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Colten Brewer

Yankees, Colten Brewer Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees have agreed to a minor league deal with righty Colten Brewer, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The ISE client will be back for a second stint with the Yankees and will receive an invite to big league camp next spring.

Brewer, 32, pitched 8 1/3 innings with the Yankees in 2023 and spent the bulk of that season with their Triple-A affiliate. He spent the 2024 campaign with the Cubs, pitching 20 2/3 innings with a grim 5.66 ERA but a more encouraging 23.2% strikeout rate versus a 9.5% walk rate. The 6’4″ righty has pitched in parts of six big league seasons for four teams, compiling 120 innings of 5.10 ERA ball.

Though Brewer doesn’t have a standout MLB track record, he’s been solid in parts of seven Triple-A seasons, working 164 2/3 innings with a 4.10 ERA, a 26.6% strikeout rate and a 9.5% walk rate. He averaged 94.3 mph on his heater this past season and, like many Yankees pitching targets, has shown a repeated penchant for inducing ground-balls. Just over half the batted balls put into play against Brewer in his big league career have been grounders (50.1%).

With the exception of an uncharacteristic six homers in 25 2/3 innings in 2020, Brewer has done a good job of both keeping the ball in the yard and avoiding hard contact. He yielded just a 31.9% hard-hit rate in Triple-A this past season and an even stingier 28.3% mark with the Yankees in 2023. Overall, Brewer was excellent with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2023, recording 20 2/3 innings of 1.80 ERA ball for the Yankees’ top affiliate that year. He parlayed that success into a run with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan but returned stateside this past season.

Obviously, Brewer’s minor league deal is far from the most impactful Yankees news of the day. However, he’ll give the Yanks an experienced reliever with a nice Triple-A track record and plenty of grounders to stash in the upper minors. Brewer has pitched in six of the past seven MLB seasons — 2022 being the lone exception — and ought to be in line for a call should the Yankees need an extra arm in the event of injuries and/or a stretch that heavily taxes the big league bullpen.

Cubs Claim Rob Zastryzny, Designate Jimmy Herget

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The Cubs announced that left-hander Rob Zastryzny has been claimed off waivers from the Brewers. Righty Jimmy Herget was designated for assignment in a corresponding move, and Chicago also outrighted four other players off their 40-man roster: catcher Christian Bethancourt, and right-handers Yency Almonte, Enoli Paredes, and Colten Brewer.  All four players elected free agency after clearing waivers.

Zastryzny, 32, spent the first three seasons of his career with the Cubs. He was a second-round pick by Chicago back in 2013 but has since bounced around the league, spending big league time with the Mets, Angels, Pirates and Brewers since departing the Cubs following the 2018 season. He’s also had minor league stints in the Dodgers and Marlins organizations. In 2024, Zastryzny yielded just one run in 7 2/3 MLB frames as a Brewer, nicely complementing a 3.03 ERA and 32.5% strikeout rate in 29 1/3 Triple-A frames. He has another five seasons of club control remaining, but as a depth claim, there’s no guarantee he’ll last the offseason on the 40-man roster.

Herget, 31, spent the bulk of the season with the Braves after a two-year stint in the Angels organization. The Cubs claimed him off waivers in mid-September but didn’t use him in the big leagues. He logged 12 1/3 innings with Atlanta and notched a 4.38 ERA (six runs) with a 15-to-3 K/BB ratio. In 155 big league innings, Herget carries a 3.54 ERA with a slightly below-average 22.2% strikeout rate and a sharp 7.4% walk rate.

Herget is out of minor league options, so any team that places a claim would need to carry Herget on the big league roster to begin next season. If he clears waivers, he’ll become a free agent and likely seek a minor league contract in free agency. He’s arbitration-eligible for the first time but comes with just a $900K projected salary, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

Of the outrighted players, each of Almonte, Bethancourt and Brewer were also arb-eligible. Swartz projected the trio for respective salaries of $2.2MM, $2.5MM and $800K, respectively. Almonte came to the Cubs alongside Michael Busch in last offseason’s trade with the Dodgers, but a shoulder strain limited him to 15 2/3 innings. Bethancourt is a rocket-armed, journeyman catcher who provided little with the bat at a position where the Cubs are seeking offensive upgrades. Brewer has been with four organizations over the past three seasons but posted a 5.66 ERA in 20 2/3 innings with the Cubs this season.

Paredes, 29, posted a 1.66 ERA in 21 1/3 innings between the Brewers and Cubs (just one scoreless inning for the latter team). However, he did so with a middling 18.4% strikeout rate and worrying 11.5% walk rate — all while also showing a heater that averaged 93.9 mph, which is nearly two miles per hour slower than the 95.7 mph he displayed in his 2020 debut. Paredes thrived in part due to a tiny .220 average on balls in play and a bloated 84% strand rate. Like Herget, he’s out of minor league options.

Assuming Herget clears waivers, all five players jettisoned from Chicago’s 40-man roster today appear ticketed for minor league deals on the open market.

Cubs To Select Hunter Bigge

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TODAY: Right-hander Colten Brewer is being placed on the 60-day injured list with a left hand fracture after punching a wall in frustration following his outing against the Angels yesterday, according to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. The move clears space on the club’s 40-man and active rosters for the promotion of Bigge. Brewer, 31, has a 5.66 ERA in 20 2/3 innings with the Cubs this year despite a solid 3.12 FIP and a 23.2% strikeout rate.

July 6: The Cubs are poised to select the contract of right-hander Hunter Bigge, according to a report from MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. Chicago will need to make corresponding moves to clear space on both the active and 40-man rosters to accommodate Bigge’s selection prior to tomorrow’s game against the Angels.

Bigge, 26, was a 12th-round pick by the Cubs in the 2019 draft out of Harvard. He impressed in 16 innings of work between the rookie and Low-A levels of the minors the year he was drafted with a 1.13 ERA and a 34.4% strikeout rate in that cameo, but his developmental trajectory was thrown off course somewhat by the cancelled minor league season in 2020. The righty was assigned to the High-A level when minor league play resumed in 2021 but struggled with that assignment, posting a 5.66 ERA in 17 1/3 innings, and he struggled similarly in a 2022 campaign split between the High-A and Double-A levels.

Fortunately for Bigge, he started to turn things back around in Double-A last year. The right-hander posted a solid 3.50 ERA in 43 2/3 innings of multi-inning relief work at the level during the 2023 campaign, and he backed those numbers up with strong peripherals. His 28.8% strikeout rate was impressive and while his 11.4% walk rate was certainly elevated, he helped to make up for it by generating grounders at a strong 44.7% clip and allowing just three home runs. The 25-year-old’s performance was enough to earn him a call-up to the Triple-A level late last year, although he struggled badly in that assignment with an ugly 8.71 ERA in 10 1/3 innings that saw him allow more walks (13) than strikeouts (12).

Bigge’s return to Triple-A was slowed this year by an oblique injury that has cost him much of the season to this point, but after returning to the level on June 4 he’s done nothing but dominate. In 11 2/3 innings of work at the highest level of the minors this year, the righty has allowed just one run on a solo homer while striking out 44.2% of opponents. Walks are still a concern for Bigge, who has allowed free passes to 14% of opponents this year, but the Cubs clearly believe the 26-year-old is ready for his first taste of big league action and want to see how his high-octane arsenal led by an upper-90s fastball will play in the major leagues.

The bullpen has been something of an Achilles’ heel for the Cubs this year as they’ve scuffled to a 41-49 record despite the eighth-best rotation in baseball by ERA. The club’s top three leverage relievers from last season’s bullpen—Adbert Alzolay, Julian Merryweather, and Mark Leiter Jr.— are all currently on the injured list and have been joined by key offseason addition Yency Almonte. Meanwhile, top offseason relief signing Hector Neris has struggled badly with a 4.11 ERA and 5.02 FIP in 30 2/3 innings this year, leaving the club with very few reliable relief arms to lean on this year. That’s led the club to lean increasingly heavily on unproven youngsters like Luke Little and Porter Hodge to carry the load in the majors, and now Bigge figures to get a similar opportunity to prove himself capable of contributing to a big league relief corps low on quality options.

Cubs Recall Porter Hodge For MLB Debut

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The Cubs on Friday recalled right-hander Porter Hodge from Triple-A Iowa and placed fellow righty Colten Brewer on the 15-day injured list due to tightness in his lower back, tweets Meaghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. Hodge will give the Cubs a fresh arm in the bullpen, and if he gets into a game, it’ll be his big league debut.

Hodge, 23, was the team’s 13th-round pick back in 2019. He entered the season ranked 19th among Cubs prospects at Baseball America and 24th at both FanGraphs and MLB.com. His season thus far has been a mixed bag. Hodge fired four shutout innings in Double-A, yielding only one hit and one walk with eight punchouts before being promoted to Triple-A Iowa. Since moving up to Des Moines, he’s struggled to a 6.55 ERA (eight earned runs in 11 innings) while surrendering a dozen hits and issuing a whopping 11 walks. He’s still fanned nearly one in three opponents, but he’s also walked more than one in five of them.

Command has long been an issue for Hodge. He’s walked 12.9% of his opponents dating back to the 2022 season. Scouting reports on the big 6’4″, 230-pound righty tout both his heater and his slider as potential plus offerings, but the effectiveness of both could be undercut by shaky command of each. There’s potential for the right-hander to play a long-term role in the Chicago bullpen, but he’ll likely need to trim a few points of his walk rate to reach his ceiling as a high-leverage reliever.

Brewer, 31, was a minor league signee whom the Cubs called to the big leagues last month. He’s pitched 11 2/3 innings for manager Craig Counsell and turned in a 3.09 ERA with a 12-to-4 K/BB ratio and a strong 48.4% ground-ball rate. The team has not yet provided a timetable for Brewer’s potential return to the roster.

Cubs Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Cubs announced a series of roster moves to add some fresh arms to the bullpen after their recent pair of extra-inning games taxed the relief corps. Right-handers Hayden Wesneski and Colten Brewer are up from Triple-A Iowa — the latter of whom had his contract selected to the 40-man roster. Chicago optioned righty Daniel Palencia and lefty Luke Little to open a pair of spots on the active roster. Right-hander Julian Merryweather, already shelved with a stress fracture in his ribcage, was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot for Brewer on the 40-man roster. He’s been on the IL since April 6, meaning he’ll now be out until at least June 6.

The Cubs will be the fourth big league club for Brewer, 31. The right-hander tossed 8 1/3 innings with the Yankees in 2023 and has previously spent time with the Padres and Red Sox. He’s logged a combined 99 1/3 innings across parts of five MLB campaigns, pitching to a 4.98 ERA with a 19.7% strikeout rate, 13.1% walk rate and 51.3% grounder rate. Brewer also spent time with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball last year, hurling 11 1/3 innings while allowing three runs on six hits and six walks (one intentional) with 14 strikeouts.

Brewer signed with Chicago on a minor league pact over the winter and had a strong spring training (seven innings, one run, eight strikeouts, no walks). He’s posted quite similar numbers in Des Moines so far: 7 2/3 innings pitched, three hits, one earned run, two walks, nine strikeouts. The 6’4″ righty is no stranger pitching to working in a long-relief role and could give the Cubs multiple innings if needed.

A protracted absence for Merryweather stings for the Cubs. The 32-year-old joined the organization as a waiver claim out of Toronto in January 2023 and quickly became one of their most important relievers. Since Opening Day ’23, Merryweather touts a 3.29 ERA (3.46 FIP, 3.41 SIERA) with a huge 32.1% strikeout rate. His 11.7% walk rate could rather obviously stand to improve, but Merryweather has done a nice job keeping the ball in the yard and frequently overpowering opponents with a heater that’s averaged 98.1 mph as a Cub. Among the 244 big league pitchers to toss at least 70 innings since Opening Day 2023, Merryweather’s 15.4% swinging-strike rate ranks 11th, placing him right between Mariners setup stud Matt Brash and reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell.

Cubs To Sign Colten Brewer

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The Cubs are apparently in agreement with Colten Brewer on a contract for 2024, per a post from Brewer’s own Instagram page. It’s not yet clear if the arrangement is a major or minor league pact.

Brewer, 31, was a fourth-round pick by the Pirates in the 2011 draft. After several years in the Pirates and Yankees farm systems, Brewer made his big league debut with the Padres in 2018 though the right-hander struggled to a 5.59 ERA across 11 appearance that first season. From there the right-hander joined the Red Sox, the club with whom he spent most of his time in the majors. In parts of three seasons with Boston, Brewer posted a 4.98 ERA and 5.20 FIP across 81 1/3 innings of work. While he struck out a respectable 20.3% of batters faced during that time while generating a solid 50.4% groundball rate, Brewer walked a whopping 13.3% of batters faced during his time with the Red Sox.

Those control issues led the club to designate Brewer for assignment back in June 2021. He was eventually outrighted to Triple-A and spent the remainder of the season in the minor leagues before signing a minor league deal with the Royals the following offseason but was confined to the minor leagues for the entire 2022 season. During his 18-month stint at the Triple-A level, Brewer put up a relatively pedestrian 4.53 ERA over 57 2/3 innings of work as his walk rate remained over 10%.

That didn’t stop Brewer from landing with the Rays on a minor league deal during the 2022-23 offseason, though he ultimately wouldn’t make it to Opening Day as a member of the organization. The Rays instead got together with the Yankees on a minor trade before the start of the season that shipped Brewer to the Bronx, where he joined the club’s 40-man roster. He put up decent enough results in 8 1/3 innings of work for the big league club with a 4.32 ERA, but was nonetheless designated for assignment in mid-April.

Brewer accepted an outright assignment with the Yankees and pitched exceptionally well in 20 innings with the club’s Triple-A affiliate, posting a 1.35 ERA with a whopping 29.9% strikeout rate. That brief flash of dominance earned Brewer attention from Nippon Professional Baseball’s Hanshin Tigers, and he signed with the club for the remainder of the 2023 season. Though he managed just 12 1/3 innings down the stretch in Japan, the strong numbers continued. Brewer allowed an ERA of just 2.19 across 14 appearances overseas, striking out 30.2% of batters faced while walking 11.3%.

Brewer’s stretch of dominance in the upper minors and abroad last season has seemingly caught the attention of the Cubs. Chicago is among a handful of clubs known to be looking for relief help this winter along with the Cardinals, Rangers, and Astros. Brewer could conceivably bolster the depth of a club that saw the likes of Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger depart for free agency. With that being said, the addition of Brewer seems unlikely to take the Cubs out of the relief market given their reported interest in some higher-level arms like former Rays righty Robert Stephenson and veteran closer Liam Hendriks. For now, Brewer figures to enter Spring Training with a shot at a role in the club’s bullpen competing alongside the likes of Daniel Palencia and Jose Cuas.

Yankees Release Colten Brewer

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The Yankees announced that right-hander Colten Brewer has been released so that he can sign with a team in Nippon Professional Baseball.  The Hanshin Tigers will be Brewer’s next club, according to reports out of Japan (hat tip to Yakyu Cosmopolitan).

Brewer has appeared in five of the last six MLB seasons, though 80 1/3 of his 99 1/3 career innings came as a member of the Red Sox in 2019-20.  The righty made a single appearance for Boston in 2021, he spent most of 2022 pitching in the Royals’ farm system, and he made it back to the Show for three games and 8 1/3 innings for New York this season.  The Rays had signed Brewer to a minor league deal during the offseason, but he was traded to the Yankees on Opening Day.

This time in the big leagues has resulted in a 4.98 ERA for Brewer, who has had issues with both control and keeping the ball in the park.  His minor league numbers have been a bit better, and with more strikeouts than his 19.7 K% at the MLB level.  Rather than continue in the minors with the Yankees or another organization, Brewer will earn a higher guaranteed salary in Japan, and the 30-year-old might also be looking for a new spark in his career.

Yankees Outright Colten Brewer

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The Yankees announced that right-hander Colten Brewer was outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The righty had been designated for assignment last week.

Brewer, 30, started this season with the Rays on a minor league deal. He had an impressive spring, tossing 9 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run to cross the plate. That wasn’t enough to get him onto Tampa’s Opening Day roster, but a provision in his contract gave the other 29 clubs that chance, which the Yankees took.

That relationship got off to a good start, with Brewer tossing five scoreless innings over his first two appearances for the Yanks. But in a game against the Twins last week, starter Jhony Brito was lit up for seven runs while only recording two outs. Brewer was called in and allowed solo home runs to Edouard Julien and Carlos Correa, eventually recording the third out with the score 9-0. He pitched three more innings after that, eventually allowing four earned runs on the day overall.

The Yanks needed a fresh arm after struggling through that game and cut Brewer from the roster. All players with previous career outrights have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. Brewer was outrighted by the Red Sox in 2021 and therefore has the ability to hit the open market, though it’s not yet clear whether he’s has decided to waive that right or not.

Over his career, Brewer has made 84 appearances for the Padres, Red Sox and now Yankees. He has a 4.98 ERA in that time with a 19.7% strikeout rate, 13.1% walk rate and 51.3% ground ball rate.

 

Yankees Designate Colten Brewer For Assignment

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The Yankees announced that they have recalled right-hander Greg Weissert from Triple-A, with fellow righty Colten Brewer designated for assignment in a corresponding move. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Brewer, 30, began the year in the Rays’ system on a minor league deal. He had a strong performance in spring but didn’t make that club’s Opening Day roster, but a clause in his contract allowed the Yankees to give him the roster spot that the Rays would not. The out-of-options righty was installed into the Yankee bullpen and has served a multi-inning role recently, tossing two scoreless innings in his first appearance and three scoreless innings in his second.

Unfortunately, the club’s pitching staff was dealt a very unfortunate blow yesterday. Starter Jhony Brito was shelled for seven runs while only recording two outs, leaving manager Aaron Boone in a difficult spot to get through the game. Brewer was brought in to get the final out of the first inning and stayed for three more innings after that. He eventually yielded four earned runs over his 3 1/3 innings, tossing 52 pitches in the process. The Yanks also used Ian Hamilton for three innings and Jimmy Cordero for one before throwing utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa in there for a frame in the 11-2 loss. With the low-leverage half of their bullpen essentially torpedoed, they clearly felt the need to get a fresh arm in the mix and Brewer has lost his roster spot as a result.

Prior to this season, Brewer had pitched for the Padres and Red Sox but spent 2022 with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate. He recorded a 4.76 ERA over 36 appearances with a 24.9% strikeout rate, 10.7% walk rate and 51.9% ground ball rate. The Yanks will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. In the event he clears waivers, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, by virtue of having a previous career outright.

Yankees Acquire Colten Brewer From Rays

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6:36pm: Both teams have announced the trade. Tampa Bay receives cash in return.

6:15pm: Right-hander Colten Brewer, who had been in camp with the Rays on a minor league deal, will instead go to the Yankees and be added to their 40-man roster, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He had recently been reassigned to minor league camp but Topkin reports he had an assignment bonus that allowed the Yanks to acquire him. Yankees manager Aaron Boone had previously indicated the club was working on a “potential deal” and it seems this is what he was referring to.

Brewer, 30, appeared in the big leagues from 2018 to 2021, with the Padres in the first of those years but then with the Red Sox for the next three. In 91 major league innings, he has a 5.04 ERA, 20.3% strikeout rate, 13.4% walk rate and 50.4% ground ball rate. He spent last year with the Royals on a minor league deal, tossing 39 2/3 innings at Triple-A with a 4.76 ERA, striking out 24.9% of opponents, walking 10.7% and getting the ball on the ground at a 51.9% clip.

As mentioned, Brewer was in camp with the Rays on a minor league deal. He tossed 9 1/3 innings over eight appearances this spring, not allowing any earned runs while striking out 15 hitters and walking three. Despite that strong performance, he didn’t crack Tampa’s roster, as he was reassigned to minor league camp yesterday.

While the Rays weren’t willing to afford him an immediate big league job, the Yankees will plug him into the bullpen. Brewer is out of minor league option years, so he’ll have to stick on the active roster or be offered to other teams once New York officially selects his contract. He has between two and three years of service and would be eligible for arbitration for the first time next winter if he holds his roster spot all year.

The Yankees have a full 40-man roster, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move once Brewer’s acquisition is final. New York has a number of players on the injured list — Ben Rortvedt, Lou Trivino and Tommy Kahnle among them — who could be moved to the 60-day injured list if the club anticipates a notable absence.

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