Brewers Outright Alec Bettinger
The Brewers announced that right-hander Alec Bettinger has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Nashville. There’d be no prior indication he’d been designated for assignment, so the move clears a spot on the 40-man roster. That tally now sits at 37.
Bettinger, 26, has four MLB appearances under his belt. Those all came last season, when he worked ten innings of 15-run ball. That obviously wasn’t the way Bettinger wanted to start his career, as he surrendered a trio of home runs while walking three and striking out five. He had a more solid showing over a larger body of work in Nashville, however. Over 96 2/3 frames in a hitter-friendly environment, the University of Virginia product posted a 4.75 ERA with a solid 23.6% strikeout rate and a 6.3% walk percentage.
This season, Bettinger has made a pair of appearances for the Sounds. He tossed five innings of four-run ball before losing his roster spot, which he’ll now try to reclaim. It’s the first career outright for Bettinger, so he doesn’t have the right to refuse a minor league assignment. He’ll remain with the organization and look to pitch his way back to the majors.
Brewers Place Willy Adames On Injured List
The Brewers announced Wednesday that they’ve placed shortstop Willy Adames on the 10-day injured list with a high ankle sprain. The move is retroactive to May 16. Infielder Keston Hiura is up from Triple-A Nashville to take his spot on the roster.
Adames exited the Brewers’ game on Sunday after sustaining the injury when sliding into home plate on a sacrifice fly. The 26-year-old was in visible pain as he limped off the field after scoring the run. Manager Craig Counsell said after the game that X-rays came back negative, but president of baseball ops David Stearns acknowledged earlier this week that an IL stint was still on the table.
It’s been an odd start to the season for Adames, who a year ago this time served as a direly needed jolt to the Brewers lineup. Acquired from the Rays in a rare May trade of significance — J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen went back to Tampa Bay in what looks like a win-win deal — Adames erupted with a .285/.366/.521 slash in 413 plate appearances as a Brewer. He’s been a key to the offense again in 2022, as his nine home runs place him in a six-way tie for tops in the National League. At the same time, he’s also hitting just .208 with a lackluster .304 on-base percentage. Adames has been dogged by a .228 average on balls in play, however, and this year’s 11.5% walk rate is a career-high. Statcast pegs his “expected” batting average at a much healthier .261, and prior to the injury, it seemed safe to expect that Adames’ overall offensive output would tick upward as the season wears on.
Any change in fortune will now be on hold as Adames allows his ankle to mend, and his performance in the aftermath will of course be dependent on the extent to which the injury heals. In his absence, Milwaukee figures to turn to Luis Urias as the primary option at shortstop. It was Urias’ defensive shortcomings as a shortstop that prompted the Brewers to trade for Adames in the first place, but as a short-term option, they’ll live with any defensive woes in exchange for what has been a brilliant run at the plate. The 24-year-old Urias is hitting .298/.404/.457 in 13 games since being activated from the injured list himself.
As for Hiura, he’ll get his latest chance to deliver on the talent that made him the ninth overall selection in the 2017 draft. He delivered a mammoth .303/.368/.570 showing in 348 plate appearances as a 22-year-old rookie in 2019, but Hiura’s bat has gone backwards as his strikeout rate has mounted. Since that brilliant debut effort, he’s mustered just a .194/.282/.363 batting line while punching out in 37.5% of his plate appearances. That includes a ghastly 47.5% strikeout rate in 42 plate appearances this season, but Hiura has been on a tear since being sent down to Nashville, where he’s hit .421/.522/.895 with three homers and six strikeouts in 23 plate appearances (26.1% strikeout rate).
The Brewers have yet to provide a potential timetable for Adames’ return to the lineup, though presumably Counsell and/or Stearns will have more information prior to today’s afternoon tilt against the Rays.
Brewers’ J.C. Mejia Suspended 80 Games After Positive PED Test
Major League Baseball announced this afternoon that Brewers reliever J.C. Mejía has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance Stanozolol. He heads to the restricted list, freeing up a 40-man roster spot. Milwaukee selected right-hander Trevor Kelley onto the big league roster in a corresponding move.
Mejía has made just a pair of appearances as a Brewer. Acquired from the Guardians last November after he’d been designated for assignment by Cleveland, he’s allowed six runs through 2 1/3 innings with Milwaukee. He’d been much better with Triple-A Nashville, however, tossing 10 2/3 frames of one-run ball across six outings. Mejía walked six batters with the Sounds, but he also punched out 15 and allowed just four hits.
Milwaukee has deployed the 25-year-old solely in relief this year. Mejía started 11 of his 17 appearances with Cleveland last season, his first crack at the major league level. That didn’t go especially well, as he was thrust into the rotation while the club dealt with various injuries and managed just an 8.25 ERA.
Mejía won’t be paid or receive service time for the next couple months. He’ll be eligible to return in mid-August but won’t be allowed to participate in postseason play this year. Mejía becomes the second player the division-leading Brew Crew have lost to a PED suspension in as many months; catcher Pedro Severino was suspended 80 games on the eve of Opening Day after his own positive test.
Kelley, 28, signed a minor league contract with Milwaukee last November. The right-hander appeared in 14 MLB games with the Red Sox and Phillies between 2019-20, allowing 12 runs in 11 2/3 innings. He spent all of last season with the Braves’ top affiliate in Gwinnett, never getting an MLB call from the eventual World Series champs despite posting an excellent 1.52 ERA over 41 1/3 frames.
Assigned to Nashville to open the year, Kelley has picked up where he’d left off at the minors’ highest level. He has allowed only two runs in 13 innings out of the bullpen, racking up 17 punchouts against four walks. Kelley has a pair of option years remaining, so the team can shuttle him between Milwaukee and Nashville while keeping him on the 40-man roster.
Willy Adames Leaves Game Due To Right Ankle Sprain
Brewers shortstop Willy Adames had to leave today’s game due to what the team described as a right ankle sprain. The injury was suffered in the first inning, as Adames’ right foot was caught while he was sliding home to score on a Luis Urias sacrifice fly. Adames was in obvious discomfort but still took the field to play shortstop in the bottom of the first, before being substituted out before the bottom of the second frame.
The fact that Adames was at least able to briefly keep playing is a positive sign that the injury might not be too severe, but the Brewers said he will be re-evaluated once the club returns home tomorrow from its current road trip.
Adames has been pretty streaky over the first weeks of the season, but the shortstop has shown plenty of pop in hitting .208/.304/.462 with nine home runs over his first 148 plate appearances. Adames entered Sunday’s action tied for the NL lead in homers, and has basically not stopped hitting ever since the Brewers acquired him from the Rays almost exactly a year ago to the day.
Losing Adames to the injured list would take a bite out of Milwaukee’s lineup, though the Brewers have hit well as a whole this year, powered by Rowdy Tellez, Hunter Renfroe (one of the other players tied for the NL homer lead), Omar Narvaez, and the resurgent Christian Yelich. Urias has also hit well since returning from the IL, and would likely move from third base to shortstop if Adames did have to miss time. Mike Brosseau and Jace Peterson could platoon at third base, with Brosseau also representing another backup option at the shortstop position.
Brewers To Place Jandel Gustave On Injured List
Right-handed pitcher Jandel Gustave injured his right hamstring during last night’s game and will be placed on the injured list today, Brewers manager Craig Counsell tells Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The corresponding move is not known at this time.
Acquired from the Pirates in June of 2021, Gustave threw 18 1/3 innings out of the Milwaukee bullpen last year. He had a 3.44 ERA in that span, along with a 16.5% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and 43.6% ground ball rate. This year, he’s been racking up more strikeouts but getting worse results overall. In 13 innings on the season, he’s getting Ks at a 25% clip but has seen his ERA jump up to 5.54.
The issue seems to be the long ball, as his HR/FB% has jumped up to 16.7% this year, compared to 11.8% last year. That’s particularly noteworthy given that the league wide trend is moving in the other direction. Last year’s HR/FB% was 10% across the entire MLB season, but it has dropped to just 7.8% this year, with some people blaming humidors or the changed structure of the ball itself or both.
The Brewers will likely add another arm to take Gustave’s place in the bullpen. He was just recalled on Friday as Brent Suter went on the paternity list to be with his family for the birth of his daughter. Players on the paternity list have to miss one game but no more than three. If Suter is able to return, he will be eligible, but he is also allowed to miss one more game. If he doesn’t come back for today’s game, the club has Dylan File, Alec Bettinger, Angel Perdomo and Miguel Sanchez as arms that are on the 40-man roster but not the active roster.
Jose Urena Elects Free Agency
The Brewers announced today that right-hander Jose Urena cleared outright waivers and has elected free agency. The 30-year-old will now head out onto the free market, able to pursue opportunities with all 30 clubs in the league.
Urena began his big league career with the Marlins, working primarily as a starter. He had some solid seasons in Miami, with 2018 arguably marking the high point of his career. In 174 innings that season, he managed an ERA of 3.98, along with an 18.3% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate. In the estimation of FanGraphs, he was worth 1.6 wins above replacement that year. Things fell off from there, however, as his ERA went north of 5.00 in each of the next three seasons, two of those with Miami and then one in Detroit.
The Brewers signed Urena at the end of March, with only about a week until the season was set to begin. He appeared in four games this season, logging 7 2/3 innings. He got some decent results, with a 3.52 ERA in that small sample, but he managed only a 8.3% strikeout rate. Urena’s always been more of a ground ball guy, but that rate was low even compared to his previous work. His 13.9% walk rate was also higher than in any previous season.
That’s an exceptionally small sample size, but the Brewers evidently saw enough to move on, as Urena didn’t survive the rosters shrinking from 28 to 26 last week. He was designated for assignment but, as a player with more than five years of MLB service time, he had the ability to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, which he has now done. His fastball was averaging above 96 MPH in his brief action this year, which could lead another team to take a flier on him in some capacity.
Injury Notes: Cousins, Buxton, Wendelken
The Brewers placed Jake Cousins on the 10-day injured list on May 1 with what was described as a right elbow effusion, or a build-up of fluid within the elbow. However, an MRI also revealed a “concern” with Cousins’ UCL, manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and other reporters, and a second opinion is being sought.
It makes for a very ominous situation for the 27-year-old righty, who seemingly came out of nowhere to post a 2.70 ERA and 35.2% strikeout rate (albeit with a 15.2% walk rate) over 30 innings out of Milwaukee’s bullpen. Batters did a little more damage against Cousins this year, as he had a 4.50 ERA, 34.2% strikeout rate, and 13.2% walk rate in eight innings before heading to the injured list.
Some notes on other injury-related situations around baseball…
- Byron Buxton left today’s 1-0 Twins victory over the Athletics due to tightness in his right hip, acting manager Jayce Tingler told reporters after the game. Buxton is day-to-day with the injury, but even a seemingly minor issue has to be of concern given Buxton’s import to Minnesota’s lineup, and his long injury history. Exactly one year ago today, the Twins placed Buxton on the 10-day IL with a right hip strain that cost the outfielder six weeks of action. Buxton has a spectacular .278/.342/.722 slash line through his first 79 plate appearances of the season, adding nine homers and his usual great glovework in center field.
- Diamondbacks right-hander J.B. Wendelken was reinstated from the COVID-related injured list, with righty Luis Frias heading to Triple-A in the corresponding move. Wendelken has been out since April 28 due to a positive COVID-19 test. Since the D’Backs claimed Wendelken off waivers from the A’s last August, the righty has a 4.33 ERA over 27 innings in an Arizona uniform, though with only a 15.31% strikeout rate.
Brewers Place Andrew McCutchen On COVID List
4:34PM: McCutchen did test positive for the coronavirus, manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and other reporters.
4:18PM: The Brewers have placed outfielder Andrew McCutchen on the COVID-related injury list. Utilityman Mike Brosseau has been called up from Triple-A while McCutchen is sidelined.
It isn’t yet known if McCutchen has tested positive for COVID-19 or if his placement is merely precautionary due to symptoms or a close-contact situation. If the latter, the veteran outfielder could be back in Milwaukee’s lineup as early as tomorrow. If McCutchen has tested positive, he’ll miss at least 10 days unless he can deliver two negative tests, go at least 24 hours without a fever, and get approved by a panel of three physicians (a team doctor, a league-approved doctor, and a players’ union-approved doctor).
After signing a one-year, $8.5MM free agent deal to join the Brew Crew, McCutchen has yet to really get going, hitting a modest .240/.291/.350 with two home runs over his first 110 plate appearances in a Brewers uniform. McCutchen has mostly worked as the designated hitter, so Milwaukee is likely to rotate several regulars through the DH spot in his absence, with Brosseau, Tyrone Taylor, and Jace Peterson filling holes around the diamond or getting some DH time themselves.
Brewers Option Keston Hiura, Select Luis Perdomo
The Brewers announced they’ve optioned infielder Keston Hiura to Triple-A Nashville. Right-hander Luis Perdomo was selected onto the major league roster in a corresponding move. Milwaukee already had a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster, which sits at 39 after Perdomo’s addition.
It’s another setback for Hiura, who has run into a series of struggles over the past couple years. Selected ninth overall in the 2017 draft, Hiura was regarded as a bat-first second baseman who could move quickly through the minor leagues. That proved to be the case, as he’d reached the majors by the middle of the 2019 season. The UC-Irvine product was excellent as a rookie, posting a .303/.368/.570 line with 19 home runs over his first 84 MLB games.
That was stellar production that seemed to cement Hiura’s status as the second baseman of the future, but it came with a surprisingly high 30.7% strikeout rate. Swing-and-miss hadn’t really been a concern for the right-handed hitter either in college or during his first season and a half in the minors, but the punchouts began to mount when he first reached Triple-A in 2019. Hiura showed as a rookie he could still be productive while fanning in three of every ten trips to the dish, but those concerns have become even more pronounced since that season.
Hiura played in 59 of the Brew Crew’s 60 games in 2020, but he hit only .212/.297/.410 with a 34.6% strikeout rate. Milwaukee signed Kolten Wong to take the primary second base job in 2021, leaving Hiura to split time between the keystone and first base. He bounced up and down from Nashville a few times while posting a .168/.256/.301 line and going down on strikes in just under 40% of his plate appearances.
In an effort to curb the swing-and-miss issues, Hiura set out to simplify his swing mechanics this past offseason. That hasn’t yet paid off; he has struck out in 20 of his first 42 trips on the season, and his 58.8% rate of contact on swings isn’t too dissimilar from his 2020-21 marks. Hiura hasn’t had a ton of playing time behind Wong and first baseman Rowdy Tellez, who is off to a scorching start to the season. The Brewers will send him back to Nashville — where he had strong results despite a lot of strikeouts last year — for more regular playing time.
Still yet to turn 26, Hiura has a bit of time to figure things out. His service clock could begin to force the issue after this season, though. Hiura entered the year with two years and 30 days of MLB service. Players are credited with a full year for spending 172 days on an MLB roster or injured list, meaning he needs 142 days in the bigs this year to keep his trajectory towards free agency after the 2025 season. There’s also a possibility of Hiura reaching arbitration eligibility as a Super Two qualifier but falling short of the three-year mark depending on how much time he spends in the minors.
Of course, the service time component is only relevant for Milwaukee if Hiura proves worthy of a long-term roster spot. He has one minor league option year remaining. If he spends 20+ days in the minors this season, he’ll exhaust that final option in 2022. That’d mean Milwaukee has to carry Hiura on the active roster out of camp next year if they don’t want to make him available to other teams. Much of how the Brewers proceed will no doubt be determined by whether he gets the strikeouts under control over the next few months.
As for Perdomo, he makes his return to the majors after missing all of last year recovering from Tommy John surgery. A former Rule 5 pick of the Padres, the righty intermittently flashed upside revolving around a mid-90s sinker that regularly induced huge ground-ball totals. Perdomo never missed many bats and occasionally battled control issues, though, and he posted an ERA of 4.00 or higher in all five of his seasons in San Diego.
After Perdomo went under the knife in October 2020, the Friars released him. Milwaukee signed him to a two-year minor-league contract with an eye towards 2022, and he’s earned his way back with a very nice start in Nashville. The 28-year-old (29 next week) has allowed just three runs in 12 innings with the Sounds. He’s fanned 13 and only walked a pair, and he has racked up grounders at a massive 71% clip early in the year. He’ll add a grounder-oriented, multi-inning relief option for manager Craig Counsell — a role that was filled by José Ureña until the latter was designated for assignment on Monday.
Quick Hits: Stearns, Rosenthal, Mets, Vazquez, Cruz
In his latest piece, Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns is interested in filling a similar position for the Mets in the future. That Stearns might be interested in one day taking over the Mets front office isn’t new, but the timing of such a transition had long been obscured due to Stearns’ questionable contract status. Heyman now clarifies that it is “believed” the Brewers’ top executive can opt out of his contract if the Brewers reach the NLCS this season, after which the Mets would likely pursue him.
New York’s personnel decisions were a hot topic this past winter, as the team hired veteran manager Buck Showalter to lead a new on-field staff and were snubbed by a series of high-profile front office candidates. The Brewers were among the rejectors as well, with Brewers owner Mark Attanasio denying the Mets an opportunity to interview David Stearns on multiple occasions. Ultimately the Mets pivoted and signed Billy Eppler to a four-year contract to serve as their GM, with the industry expectation being that the Mets could install a president of baseball operations down the line. Both the Mets and Brewers are certainly pleased with their front office configurations at the moment, however, as the Eppler and Stearns-led clubs sport records of 19-9 and 18-8, respectively, atop their divisions.
Some other news of note on this Thursday evening…
- Sticking with the Mets, Heyman suggests that the team is likely to seek relief help at the trade deadline. Right-handed reliever and free agent Trevor Rosenthal could be an early target according to Heyman, as the former closer is expected to hold a pitching showcase in the coming weeks. Reported interest in Rosenthal has been widespread since April, but has yet to manifest into a deal. The 31-year-old Rosenthal is coming off an ill-fated, one-year deal with the A’s in which he failed to throw a regular season pitch for the team due to injury. Before he underwent multiple season-ending surgeries in 2021, Rosenthal was fresh off a triumphant comeback season in which he posted a 1.90 ERA with a 41.8% strikeout percentage as the Royals’ and Padres’ closer.
- Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez is keeping his options open as he nears free agency at the end of the season, per Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. The longtime Boston catcher figures to have his fair share of suitors should he reach free agency like expected, as he routinely draws plaudits for his defensive work and leadership even as his bat has waxed and waned throughout his career. To that end, the Red Sox picked up a $7MM club option on the veteran receiver this offseason even though his 2021 slash line of .258/.308/.352 paled in comparison to the stout .278/.327/.472 line he posted in the preceding two years. Vazquez is off to a tepid start this season with an OPS of just .524, though slow starts are nothing new for the catcher as he looks to lead his club up and away from a last-place tie with the Orioles.
- Top Pirates prospect Oneil Cruz lit up the minor leagues last season and regularly draws comparisons to Aaron Judge, but Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette outlines a few reasons to temper expectations for the young slugger. The towering shortstop received a two-game game cameo in the majors last season but was ticketed for more work at Triple-A to begin the 2022 season. Thanks to a .159/.266/.256 start to the season and service time repercussions for Pittsburgh, Mackey figures a return to the big leagues is unlikely to happen in the near future. Another wrinkle to keep an eye out for is Cruz’s adoption of a new position this season: left field. Though the 6 foot 7 inch Cruz has primarily played shortstop since his pro debut, including this season, much has been made of his (in)ability to stick there long-term due to his size. The 23-year-old has plainly stated that he “[doesn’t] want to move to the outfield” however, which may complicate his permanent rise to the big league level. Incumbent Pirate shortstops Cole Tucker and Diego Castillo shouldn’t prove to be large roadblocks for the eventual promotion of a player the industry still holds in incredibly high regard. For now though, Pirates fans will have to wait a while longer for their best prospect to join Ke’Bryan Hayes in the lineup and, potentially, the left side of the infield for years to come.