Brewers Recall Aaron Wilkerson, Option Jay Jackson
The Brewers announced a change to their bullpen crew ahead of today’s game against the rival Cubs. Aaron Wilkerson joins the big league club from Triple-A San Antonio, while Jay Jackson has been optioned back to the minors.
Wilkerson, 30, has made five scattered relief appearances since April, unfortunately surrendering earned runs each time out. He has been an effective starter in Triple-A this season, however, going 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA across 14 starts. The Brewers are prepared for a quick hook of Gio Gonzalez today should there be any sign of shoulder trouble, with Wilkerson serving as the contingency plan, notes MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (via Twitter).
Jackson, 31, has also served as little more than a 25th man while on the major league roster. In ten appearances, Jackson has a 5.79 ERA (4.93 FIP) across 14 innings. The South Carolina native gave Milwaukee some length in July with five two-inning outings, four of which he escaped scoreless.
The Brewers are sticking with an eight man bullpen for now, a necessity given the injuries sustained by the starting rotation. With Jhoulys Chacin, Jimmy Nelson, Brandon Woodruff, and Brent Suter on the injured list, Milwaukee figures to be more reliant than most contenders on players like Wilkerson and Jackson, even as they continue to shuttle them back and forth from San Antonio.
Corbin Burnes Optioned To Triple-A, Aaron Wilkerson Recalled
The Brewers have optioned Corbin Burnes to Triple-A San Antonio, per MLB Roster Moves. Righty Aaron Wilkerson has been recalled in his stead.
Burnes is among the candidates for most disappointing 2019. After a positive showing in last year’s playoffs, Burnes was ticketed for the rotation this season. Needless to say, things have not gone according to plan for Burnes, who sports a 8.85 ERA. He was sent to the minors after four starts at the beginning of the year in which he surrendered a total 21 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings.
He’s been better since joining the bullpen at the beginning of May, but a couple of blowups ballooned his bullpen ERA to 7.43 in 19 appearances. If we shorten the sample even further, we can get his ERA down to 4.50 in June, and if you squint even harder, a 3.56xFIP starts to look pretty good.
Wilkerson joins the club for the second time this season. The 30-year-old Wilkerson made three appearances in April, surrendering 6 earned runs in 7 1/3 innings.
Brewers Select Jay Jackson, Designate Alex Wilson
The Brewers have selected the contract of right-hander Jay Jackson from Triple-A San Antonio and opened a spot on the roster by designating right-hander Alex Wilson for assignment, per a club announcement. The Brewers also placed righty Aaron Wilkerson on the 10-day injured list due to a left foot contusion and recalled left-hander Donnie Hart from San Antonio in his place.
Jackson’s promotion marks the culmination of a lengthy journey back to the big leagues for the 31-year-old. The right-hander appeared in six games with the 2015 Padres, totaling 4 1/3 innings of bullpen work, but was cut loose that offseason in order to pursue an opportunity in Japan. The 2008 ninth-round pick could have stuck with the Padres that year in hopes of surviving the offseason and spending the next season as an up-and-down reliever, though there was no certainty or fiscal security associated with that route. Rather, Jackson took a chance on venturing overseas and not only found success, but became one of the most dominant relievers in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball over the next three seasons.
In three seasons with the Hiroshima Carp, Jackson pitched to a combined 2.13 ERA with 202 strikeouts against 70 walks in 182 innings as a member of the Carp. He explored the possibility of a return to the U.S. after his second season in Japan but, apparently not finding any offers to his liking, returned for a third season in NPB. Ultimately, the Brewers made Jackson a minor league offer to return to the organization — he’d pitched in their minor league system in 2014 — that the righty accepted.
It’s still early in the Triple-A season, but Jackson has torn through opposing lineups in the Pacific Coast League, pitching 8 2/3 innings of shutout relief with a 14-to-2 K/BB ratio and just four hits allowed. Given the inconsistencies in the Milwaukee ‘pen beyond Josh Hader and Junior Guerra, Jackson could very well have a legitimate opportunity to entrench himself in Craig Counsell‘s relief corps. Milwaukee has hopes that Jeremy Jeffress, recently activated from the injured list, can help to stabilize matters, but the team has already lost Corey Knebel to Tommy John surgery and designated both Wilson and Jake Petricka for assignment in the past 48 hours.
Wilson, 32, spent Spring Training as a non-roster invitee with the Indians after being non-tendered by the Tigers last December. He didn’t earn a spot in the Cleveland ‘pen, however, and later signed on with the Brewers on a big league deal once health concerns in the Milwaukee ‘pen began to mount.
Although he’s long been a steady presence in the Detroit bullpen, Wilson was tattooed for a dozen runs on 15 hits (three homers) and nine walks with 13 strikeouts in 11 1/3 frames with the Brewers. He started off with three strong outings in a row before being hammered for six runs his fourth time out, and the right-hander never managed to fully recover. Three of his past four outings have seen him yield a pair of earned runs.
The Brewers will have a week to trade Wilson, release him, or pass him through outright waivers (though he could reject an outright assignment and take free agency instead). His contract reportedly came with a fairly minimal $750K base salary, so even if there’s no 45-day advance consent clause in the deal, the financial loss is hardly prohibitive for the Milwaukee organization.
Brewers Activate Jeremy Jeffress, Place Freddy Peralta On 10-Day IL
As expected, the Brewers have activated reliever Jeremy Jeffress from the injured list. He had opened the year on a rehab assignment while rebuilding arm strength.
That’s good news for the pen, but the club surprisingly announced another shoulder ailment that impacts the rotation. Freddy Peralta is evidently dealing with a problem in that joint; details remain unknown.
Peralta’s spot on the roster will be occupied by fellow righty Aaron Wilkerson, who was recalled. The Brewers also optioned down righty Jake Petricka to make way for Jeffress.
Last night’s outing was another rough one for Peralta, who has failed to record more than ten outs in three of his four starts. He was lights-out in the other, an eleven-strikeout, scoreless gem, but carries a 7.13 ERA for the season.
Brewers Designate Yadiel Rivera For Assignment
The Brewers announced Friday that they’ve designated infielder Yadiel Rivera for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Aaron Wilkerson, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Colorado Springs. Wilkerson was acquired from the Red Sox in the 2016 trade that sent Aaron Hill to Boston.
Rivera, 25, has appeared in just one game for Milwaukee this season thanks in part to improved infield depth that has helped the team contend in 2017. While Rivera saw action in 35 games last year and tallied 71 plate appearances with a .212/.235/.273 slash, the Brewers have instead relied upon other options in utility infield capacities. In addition to the acquisition of Travis Shaw and the emergence of Orlando Arcia, veteran Eric Sogard has provided significant value in a utility role. Last year’s primary shortstop, Jonathan Villar, has also been on hand all season and bounced around the diamond, as has fellow utilityman Hernan Perez.
Beyond the new-look infield mix in Milwaukee, Rivera simply hasn’t performed in the minors this season. Despite playing in a very hitter-friendly Colorado Springs/Pacific Coast League environment, he’s posted a meek .218/.282/.314 batting line through 414 plate appearances in Triple-A this year. Those struggles aren’t exactly new for Rivera, who has enjoyed some success in Double-A but has yet to thrive at the top minor league level.
Wilkerson doesn’t rank among the Brewers’ top 30 prospects — not surprising for a player that is 28 years old — but has enjoyed a terrific season with Milwaukee’s Double-A club. Through 142 1/3 innings, the former unsigned draft pick and indy ball discovery has pitched to a 3.16 ERA with 9.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 36.2 percent ground-ball rate. Wilkerson’s first appearance with the Brewers will be his Major League debut — no small feat for a player that spent two seasons on the independent circuit before even getting a look in Lo-A ball with the Red Sox at the age of 25.