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Joel Kuhnel

Brewers Sign Joel Kuhnel To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers signed righty Joel Kuhnel to a minor league contract yesterday, as first indicated on the transaction log at MLB.com. He got to work quickly, making his first appearance for the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville last night. Kuhnel pitched an inning and allowed a pair of runs on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts.

The Brewers organization is the third stop of the season for Kuhnel, who’s also been with the Astros and Blue Jays this season. He allowed four runs in two big league frames for Houston, but the bulk of Kuhnel’s time has been spent in Triple-A. Between Sugar Land, Buffalo and now Nashville, he’s pitched a combined 21 innings of Triple-A ball with a 3.00 earned run average. Kuhnel has only struck out 10.1% of his opponents in Triple-A but also sports a strong 6.7% walk rate and a massive 60.3% ground-ball rate.

This year’s brief look with the ’Stros was the fifth season in which Kuhnel has seen work at the MLB level. In 85 2/3 innings, all spent with the Reds or Astros, the 6’5″ righty has a 6.30 ERA with a 19% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and 52.5% grounder rate. He’s averaged just under 96 mph on both his four-seamer and sinker in the majors, typically pairing those two fastballs with a mid-80s slider and a changeup that’s averaged 90 mph.

Milwaukee has a slew of pitchers on the injured list, although they’ve been hit hardest in the rotation. That’s taken an indirect toll on the relief corps, however. The mountain of injuries has pushed reliever Bryse Wilson back into a starting role, and it’s also prompted the Brewers to use their relievers more heavily than any team in the sport. Brewers starting pitchers have the fewest innings of any team in MLB (316 1/3), while their 277 innings from the bullpen are naturally the most in MLB. Add in that star closer Devin Williams has yet to pitch this season due to a back injury, and stockpiling bullpen depth becomes all the more critical.

Kuhnel will give the Brewers another experienced option the next time they need to pull a fresh arm up from Nashville on the back of a bullpen day or short start from their patchwork rotation.

Joel Kuhnel Elects Free Agency

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The Blue Jays sent right-hander Joel Kuhnel outright to Triple-A Buffalo but he elected free agency instead, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. As a player with a previous career outright, he has the right to elect free agency instead of accepting another outright assignment and has exercised that right.

Kuhnel, 29, was only with the Blue Jays a short time and didn’t join the major league club. The righty was designated for assignment by the Astros at the end of April and then flipped to the Jays in early May for cash. The Jays kept Kuhnel on optional assignment for a few weeks, adding to their bullpen depth, before they acquired Ryan Burr and nudged Kuhnel off his roster spot. Kuhnel tossed 8 2/3 innings for Buffalo with a 1.04 earned run average during his brief time in the organization.

He will be able to market himself as a power arm, though one that generally gets more grounders than strikeouts. He has 85 2/3 innings of big league experience with a 6.30 ERA, with his fastball velocity averaging in the mid-90s. His 19% strikeout rate in that time is a few points below average but he has kept 52.2% of balls in play on the ground while also limiting walks to a 6.3% rate. Since the start of 2021, he’s also thrown 82 minor league innings with a 4.28 ERA, 15.7% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate while getting opponents to pound the ball into the ground about half the time.

The fact that Kuhnel cleared waivers suggests that no club was willing to give him a 40-man spot, but he should be able to land a minor league deal somewhere. If he eventually gets a roster spot again, he is in his final option year and will therefore have a bit of roster flexibility for the remainder of 2024. He will now head out to the open market and see what opportunities are available to him.

Blue Jays Designate Joel Kuhnel For Assignment

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The Blue Jays announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Ryan Burr. It was reported yesterday that they would be acquiring him from the Phillies for cash considerations. To get Burr onto the roster, the Jays placed right-hander Alek Manoah on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow sprain. To open a 40-man spot for Burr, righty Joel Kuhnel was designated for assignment.

Manoah was removed from Wednesday’s start with elbow discomfort. Scott Mitchell of TSN relayed on X earlier today that Manoah is going for a second opinion and likely to miss an extended period of time. Manager John Schneider informed reporters that the sprain is in Manoah’s ulnar collateral ligament and that the righty will meet Dr. Keith Meister on Thursday. Keegan Matheson of MLB.com was among those who relayed the info on X. Further details will undoubtedly be forthcoming on that, but the Jays will need a fifth starter behind José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi.

Matheson relayed on X today that righty Bowden Francis is with the club. He is currently on the injured list but has been rehabbing, most recently throwing 60 pitches 3 2/3 innings for Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday. If added to the roster at some point in the coming days, he could make a start for the Jays or at least throwing multiple innings behind an opener.

For now, Manoah’s roster spot will go to Burr. He signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in the winter and has looked great so far in Triple-A this year. Through 16 2/3 innings, he has a 2.16 earned run average, 43.3% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate.

That has inspired the Jays to give the Phillies some cash to bring Burr aboard and they will now see if he can continue performing well at the major league level. He pitched 75 big league innings with the White Sox over the 2019-22 period with a 4.08 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate, 12.2% walk rate and 50.5% ground ball rate. He still has a couple of options and could perhaps be sent down to the minors when Francis is reinstated from the IL, though the Jays have some other optionable relievers as well.

To get Burr on the 40-man, the Jays are bumping off Kuhnel. The 29-year-old was just acquired from the Astros less than a month ago in a cash deal. He has since thrown 8 2/3 innings for Triple-A Buffalo with a 1.04 ERA. His 10.8% walk rate is high and his 2.7% strikeout rate incredibly low, but he’s managed to keep 56.3% of balls in play on the ground.

That has generally been Kuhnel’s recipe. In 85 2/3 major league innings, he has only struck out 19% of opponents but has gotten the ball pounded into the dirt at a 52.2% clip. The resulting 6.30 ERA isn’t pretty but that’s partially attributable to a .327 batting average on balls in play and 62.6% strand rate. Going back to the start of 2021, Kuhnel has a 4.28 ERA in 82 innings in the minors. He struck out just 15.7% of batters faced in that time but has generally kept about half of balls in play on the ground.

The Jays will have one week to trade Kuhnel or pass him through waivers. He still can be optioned for the rest of this year and could appeal to clubs looking for extra rotation depth. He has been outrighted previously in his career and would therefore have the right to reject another outright assignment in favor of free agency, if he passes through waivers unclaimed.

Blue Jays Acquire Joel Kuhnel

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The Blue Jays have acquired right-hander Joel Kuhnel from the Astros in exchange for cash considerations, per an announcement from both teams. Toronto optioned Kuhnel to Triple-A Buffalo following his addition. The Blue Jays had an open space on their 40-man roster for Kuhnel, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, and do not need to make a corresponding move to add him to the roster.

Kuhnel, 29, has now changed teams via cash deal for the second time in as many seasons. An eleventh-round pick by the Reds in the 2016 draft, Kuhnel made his debut with the Reds back in 2019 and pitched to a decent 4.66 ERA (103 ERA+) with a 4.25 FIP in 9 2/3 innings of work. Despite that solid cup of coffee at the big league level, the right-hander wouldn’t get regular playing time in the majors until the 2022 season, when he posted a brutal 6.36 ERA despite a much stronger 3.96 FIP. He remained with the Reds until he was traded to Houston in June of last year but has not received much run in the big leagues since, with a 7.20 ERA and 5.84 FIP in 15 innings of work across the past two seasons, including a spot start with the Astros earlier this year that saw him allow four runs in two innings of work.

Overall, Kuhnel heads to Toronto with a career 6.30 ERA that’s nearly 30% worse than league average but a much more manageable 4.53 FIP along with decent strikeout and walk rates of 19% and 6.3% respectively suggest he could still be a valuable depth piece for the club’s bullpen. That possibility is further backed up by solid results at the Triple-A level with the Astros this year, as he’s posted a 3.18 ERA in 11 1/3 innings as a multi-inning relief arm in the highly inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League this year.

The Blue Jays have struggled to a 16-18 record this season in part thanks to brutal production from their bullpen, which has a league-worst 5.28 FIP to go with a 5.11 ERA that sits in the bottom five among all major league relief corps. Kuhnel is unlikely to impact the back of the club’s bullpen alongside the likes of Jordan Romano and Yimi Garcia, but it’s at least feasible to imagine him offering an alternative to a struggling arm such as Genesis Cabrera.

Astros Designate Joel Kuhnel For Assignment

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The Astros announced to reporters, including Chandler Rome of The Athletic, that Joey Loperfido has been officially added to the roster. His imminent promotion was reported over the weekend. In corresponding moves, the club placed infielder Grae Kessinger on the 10-day injured list due to right shoulder discomfort and designated right-hander Joel Kuhnel for assignment.

Kuhnel, 29, was acquired from the Reds in a cash deal in June of last year. He was designated for assignment in the offseason and eventually elected free agency, but returned to the Astros on a minor league deal and was selected back to the roster a few weeks ago. He made just one appearance, allowing four earned runs in two innings, before being optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land.

He currently has a 6.30 earned run average in 85 2/3 innings at the major league level. His 19% strikeout rate is below average but his 6.3% walk rate and 52.2% ground ball rate are both quite strong. He’s been in decent form in Triple-A this year, with a 3.18 ERA in 11 1/3 innings, despite pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

The Astros will now have a week to trade Kuhnel or try to pass him through waivers. He still has an option and could therefore be kept in the minors by any club willing to give him a 40-man roster spot. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to elect free agency as a player with a previous career outright.

Astros To Select Joel Kuhnel

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The Astros are going to add right-hander Joel Kuhnel to their roster, with Chandler Rome of The Athletic among those to relay the news. Left-hander Parker Mushinski will be optioned to open an active roster spot while Wander Suero has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot, per Rome.

The Astros haven’t had an off-day since last Thursday and their bullpen has been getting heavy use of late. On Monday, the injury of Framber Valdez led to the club sending out Blair Henley to make his major league debut, but he couldn’t make it out of the first inning. Cristian Javier had a fine start on Tuesday but then Spencer Arrighetti made his major league debut on Wednesday and was only able to log three innings. Then Hunter Brown was pummelled yesterday, allowing nine earned runs on 11 hits while only recording two outs.

Amid all of that, the relievers have had to grind through innings, which included Mushinski throwing 54 pitches over 2 2/3 on Wednesday. He was likely looking at being down for a few days after that so the club has optioned him out for a fresh arm.

Kuhnel, 29, has 83 2/3 innings of big league experience. Most of that was with the Reds, though he joined the Astros in a cash deal in June of last year. His 6.02 earned run average for his career is obviously not impressive, nor is his 19.3% strikeout rate, though there are some more encouraging numbers to look at. His fastball averages in the mid-90s, he’s limited walks to a 6.5% clip and he’s been able to keep 52.5% of balls in play on the ground.

The Astros designated him for assignment in January and the righty elected free agency but the Astros brought him back via a minor league deal. He’ll now get a chance to join the beleaguered bullpen and hopefully give them a boost. He has an option remaining and can perhaps be kept as a depth arm if the club needs yet another roster move in the days to come. He also has less than two years of service time and can be retained for future seasons if he continues to hang onto that 40-man roster spot.

Suero, 32, has been on a similar trajectory to Kuhnel in that he also signed a minor league pact with Houston in the winter and had his contract selected to help out the staff this week. He was added on Tuesday and put into that night’s game against the Royals. He came to the mound in the bottom of the 10th and allowed a single to Salvador Perez, scoring the free runner from second and ending the game without Suero recording an out.

He was optioned the next day to get Arrighetti onto the active roster and has now lost his spot on the 40-man as well. The Astros will have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he will have the right to elect free agency, both due to his three-plus years of service time and a previous career outright.

He has a 4.75 ERA in 193 1/3 major league innings in his career, striking out 25.4% of opponents with a walk rate of 8.6%. But he had a 4.10 ERA from 2018 to 2020 and a 6.57 ERA since then. Despite the shaky results of late, plenty of clubs need pitching right now and Suero’s option means that he won’t require an active roster spot.

Astros Sign Joel Kuhnel, Drew Strotman To Minor League Deals

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The Astros have re-signed right-hander Joel Kuhnel to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Houston also inked righty Drew Strotman to a minor league pact with a non-roster invite to camp.

The 28-year-old Kuhnel (29 next month) was designated for assignment by Houston earlier this month. He went unclaimed on outright waivers and elected free agency, as is his right as a player who’s previously been outrighted in the past, but he’ll quickly return to the same organization on a new deal.

Kuhnel came to the Astros in a cash swap with the Reds back in June. He’s pitched in parts of four MLB seasons, logging a combined 6.02 ERA with a 19.3% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 52.5% ground-ball rate. Kuhnel only totaled 13 MLB innings between Cincinnati and Houston last year but delivered a huge 57.1% grounder rate in that time. However, he also struck out just 5.2% of his opponents in that small sample.

Kuhnel throws hard, averaging 95.9 mph on his sinker and four-seamer alike to this point in his career. He incorporated a splitter into the mix beginning in 2022 and has long favored a slider as his go-to breaking ball. Kuhnel has been homer-prone in his career (1.40 HR/9), though the vast majority of that has come in Cincinnati’s bandbox at Great American Ball Park. He’s also been plagued by an uncommonly and perhaps fluky low 64.6% strand rate. But between Kuhnel’s velocity, command and ground-ball rate, there are some intriguing aspects of his profile. Kuhnel still has a minor league option remaining as well, which adds to his appeal.

As for Strotman, he was once a prospect of note within the Rays system and was traded to the Twins alongside righty Joe Ryan in the 2021 deal that brought Nelson Cruz to the Rays. Injuries, including Tommy John surgery, have slowed Strotman’s development and surely contributed to lackluster performances in the upper minors in recent seasons.

Strotman, a 2017 fourth-rounder, was in his first season back from surgery (and the canceled 2020 minor league campaign) in ’21 when he was traded to the Twins. At the time of the swap he’d posted a 3.39 ERA through a dozen starts, but he perhaps began to wear down thereafter, working to a 7.33 ERA in Triple-A over his next dozen starts. After similar struggles in 2022, Strotman was designated for assignment by the Twins in September. He subsequently bounced to the Rangers and then the Giants but hasn’t found success. In 97 1/3 innings with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate last year, Strotman posted a 6.47 ERA and walked 15.6% of his opponents. Like Kuhnel, he has a minor league option remaining in the event that he’s eventually selected to the 40-man.

Joel Kuhnel Elects Free Agency

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Reliever Joel Kuhnel elected free agency this week, according to his MLB.com transaction log. That was his right after being outrighted by the Astros, marking the second time in his career that he cleared outright waivers.

Kuhnel, 29 next month, split last season between the Reds and Houston. He pitched 13 innings over nine MLB appearances, allowing eight runs with five walks and a trio of strikeouts. Kuhnel spent more of the season in Triple-A. He combined for a 6.18 ERA in 43 2/3 innings at the top minor league level between the two organizations. Kuhnel fanned a below-average 15.5% of opponents over that stretch.

While it wasn’t a great showing, he’s only a year removed from soaking up 58 innings of low-leverage relief in Cincinnati. Kuhnel’s 6.36 ERA that year isn’t particularly impressive, but he induced ground-balls at a 52.2% clip. Kuhnel has generally done a solid job keeping the ball on the ground throughout his career behind a mid-90s sinker. He could find a minor league contract from a team seeking bullpen depth.

Astros Outright Joel Kuhnel

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Right-hander Joel Kuhnel has cleared outright waivers, the Astros informed reporters (including Chandler Rome of the Athletic). He has the right to elect free agency since this is his second career outright assignment; the team didn’t announce whether he’ll do so. Houston had designated him for assignment last week as the corresponding move for their waiver claim of Declan Cronin from the White Sox.

Houston acquired Kuhnel in a cash transaction with the Reds in June. He spent most of his tenure in Triple-A, appearing in 17 games for Triple-A Sugar Land. Over 19 2/3 innings there, he posted a 5.03 ERA. Kuhnel pitched seven times with the Astros, allowing five runs with three strikeouts and walks apiece through 9 2/3 frames.

An 11th-round pick in 2016, Kuhnel has appeared at the MLB level in four of the past five years. His only extended work came in 2022. He soaked up 58 innings for Cincinnati that season, pitching to a 6.36 ERA in mostly low-leverage relief. For his career, he has allowed 6.02 earned runs per nine across 83 2/3 frames. Kuhnel’s 19.3% strikeout rate is below average, but he has kept the ball on the ground on a lofty 52.5% of batted balls.

The grounder rate and a fastball that lands around 95 MPH on average should allow Kuhnel to find a minor league deal elsewhere if he chooses free agency. If he accepts the outright assignment, he’d likely receive an invite to Houston’s Spring Training camp as non-roster relief depth.

Astros Designate Joel Kuhnel For Assignment

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The Astros have designated right-hander Joel Kuhnel for assignment, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Houston needed to open a roster spot for righty Declan Cronin, who they claimed off waivers from the White Sox.

Kuhnel, 29 in February, came to the Astros in June via a cash deal, having spent his entire career with the Reds prior to that. He has 83 2/3 innings of major league experience between those two clubs with an earned run average of 6.02 in that time. His 19.3% strikeout rate is below par but his 6.5% walk rate and 52.5% ground ball rate are both strong. It’s possible there’s some bad luck in there, as his .323 batting average on balls in play and 64.6% strand rate are both on the unfortunate side of average. That’s led to a 4.55 FIP and 5.57 SIERA that are a bit more optimistic than his actual ERA. He’s generally had similar results in the minors, with limited punchouts but lots of worm burners.

Nonetheless, it seems he’s the lesser of two ground ball guys, as Cronin has a similar profile and has now nabbed Kuhnel’s roster spot. The Astros will now have a week to trade Kuhnel or pass him through waivers. If the latter scenario were to come to pass, Kuhnel would be able to elect free agency due to the fact that he has a previous career outright. He still has an option year remaining though and could perhaps appeal to clubs in search of extra bullpen depth.

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