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Brewers Sign Drew Smyly

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The Brewers announced today that they have signed southpaw Drew Smyly to a minor-league deal. He had previously been designated for assignment and then released by the Rangers.

Smyly is due $7MM in total this year, but that cost will all be borne by the Texas organization except for any pro-rated portion of the league minimum that Smyly may command if he’s called up. It’s essentially a zero-risk roll of the dice for the Milwaukee outfit. The southpaw will jump into the club’s Triple-A rotation, per GM David Stearns (via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, on Twitter).

The once-strong starter is still only thirty years of age — he just celebrated his birthday, in fact — but hasn’t turned in a healthy and effective campaign in quite some time. He was good in limited action in 2015, struggled through thirty starts in 2016, and then missed all of the ensuing two seasons.

Smyly was able to take the mound this year after a lengthy rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery. And he had his fastball back at his typical ~91mph level. But Smyly was having no success fooling big league hitters, who banged 19 home runs in his 51 1/3 innings. He carries an 8.42 ERA with a 52:34 K/BB ratio on the season.

Brewers, Pirates Discussed Felipe Vazquez In 2018

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The Brewers expressed interest in Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez last summer, though talks didn’t go anywhere, Robert Murray of The Athletic reports. The left-handed Vazquez would have teamed with Brewers southpaw Josh Hader and righty Jeremy Jeffress to form a nigh-unhittable relief trio on paper, perhaps one that could have pushed the club over the top in the National League. He remains a Pirate, though, and the Vazquez-less Brewers fell to the Dodgers in a seven-game NLCS last year.  Milwaukee may call its division rival again this year about Vazquez (if the Brewers haven’t already), but it’ll continue to be incredibly difficult for anyone to pry him out of Pittsburgh.

Brewers Place Jimmy Nelson On Injured List

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  • The Brewers announced that they’ve placed Jimmy Nelson on the 10-day IL, retroactive to June 26, with a right elbow effusion. It’s an issue that has bothered Nelson since spring training, Robert Murray of The Athletic tweets, and may help explain his 2019 struggles. Nelson made his season debut June 5 after sitting out since September 2017, when he underwent surgery on a torn shoulder labrum. The 30-year-old has since allowed 13 earned runs on 18 hits and 14 walks (with 15 strikeouts) in 14 innings. The Brewers pulled Nelson from their rotation last weekend.

Brewers To Designate Hernan Perez For Assignment

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The Brewers are set to designate infielder Hernan Perez for assignment, The Athletic’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter link).  A corresponding move has yet to be announced, though Tyler Saladino seems likely to fill Perez’s spot on the 25-man roster, as Joe Alexander (via Twitter) reported that Saladino and Keston Hiura left the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in San Antonio prior to tonight’s game, and Hiura’s pending return to the big leagues has already been reported.

Perez has been a useful utility piece for Milwaukee since joining the organization partway through the 2015 season.  Playing primarily as a third baseman and corner outfielder, Perez has seen time at every position on the diamond except catcher during his time as a Brewer (including six appearances on the mound as a mop-up reliever.  Perez showed a bit of pop with 27 homers in 2016-17, though overall, hit just .261/.291/.402 with 42 homers over 1620 plate appearances for Milwaukee.

Perez was arbitration-eligible for the second time this past winter, avoiding a hearing by agreeing to a $2.5MM deal with the Brewers.  A team claiming Perez off DFA waivers would be responsible for the approximately $1.15MM remaining in salary, though it could be more likely that Perez clears waivers and is signed as a free agent if released, or the Brewers could keep him in the organization by outrighting him to Triple-A.

The versatile Saladino can take over the backup infield duties for Perez and he also has limited outfield experience, though Ben Gamel’s role on the team as the lone proper backup outfielder takes on larger import.  Overall, the Brewers are costing themselves some positional flexibility with today’s moves, given how both Perez and Shaw were options at a wider range of positions than Saladino and Hiura.  (Shaw’s demotion, however, had a lot more to do with his lack of hitting than his fielding.)  It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Brewers further shuffle their roster on the trade front as the club continues to chase the either NL Central title or a wild card berth.

Brewers To Promote Keston Hiura, Option Travis Shaw To Triple-A

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The Brewers are bringing top prospect Keston Hiura back to the majors, The Athletic’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter link).  In a corresponding move, the struggling Travis Shaw will head down to Triple-A.

This will be Hiura’s second stint in the major leagues, as he made his debut in a 17-game cameo for Milwaukee earlier this season while Shaw was on the IL with a wrist injury.  During that brief time with the Brewers, Hiura lived up to his status as one of baseball’s consensus top prospects, hitting .281/.333/.531 with five homers over 69 plate appearances.  While Hiura struck out in 23 of those trips to the plate and benefited from a .361 BABIP, he was also doing damage when he did make strong contact, with a .369 xwOBA that exactly matched his .369 wOBA.

Given his tendency to strike out and the fact that Hiura doesn’t turn 23 until August, it may be a bit much to expect the youngster to continue being an above-average offensive producer for the remainder of the season (or as long as he’s still on the 25-man roster).  Yet it was clear that some type of upgrade was needed for Shaw, who has become a weak link on a Brewers team with postseason aspirations.  His wrist problem, which cost him three weeks on the injured list, certainly could be a factor, though there isn’t much to like about what Shaw has done at the plate this season.

After hitting .258/.347/.497 with 63 homers over his first two seasons in Milwaukee, Shaw has managed only a .166/.278/.293 slash line and six home runs through 209 plate appearances this year.  His power numbers and contact rates have cratered while his strikeouts have gone through the roof, as Shaw’s 33% strikeout rate and 13.4% swinging strike rate are far and away his career highs.

Shaw still had two option years remaining, and was earning $4.675MM this season in his first of three arbitration-eligible years.  While it isn’t a stretch to consider if Shaw could be a non-tender candidate this winter, there’s still lots of time for him to get on track against Triple-A pitching and again contribute to the Brewers this season.  While Hiura is certainly the Brew Crew’s second baseman of the future and potentially the present, Shaw could again be an option at third base since Mike Moustakas is only signed through this season, as he and the Brewers share an $11MM mutual option for 2020.  Moustakas has been lacking in free agent suitors in each of the last two seasons, though one would think he’ll decline his side of that option to again seek a multi-year commitment, given that the Moose is enjoying his finest season at the plate.

Looking even longer-term, even if Hiura spends the rest of the season on the Brewers’ big league roster, he won’t amass enough Major League service time to himself qualify for future Super Two status.

Hiura has played exclusively as a second baseman during his young career, so his addition to the roster will almost mean that Moustakas will again be spending much of his time at the hot corner.  Playing second base for the first time in his MLB career this season, Moustakas ended up acquitting himself decently well at the keystone (+1 Defensive Runs Saved, -1.6 UZR/150), and obviously the position switch had no impact on Moustakas’ ability to hit.

Gio Gonzalez Suffers Setback

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Brewers left-hander Gio Gonzalez went on the 10-day IL on June 1 with a dead arm, an injury that’s going to cost him at least a month and a half of action. Gonzalez felt soreness during a recent bullpen session and won’t return until after the All-Star break as a result, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Gonzalez’s issue isn’t serious enough to warrant a complete shutdown, per McCalvy, but it’s still not what the Brewers need when they’re fighting for a playoff spot. Milawaukee had expected to get Gonzalez back for a start prior to the break. Instead, it’ll have to continue turning elsewhere.

The 33-year-old Gonzalez joined the Brewers on a $2MM guarantee April 27 to cap off an unusual several months. Even though Gonzalez owns a quality MLB track record, there was little interest in him during free agency. Consequently, the former Athletic and National sat out until late March, when he settled for a minor league pact with the Yankees. He opted out of his Yankees contract after a month and three Triple-A starts in order to sign with the Brewers.

Gonzalez’s long stay on the open market prevented him from participating in a normal spring training, which may help explain the longtime workhorse’s current injury troubles. To his credit, though, Gonzalez did turn in a 3.19 ERA/3.22 FIP with 7.55 K/9, 2.61 BB/9 and a 45.1 percent groundball rate in his first six starts and 31 innings as a Brewer before going on the IL. On a per-inning basis, Gonzalez has been one of the most effective arms in a shaky Milwaukee rotation. Despite their lack of dependable starters, the Brewers are in possession of a wild-card spot at 42-38 and just a game behind the NL Central-leading Cubs.

Lorenzo Cain Dealing With Thumb Injury

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  • Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain underwent cryptotherapy on his right thumb Tuesday, but it should only keep him out a couple days, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com relays. Cain has undergone the procedure on a few occasions during his career, per McCalvy, who notes the 33-year-old has been battling pain for weeks. That likely helps explain Cain’s surprising decline in production. One of the majors’ most valuable players from 2017-18, Cain’s off to a .253/.314/.357 start in 331 plate appearances this year.

Brewers Sign First-Round Pick Ethan Small

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The Brewers have signed first-round pick Ethan Small, the team announced. Smith inked a deal worth $1.8MM, below the $2,493,900 slot value of his selection, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets.

The 22-year-old Small’s a former Mississippi State University left-hander who, according to pundits, didn’t rank as highly as the Brewers viewed him entering the draft. Baseball America rated Small 45th in the 2019 class, while ESPN’s Keith Law (No. 50), MLB.com (No. 56) and FanGraphs (No. 58) placed him lower. Small’s a former Tommy John surgery patient whose velocity hasn’t returned since the procedure, per Law, though he notes the hurler “has improved substantially as a pitcher.”

With Small under wraps, the Brewers have now agreed to deals with each of their first three draft picks. They previously inked second-round pitcher Antoine Kelly ($1.03MM) and fourth-round catcher Nick Kahle ($325K). The club entered the draft with the second-lowest pool available at $5,148,200.

Adrian Houser Replaces Jimmy Nelson In Brewers' Rotation

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  • Righty Jimmy Nelson, now out of the Brewers’ starting rotation, will “likely” function as a long reliever, Robert Murray of The Athletic writes (subscription link). For now, Nelson’s rotation spot will go to righty reliever Adrian Houser.  Nelson’s hopeful he’ll eventually return to Milwaukee’s starting staff, per Murray, who delves into the 30-year-old’s 2019 struggles in his piece. While Nelson was the Brewers’ best starter in 2017, late-season shoulder surgery that year kept him out of major league action until three weeks ago. Nelson then made three subpar starts before the Brewers moved him into a lesser role. Houser, 26, has logged an impressive 2.27 ERA/3.37 FIP with 10.23 K/9 and 3.41 BB/9 this season, but as Murray notes, he won’t work deep into games as a starter. He has averaged just under two innings per appearance across 16 tries this season, having totaled 31 2/3 frames.

Brewers Move Jimmy Nelson To Bullpen

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Today, 1:00 pm: Nelson will indeed move to the bullpen, per mlb.com’s Adam McCalvy. The team has not yet announced a replacement.

Friday, 8:00 pm: Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson is back in action for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery in 2017, but it hasn’t been a storybook return to this point. The team’s now discussing whether to keep Nelson in its starting rotation, according to manager Craig Counsell (via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Nelson came back June 5 and has since endured a difficult three starts, all of which lasted between three and five innings and ended in defeat for the Brewers. The 30-year-old has thus far yielded 13 earned runs on 16 hits and 10 walks (against 13 strikeouts) in 12 frames during his major league comeback. Adding to the bad news, Nelson’s velocity is down across the board since 2017. He has lost around 3 mph on his four-seam fastball, slider and curve.

An emotional Nelson called his early season performance “frustrating, upsetting and disappointing” when speaking with Haudricourt and other reporters, though he’s still confident he’ll return to form. Nelson blossomed into a front-end starter two years ago, when he turned in 175 1/3 innings of 3.49 ERA/3.05 FIP ball with 10.21 K/9, 2.46 BB/9 and a 50.3 percent groundball rate. It’s far too soon to say that version of Nelson won’t reappear eventually. However, given that Milwaukee’s pushing for a playoff spot, it may not be in position to keep running Nelson out there.

The problem for the Brewers is that they might not have an obvious solution to replace Nelson. Brandon Woodruff, Zach Davies, Gio Gonzalez and Chase Anderson have been useful members of their rotation, though Gonzalez has been on the injured list for three weeks and may not return until July. Meanwhile, Jhoulys Chacin, Freddy Peralta, Corbin Burnes and Adrian Houser have each posted unattractive numbers as starters this year. Chacin’s the lone member of the group who remains in the Brewers’ rotation. The rest are in their bullpen.

With the Brewers not getting enough from their starting staff, the reigning NL Central champions have stumbled of late. Although they’ve lost six of seven, the Brewers are 40-35, in wild-card position and only a game behind the Cubs in their division. Still, barring an in-house fix, Milwaukee may have to address its rotation before the July 31 trade deadline in order to clinch another playoff spot.

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