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Brewers Sending Robert Gasser For Evaluation With Elbow Soreness

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The Brewers are sending Robert Gasser for evaluation after the rookie left-hander reported “some tightness, soreness” coming out of his start on Saturday, manager Pat Murphy told reporters (X link via MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand). The Brewers have not placed him on the injured list at this point.

Gasser joined the Milwaukee rotation three weeks ago. He has pitched very well in his first five big league starts, turning in a 2.57 ERA through 28 innings. While Gasser only has 16 strikeouts (a subpar 14% rate), he has shown impeccable control. The Houston product has only issued one walk, though he has hit three batters.

Acquired from the Padres as part of the 2022 Josh Hader return, Gasser already looks like a key piece of a Milwaukee rotation that has been hit hard by injury. The Brewers knew they’d be without Brandon Woodruff all season, but they’ve lost Wade Miley, DL Hall, Jakob Junis and Joe Ross to the injured list since the year began. Gasser has stepped in alongside Bryse Wilson and Colin Rea as part of a patchwork rotation behind Freddy Peralta.

Milwaukee has overcome that spotty rotation to run a 36-24 record through their first 60 games. They’ve built a 6.5 game lead over the Cardinals in the NL Central. Losing Gasser, if testing reveals any kind of injury, would represent another hurdle, though the Brewers could welcome back a few of their currently injured hurlers.

Junis is headed to Triple-A Nashville to begin a rehab assignment, tweets Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Signed to a $7MM free agent deal, Junis has been limited to one start thus far. The right-hander went on the injured list with a shoulder impingement during the first week of April. His rehab process was slightly delayed when he was struck in the head by an errant ball during batting practice, but he fortunately avoided any especially serious injuries. Murphy has previously indicated that Junis could return in a multi-inning relief role after opening the year in the rotation.

Ross, who went on the IL on May 21 with a lower back strain, could also return in the coming weeks. Rosiak notes that the right-hander is set to throw a bullpen session this weekend. The 31-year-old has started nine games, pitching to a 4.50 ERA over 42 innings.

Brewers Outright Mitch White

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Brewers right-hander Mitch White went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Nashville, reports Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. He’s been outrighted once in the past, so he’ll have the opportunity to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, if he prefers to look for opportunities elsewhere.

The Brewers acquired White from the Giants in exchange for cash last month. San Francisco had also designated the right-hander for assignment prior to that swap. White made six appearances with the Brewers, pitching 8 1/3 innings and yielding six earned runs on eight hits and four walks (two of them intentional). He punched out six batters. On the season as a whole, White has tossed 23 2/3 innings and been roughed up for a 7.23 ERA between the Blue Jays, Giants and Brewers. He’s fanned just 11.8% of his opponents against a matching 11.8% walk rate.

Once a prospect of note within the Dodgers organization, the now-29-year-old White has pitched in parts of five big league seasons. The 2016 second-rounder had a nice early-career run in L.A. but has struggled since being traded away from Los Angeles. In 105 2/3 frames as a Dodger, White recorded a 3.58 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate. He’s since pitched to a 5.45 ERA with a diminished 17.7% strikeout rate between the Blue Jays, Giants and Brewers.

If he accepts his outright assignment, he’ll stick with the Brewers organization and suit up for their Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds, while hoping to pitch his way back into another major league opportunity. If he opts to test free agency, he’ll likely find some interest on minor league deals from clubs seeking to stockpile experienced pitching depth.

Brewers Had Offseason Extension Talks With Willy Adames

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Brewers owner Mark Attanasio spoke to reporters, including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, about a variety of topics prior to last night’s game in Milwaukee. Perhaps most noteworthy of those topics was the future of shortstop Willy Adames, who is currently slated to hit free agency following the 2024 campaign. Attanasio was candid about the fact that the club made “plenty of offers” to Adames throughout the offseason in hopes of retaining him on a long-term deal. While Attanasio did not provide further details on those offers, his comments appeared to suggest that he does not have confidence in his ability to keep Adames in Milwaukee long term at this point.

“He’s the best,” Attanasio said of Adames, as relayed by Hogg. “…Willy’s performance got to a point where it would be – we’ll see what happens after the season – but he’s going to command quite a significant package as a free agent.”

Attanasio certainly isn’t wrong to suggest that Adames has increased his stock with his play so far this season. The 28-year-old had generally established himself as an above-average shortstop on both sides of the ball entering the 2023 campaign, with a .255/.322/.448 slash line (110 wRC+) to go with a whopping 10 Outs Above Average during the 2022 campaign. While 2023 saw Adames maintain those top-of-the-scale defensive metrics at shortstop, his offense took a significant step back.

Despite career best strikeout (25.9%) and walk (11.1%) rates last season, Adames posted a career-worst 94 wRC+ while slashing a paltry .217/.310/.407 in 638 trips to the plate last year. That lackluster production was primarily due to Adames suffering a bit of a power outage. While his 64 home runs and 78 doubles between the 2020-22 campaigns gave him a healthy .220 isolated slugging across those three campaigns, 2023 saw that figure drop to just .190 as he slugged just 24 homers and 29 doubles. That combined with a career-worst .259 batting average on balls in play left Adames as a below average bat overall last year, raising some questions about his ability to command a significant deal this winter.

Fortunately for Adames, he’s largely put those concerns to bed with his performance in the first third of the 2024 campaign. He’s maintained the positive trends in terms of plate discipline from last year, sporting a healthy 10.4% walk rate while cutting his strikeouts down to just 20.7% of the time. On top of that, his .197 ISO suggests his power production is trending in the right direction, as does his hard-hit rate rebounding from just 36.1% last year to 40.7% so far this season. All that has left Adames with a solid .256/.335/.453 slash line (125 wRC+) to go with his best wOBA (.346) since 2021.

What’s more, it’s possible there’s even more offensive potential in Adames’s performance he has yet to tap into as indicated by his career-best .362 xwOBA. That figure is tied with Bryce Harper for 33rd among all qualified hitters this year, placing Adames’s expected production in the same stratosphere as elite infielders like Matt Olson and Rafael Devers. Even if Adames doesn’t end up reaching those heights this year, his current production at the plate in conjunction with defense at shortstop that has ranked in the 96th percentile or better of qualified fielders in each of the past three seasons is sure to make him among the most enticing infielders available this winter.

In the meantime, Adames has helped lead the Brewers to a command 6.5 game lead over the field in the NL Central as they’ve posted a 35-23 record to this point in the season. With such a solid lead in the division, one would be forgiven for assuming that Adames will remain in Milwaukee at least through the end of the 2024 campaign as the club continues to push towards its sixth playoff appearance in seven seasons. GM Matt Arnold indicated to reporters (including Hogg) during the conversation with Attanasio that nothing is guaranteed ahead of the trade deadline this summer, however, as he declined to say that the club’s star shortstop would be off the table this July.

“From my perspective you can never close the door on anything, but he is the heartbeat of our team in a lot of ways,” Arnold said, as relayed by Hogg. “Always want to stay open minded but also recognize the value that he brings to us everyday.”

If the Brewers were to collapse over the next two months, it would hardly be a surprise to see a budget-conscious club that prefers to avoid rebuilding and attempt to contend in perpetuity shop Adames around in hopes of finding longer term assets who could help the club win in the future. It’s much trickier to decipher whether they would seriously consider parting ways with Adames at the deadline if they remain firmly in the playoff picture, however. The Brewers famously dealt Josh Hader to the Padres at the trade deadline while in contention back in 2022, and the loss of the club’s closer surely helped to contribute to the 29-31 record from August 1 onward that left them on the outside looking in during the postseason that year.

On the other hand, the two prospects Milwaukee acquired in the deal, outfielder Esteury Ruiz and lefty Robert Gasser, have both gone on to contribute to the big league club in big ways this season. The Brewers flipped Ruiz during the 2022-23 offseason in order to land catcher William Contreras in a three-team deal with the Braves and A’s, and Contreras has since broken out as one of the league’s very best catchers. As for Gasser, the 25-year-old rookie has looked nothing short of dominant in four starts with the Brewers this season, posting a sterling 1.96 ERA and 2.52 FIP in 23 innings of work.

Given the major success the club has enjoyed in turning the prospects from that deal into production at the big league level less than two years later, it stands to reason that Milwaukee brass would at least consider parting ways with Adames if they felt they could reasonably replace his production down the stretch and come out ahead in the long term. On the other hand, the club’s struggles in 2022 following the Hader trade highlight the risks involved in such a maneuver and could leave Arnold’s front office reluctant to run the same risk just two seasons after it potentially cost the Brewers a postseason berth.

Brewers Designate Mitch White For Assignment

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The Brewers announced Thursday that right-hander Mitch White has been designated for assignment. His spot on the active roster goes to righty Kevin Herget, who has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville.

Milwaukee acquired White from the Giants in exchange for cash just under three weeks ago. San Francisco had also designated the right-hander for assignment prior to that swap. White made six appearances with the Brewers, pitching 8 1/3 innings and yielding six earned runs on eight hits and four walks (two of them intentional). He punched out six batters. On the season as a whole, White has tossed 23 2/3 innings and been roughed up for a 7.23 ERA between the Blue Jays, Giants and Brewers. He’s fanned just 11.8% of his opponents against a matching 11.8% walk rate.

White, 29, has pitched in parts of five big league seasons. Once a prospect of note within the Dodgers organization, the 2016 second-rounder had a nice early-career run in L.A. before stumbling following a trade to Toronto. In 105 2/3 frames as a Dodger, White recorded a 3.58 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate. He’s since pitched to a 5.45 ERA with a diminished 17.7% strikeout rate.

White is out of minor league options, so the Brewers didn’t have the choice to send him to Triple-A. He’ll either be traded, placed on outright waivers or released within the next week. Because of that lack of options, any team to claim White or make a small trade for the righty will need to carry him on the big league roster.

Orioles Acquire Thyago Vieira

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The Orioles and Brewers have announced a three-player trade that will see the O’s land right-handers Thyago Vieira and Aneuris Rodriguez.  Milwaukee will receive minor league righty Garrett Stallings in return.

Vieira is the only member of the trio with any Major League experience, as the Sao Paulo native has a 6.18 ERA over 51 career innings in the Show.  He appeared in parts of the 2017-19 seasons with the Mariners and White Sox before spending the next three seasons in Japan, and then returning to North American baseball via a minors deal with the Brewers in the 2022-23 offseason.

After making two appearances with Milwaukee’s big league roster last year, injuries opened up more opportunity for Vieira this season, though he didn’t exactly capitalize.  The right-hander posted a 5.64 ERA over 22 1/3 innings for the Crew, allowing six home runs and walking 12.3% of batters.  Despite a big fastball with regular high-90s velocity, Vieira has yet to translate that heat into high-level strikeout volume, as he whiffed a decent but unspectacular 23.6% of batters faced this season.

Between that velocity and solid numbers in NPB and with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in 2023, it isn’t hard to see why the Orioles might have an interest in seeing if Vieira might still be a late bloomer at age 31.  A classic case of a hard thrower with control issues, Vieira’s potential is obvious if the O’s can figure out a way for the righty to harness his stuff.  The Brewers have had a lot of success in helping unheralded pitchers unlock their ability in recent years, though the team opted to move on by designating Vieira for assignment earlier this week.

Rodriguez is more of a longer-term lottery ticket of a prospect, as the righty is still a few weeks away from his 20th birthday.  His pro experience has been limited to two seasons in the Dominican Summer League and some rookie ball action this year, with a cumulative 3.67 ERA over 83 1/3 total innings.

Stallings was a fifth-round pick for the Angels in the 2019 draft, and he came to Baltimore’s organization as part of the return in the December 2020 trade that sent Jose Iglesias to Los Angeles.  Stallings has a 5.41 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate, and 6.48% walk rate over 379 1/3 career minor league innings.  That includes a 5.52 ERA in 101 innings of Triple-A work, as he has pitched as both as a starter and a reliever at Baltimore’s top affiliate in each of the last two seasons.

Brewers Select Enoli Paredes

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2:30pm: The Brewers have made it official, selecting Paredes and optioning right-hander Bradley Blalock as the corresponding move.

2:10pm: The Brewers are calling up right-hander Enoli Paredes, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 on X. The righty is not currently on the club’s 40-man roster, but the Brewers are only at 39 at the moment. They will need to make a move to open a spot on the active roster.

Paredes, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in the offseason. He’s been with Triple-A Nashville so far this year with excellent overall results, though some slight control issues. He has tossed 20 2/3 innings for the Sounds over 18 appearances, allowing 1.31 earned runs per nine frames. 56.8% of the balls in play he’s allowed have been on the ground and he has struck out a massive 41.5% of batters faced.

His 11% walk rate is on the high side but he’s obviously been able to work around that with those strikeouts and grounders. It will likely be something to monitor going forward, however, as the free passes have been a problem for him before. He pitched 32 1/3 innings in the majors for the Astros over the 2020-22 seasons with a solid 3.90 ERA. In that time, he had a 23.6% strikeout rate and 44.7% ground ball rate but also gave out walks to 19.7% of batters that stepped to the plate. In 141 1/3 minor league innings from 2021 to 2023, he punched out 31.4% of opponents but gave out walks at a 15.7% clip.

The Astros outrighted him off their roster at the end of last season, which allowed the Brewers to land him on a minor league deal. Paredes exhausted his final option last year, which likely played a role in Houston moving on from him.

His strong performance this year will now get him another chance in the big leagues. If he can keep the walks under control, as he has been doing in Triple-A this year, he could be a nice find for the Milwaukee bullpen. He has less than two years of service time and could be kept around for years to come if things click for him. But since he’s out of options, he’ll need to pitch well enough to justify his spot on the active roster.

Brewers Place Joe Ross On Injured List

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The Brewers announced that right-hander Joe Ross has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a low back strain, while fellow righty Tobias Myers has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move.

It’s surely not the birthday that Ross pictured for himself, as he turns 31 years old today. He started for the Brewers last night but departed after just one inning, with the club later relaying that the righty is dealing with a low back strain. Now it seems the issue is serious enough that Ross will need to head to the IL for at least 15 days, though it’s unclear exactly how long the club expects him to be out of action.

Injuries have been a big part of the journey for Ross, especially in recent years. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2022, the second such procedure of his career. That put him out of action for the rest of that year and most of 2023 as well.

Despite the long layoff, the Brewers took a shot on Ross and signed him to a major league deal in December. The results so far have been pretty good, especially when considering all that missed time. He has made nine starts with a 4.50 earned run average this year. His 18.9% strikeout rate is a bit below average but his 8.6% walk rate and 42% ground ball rate are both right around par.

Those numbers are obviously more passable than exciting, but subtracting that performance will still be unwelcome for the Brewers, given that it adds to the mounting number of rotation injuries they are dealing with. Brandon Woodruff won’t be pitching at all this year due to shoulder surgery and Wade Miley recently required Tommy John surgery, putting him out for the rest of the year as well. DL Hall and Jakob Junis are also on the IL at the moment, so today’s move gives the club a full rotation’s worth of starters on the shelf.

Freddy Peralta, Bryse Wilson, Colin Rea and Robert Gasser currently take four rotation spots. The club is off on Thursday and could perhaps survive with those four starters for a few days but will likely need a fifth starter after that, since they play 13 games without a break starting on Friday.

Myers could perhaps step into the rotation, but Bradley Blalock is another option since he was starting in the minors prior to his promotion, with a 2.27 ERA in seven Triple-A starts this year. Myers has a 1.45 ERA at Triple-A this year but his four big league starts led to a 5.29 ERA as he walked 12.2% of opponents and allowed six homers. Mitch White is also on the roster but he pitched in each of the past two games.

Aaron Ashby is on optional assignment but has an 8.90 ERA in Triple-A this year. Janson Junk, also on the 40-man and pitching in the minors, has a much better 4.91 ERA but three of his past four outings have come out of the bullpen.

Despite the rotation challenges, the Brewers are 27-20 and sitting atop the National League Central, though the Cubs are only a game and a half back. Those two clubs play a four-game set against each other next week.

Brewers Designate Thyago Vieira For Assignment, Promote Bradley Blalock

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The Brewers announced Monday that right-hander Thyago Vieira has been designated for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to right-hander Bradley Blalock, who’s been called up from Double-A Biloxi for what will be his MLB debut. Milwaukee also optioned outfielder Chris Roller to Triple-A Nashville and reinstated fellow outfielder Joey Wiemer from the injured list.

Vieira, 30, is one of the game’s hardest-throwing pitchers, averaging 98 mph on his heater this season and frequently touching triple digits. However, he’s been scored upon in nine of his 16 appearances this season, resulting in a 5.64 ERA over 22 1/3 innings. While Vieira has fanned a solid 23.6% of his opponents, he’s also walked 12.3% of the batters he’s faced. Even more troublesome has been his penchant for loud contact. Opponents have belted six homers off him already this year — an average of 2.42 round-trippers per nine frames.

One of just five Brazilian-born players in big league history, Vieira had a nice run with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball from 2020-22. He’s been with the Brewers since returning stateside and had brief looks with the Mariners (one inning in 2017) and White Sox (24 2/3 innings from 2018-19) prior to that. Overall, the flamethrowing righty has pitched 51 MLB frames and surrendered a 6.18 ERA with a 21.2% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate. The Brewers will have a week to trade him, attempt to pass him through outright waivers, or release him.

Blalock, 23, was a 32nd-round pick by the Red Sox in 2019 who was traded from Boston to Milwaukee in last year’s Luis Urias swap. The right-hander has elevated his status considerably since that humble draft selection, never more so than in 2024, when he’s opened the season with seven starts of 2.27 ERA ball at the Double-A level. That marks Blalock’s first action above A-ball. He’s fanned a below-average 20.6% of his opponents this year but posted an excellent 5% walk rate and roughly average 43.1% ground-ball rate.

Entering the 2024 season, Blalock ranked 13th among Milwaukee farmhands at FanGraphs, 17th at MLB.com and 22nd at Baseball America. The righty draws praise for his above-average command, a fastball that sits 92-96 mph and a smattering of average or nearly average secondary offerings (slider, split-change, curveball). FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen likens his upside to that of a Jose Urquidy type of back-end starter who could shift to a long-relief role on a playoff roster.

The Brewers don’t need a starter in the coming days, but Blalock will be on hand to give them some length in the event of a short start from righty Joe Ross today. It’s also possible he could slot into an injury-plagued staff within the next few days. Ross is slated to pitch today, with rookie Robert Gasser on the mound tomorrow and Freddy Peralta to follow Wednesday. Milwaukee is off Thursday and then set to go Bryse Wilson, Colin Rea and Ross again for their upcoming weekend slate in Boston, where Blalock could potentially face the organization that drafted him.

With Brandon Woodruff, Wade Miley, Jakob Junis and DL Hall all on the injured list at the moment, the Brewers have been patching things together in the starting staff. Even if he’s not stepping into the rotation right now, it’s possible Blalock could eventually be called upon to start some games later in the summer.

Brewers Promote Chris Roller For Major League Debut

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The Brewers announced that they have recalled outfielder Chris Roller from Triple-A Nashville. He will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. Infielder Oliver Dunn was optioned to Nashville in a corresponding move. Prior to the official announcement, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relayed that Dunn didn’t have a locker in the Brewers’ clubhouse.

Roller, now 27, was acquired from the Guardians in a cash deal in August. The Brewers then added him to their 40-man roster in October to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency. A 30th-round pick of the Dodgers back in 2017, Roller had gone to the Guardians in the Triple-A portion of the 2020 Rule 5 draft.

He’s never really been a prospect of note but was in good form last year. In 92 games with Triple-A Columbus, he hit 12 home runs and drew walks in 16.8% of his plate appearances. That led to a .222/.373/.412 batting line and 102 wRC+. He also stole 13 bases while playing all three outfield slots. After the trade, he got into 16 more Triple-A games with Nashville and hit .364/.493/.618 while swiping another six bags. Here in 2024, he got out to a slow start and landed on the minor league injured list. He was only recently reinstated, getting into just five games since coming off the IL.

Though he hasn’t launched out of the gates this year, the Brewers may have called him up for his right-handed bat. Between the two Triple-A clubs he played for last year, he hit .228/.388/.411 against righties but .296/.411/.546 against lefties.

Jake Bauers has played first base regularly against right-handed opponents but has largely been shielded from lefties. Rhys Hoskins had been moving from designated hitter to first base with lefties on the mound but he’s now on the injured list with a hamstring strain. Brice Turang has also been shielded from a few lefties, with Joey Ortiz, Owen Miller and Andruw Monasterio helping to cover second base.

There’s a few lefties in the outfield mix as well, with Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick both hitting from that side. Blake Perkins is a switch-hitter but he’s been better against southpaws in his career thus far.

By swapping out Dunn’s left-handed bat for Roller, the Brewers will give manager Pat Murphy another option for playing the matchups while Hoskins is out of action, while Roller will get a chance to play in a big league game for the first time.

Brewers Place Rhys Hoskins On Injured List

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9:33pm: Hoskins will miss between two and four weeks, manager Pat Murphy tells reporters (including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

5:45pm: The Brewers announced today that first baseman Rhys Hoskins has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right hamstring. Infielder/outfielder Owen Miller was recalled from Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move.

Hoskins departed yesterday’s game early after tweaking his hamstring. He was set to go for an MRI today and it appears that the strain was discovered and that Hoskins will need to miss some time, though it’s still not publicly known how severe the strain is nor how long the club expects him to be out of action.

Regardless, it’s an unfortunate development for the Brewers. Although Hoskins missed all of 2023 due to a torn ACL, he has bounced right back to his old self this year. He’s hit nine home runs and is drawing walks at an 11.5% rate so far this year. His .233/.340/.474 batting line translates to a 131 wRC+, right in line with his career slash of .242/.353/.491 and 126 wRC+.

Losing that kind of production will obviously hurt the Milwaukee offense. Hoskins and Jake Bauers have been splitting the first base and designated hitter duties, though with Bauers almost never facing lefties. Of his 92 plate appearances this year, only four of them have been against southpaws.

Perhaps the right-handed hitting Gary Sánchez will cover first base a bit more to continue shielding Bauers from lefties. Sánchez had just four innings of first base experience coming into this year but has already logged 12 2/3 innings there in 2024. Miller is also capable of playing some first base but he has reverse splits in his career. Tyler Black was up with the club for a while but has since been optioned and is a lefty hitter anyway.

Bauers is having a nice season, despite a 35.9% strikeout rate. He has four home runs and is hitting .244/.326/.476 for a 127 wRC+. Perhaps the club will be open to giving him more of a chance against lefties but he has a line of .211/.278/.340 against them in his career thus far.

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