was a disastrous campaign, producing a meager .157/.281/.270 line, wRC+ of 48, leading to Shaw being non-tendered that offseason. The Blue Jays gave him a shot and saw him rebound slightly to a line of .239/.306/.411, wRC+ of 92. Unfortunately, after re-signing with the Brewers, his numbers tailed off again. His 2021 production so far has been .191/.279/.337, a wRC+ of 68.

Shaw will now presumably be a candidate for some time at first base for Boston. There had been plans to get Kyle Schwarber some work at first, but he has been at designated hitter in both his games since being activated off the IL, with J.D. Martinez taking some time in the outfield. Bobby Dalbec has been the primary first baseman for Boston this year. Although he has struggled at times this year, he has been red hot lately, slashing .286/.357/.571 over the past month.

Brewers Reinstate Eric Lauer, Transfer John Curtiss To 60-Day IL

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The Brewers have reinstated Eric Lauer from the IL, per a team announcement. The lefty was one of many Brewers to test positive for COVID-19 recently and was placed on the IL August 4th. Justin Topa was optioned to make room for him on the active roster, with John Curtiss going on the 60-day IL to create room on the 40-man roster.

Lauer has been a solid member of the Brewers’ staff this season, appearing in 15 games, starting 11 of them. In 69 1/3 innings, he has an ERA of 3.50, with a strikeout rate of 22.9% and walk rate of 8.9%, both of those rates being around league average.

As for Curtiss, he was recently traded from the Marlins to the Brewers. But just two weeks later, he was diagnosed with a torn UCL and may need to undergo Tommy John surgery. Although the 28-year-old is getting a second opinion before going under the knife, this IL placement guarantees that he will miss the remainder of this season. Before going on the IL, he had thrown 44 1/3 innings of 3.45 ERA ball between the two clubs.

Brewers Sign Colin Rea To Minors Contract

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The Brewers have signed right-hander Colin Rea to a minor league deal, as per MLB.com’s official transactions page.  Rea has been assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds and is likely to start tomorrow’s game, according to Sounds announcer Jeff Hem (Twitter link).

Rea had a 2.03 ERA over 40 innings for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks this season, but he left the Japanese team earlier this month in order to return to his family in the United States following the premature birth of his child (reporter Jim Allen has the details).  The righty has now caught on with the Brewers and will look to participate in a Major League season for the fourth time in his career.

After tossing 134 1/3 innings with the Padres and Marlins in 2015-16, Rea underwent a Tommy John surgery and then didn’t return to the big leagues until last season with the Cubs.  (He pitched in San Diego and Chicago farm systems in 2018-19.)  Rea’s comeback year saw him post a 5.79 ERA over 14 innings for the Cubs, before the team released him during the offseason to sign with the Hawks.

Rea has worked as a starter for much of his career, and his assignment Sunday with Nashville indicates that the Brewers will continue to keep him stretched out.  He might provide some rotation depth for a team still missing Adrian Houser and Eric Lauer to the COVID list, though the ever-creative Brewers could use Rea as a long man, piggyback starter, or perhaps a bulk pitcher at the MLB level, if not simply as a normal starter or reliever.

Brewers Place Travis Shaw On Outright Waivers

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The Brewers have placed infielder Travis Shaw on outright waivers, according to Peter Gammons and Will Sammon, both of The Athletic.

Signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, Shaw had his contract selected by the Brewers in March. That contract came with a guarantee of $1.5MM. He appeared in 56 games, splitting his time between first and third base, before going on the IL with a dislocated shoulder, producing a disappointing line of .191/.279/.337, a wRC+ of 68. Since that time, the club has shored up its corner infield with the acquisitions of Rowdy Tellez and Eduardo Escobar, both of whom have been excellent since joining the Brew Crew. It seems that this has left Shaw, who began a rehab assignment July 27th, the odd man out.

This marks yet another downturn in Shaw’s seesaw career. After coming to Milwaukee in a trade with the Red Sox, Shaw was incredible for his first two years with the Brewers, hitting over 30 home runs in both 2017 and 2018, producing a combined line of .258/.347/.497 with a wRC+ of 120. However, 2019 went completely in the opposite direction, a miserable .157/.281/.270 campaign, wRC+ of 48, that caused the team to opt for not tendering him a contract for 2020. The Blue Jays picked him up and saw Shaw rebound slightly to a line of .239/.306/.411 and a wRC+ of 92. Unfortunately, the return to Milwaukee resulted in his production turning downwards yet again.

Shaw will now almost certainly clear waivers and become a free agent. He is still owed about $400K of the $1.5MM on his contract. Any team that signs Shaw would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum, with the Brewers on the hook for the rest.

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