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Thomas Pannone

Brewers’ Thomas Pannone Shut Down Due To Torn Flexor Tendon

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Left-hander Thomas Pannone suffered a torn flexor tendon during the Brewers’ Cactus League game against the Guardians last Sunday.  MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes that Pannone won’t throw for at least a month while recovering, though surgery isn’t being considered at this time.

While it appears as though Pannone may have avoided the worst with his injury, it still erases whatever chance the southpaw had of making the Brewers’ Opening Day roster.  Pannone is out of minor league options, so his inevitable placement on the injured list will at least allow him to stick in Milwaukee’s organization without being exposed to the waiver wire, even if a claim might be unlikely given Pannone’s current health concerns.

Pannone (who turns 31 in April) signed a minor league deal with the Brew Crew back in November, returning to the organization after previously pitching for Milwaukee during the 2023 campaign.  Working mostly with Triple-A Nashville, Pannone had a 2.70 ERA in 53 1/3 innings in the minors, and he also tossed 2 2/2 innings in a single MLB game for the Brewers.  That marked Pannone’s only big league appearance since 2019 when he was a member of the Blue Jays.

The Brewers released Pannone that July so he could sign with the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization (also his second KBO stint).  Returning to North American baseball last winter, Pannone spent the 2024 season pitching with the Cubs’ and Yankees’ Triple-A affiliates.  With a 3.54 ERA over 152 1/3 combined innings at the Triple-A level last season, Pannone made a good accounting of himself, but he didn’t receive another call to the Show.

Even if Pannone was probably ticketed for a depth role in Nashville, his flexor tendon problem adds to the increasingly long list of injuries hitting Brewers starters this spring.  Aaron Ashby will miss a couple of weeks recovering from an oblique strain, and a lat strain sent DL Hall to the 60-day injured list.  Since Milwaukee is taking it easy with Brandon Woodruff as he returns from a season-long injury absence, the Brewers addressed the lack of starting depth by signing Jose Quintana to a one-year, $4.25MM guarantee earlier this week.

Looking At The Brewers’ Rotation Depth Options

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The Brewers have won the National League Central two years in a row and three of the last four. They will be looking to defend that title in 2025 but might face a steeper challenge than in years past. The Cubs have had an aggressive offseason, adding Kyle Tucker, Matthew Boyd, Ryan Pressly, Ryan Brasier and more. The Reds added Brady Singer, Gavin Lux, Austin Hays and will be getting several players back from injury. The Pirates have had a quiet winter but have a rotation loaded with young talent, fronted by Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. The Cardinals planned to do a teardown but ended up standing pat, so they’re going into the year with a very similar roster to the one that finished above .500 last year.

Milwaukee hasn’t done a lot to remake its roster relative to last year. They have added Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin but lost Willy Adames, Devin Williams and others. Whether the team is better or worse than last year is debatable.

The rotation wasn’t a strength in 2024. Their starters put up a collective 4.09 earned run average, putting them 17th out of the 30 teams in the league. Their bullpen was one of the best, however. Their relievers had a collective ERA of 3.11, second only to the Guardians, which helped the team cruise to that division title. That was despite Williams being injured for much of the year.

Going into 2025, the rotation looks like it could be in a similar situation overall, though with some personnel changes. Of the seven players that made at least nine starts for the club last year, four of them are gone. Frankie Montas and Joe Ross hit free agency at season’s end, the former by declining a mutual option. Bryse Wilson was outrighted and Colin Rea had a club option turned down, so they also hit the open market as well.

Freddy Peralta, Tobias Myers and Aaron Civale are the three holdovers. Cortes was brought in from the Yankees as part of the Williams trade. In an interview this week with Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, manager Pat Murphy confirmed that those four make up his rotation core to start the season. Brandon Woodruff, who missed 2024 recovering from shoulder surgery, will be in there at some point but probably won’t be ready by Opening Day.

“I would think those four guys are [penciled in],” Murphy said, “and you can put Woody in there, too. But you can’t have him ready to start the season; he probably won’t be. But I think it’s pretty safe to say that those five guys are starters that, when healthy, are going to get opportunities.”

Taking things easy with Woodruff makes sense after his lost season, but that means the club will likely have to reach into its depth. Perhaps that will only be for a short time, but injuries are inevitable over the course of a season. For the long term, the need will be even greater. Civale and Cortes are both slated to be free agents after the upcoming season. Woodruff will certainly join them, as his deal has a $20MM mutual option for 2026 with a $10MM buyout. That was basically designed so that he would re-sign but with the club able to kick most of the payment down the line until the end of 2025. Peralta can be retained for 2026 via an affordable $8MM club option but is slated for free agency after that.

That means Myers is the only guy slated to still be on the roster when November of 2026 rolls around. Even he is not a lock to keep a spot going forward, as his strong 2024 season came after several years of poor minor league numbers. In short, the long-term rotation is wide open. Can the Brewers fill some of that in with guys already in the system? Let’s take a look at some of the options.

Aaron Ashby

Ashby, 27 in May, seemed like a potential rotation building block a few years ago. He tossed 139 innings in a swing role over the 2021 and 2022 seasons. His 4.47 ERA wasn’t especially impressive but his 27.1% strikeout rate, 9.7% walk rate and 57.8% ground ball rate seemed like a solid recipe for success.

The Brewers were intrigued enough to make a bet on the lefty, signing him to a five-year deal during the 2022 campaign which guaranteed him $20.5MM and also came with club options for 2028 and 2029.

Unfortunately, shoulder problems got in the way. Arthroscopic surgery wiped out his 2023 season. He returned last year and was kept mostly in a relief role, but with some good results. Down the stretch, he tossed 19 2/3 innings over 12 appearances with a 1.37 ERA, 36.8% strikeout rate, 3.9% walk rate and 51.1% ground ball rate.

With those numbers, it might be tempting to keep him in a bullpen role, but the club seems interested in stretching him out. Back in November, Murphy said the club still hopes to see what Ashby can do as a starter. He still has one option year and can be sent to the minors if the club would like.

DL Hall

Hall, 26, was a first-round pick of the Orioles in 2017 and went on to be a top 100 prospect. He came to the Brewers as part of the Corbin Burnes trade last offseason. He hasn’t lived up to that prospect hype just yet.

He has pitched in the past three seasons but logged only 76 innings. His 4.74 ERA doesn’t impress but his 25.1% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 46.5% ground ball rate make for a decent mixture. A left knee sprain hobbled him last year, limiting him to just 84 frames between the majors and minors. In 2022 and 2023, the Orioles shuttled him between the majors and the minors, as well as moving him between starting to relieving. He tossed 98 innings in 2022 between the majors and minors, then 71 1/3 in 2023. His minor league work has generally featured big strikeout numbers but also plenty of walks.

Hall is still a work in progress but the Brewers probably don’t want to give up on him, given the upside here. Like Ashby, he has one option year remaining, so pitching out of the Triple-A rotation isn’t off the table. He has one year and 74 days of service time, meaning he is currently slated for five years of club control, though a lengthy optional assignment could push that to six. Either way, he’s cheap and controllable for a long time to come.

Robert Gasser

Gasser, 26 in May, won’t be an option in the short term but is definitely part of the long-term plans. A former top 100 prospect, he debuted with a splash last year by posting a 2.57 ERA in his first five big league starts. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in June, wiping out the second half of his 2024. He’s now slated to miss most or perhaps all of 2025. He has less than a year of service time at the moment and the Brewers therefore have six years of club control over him.

Jacob Misiorowski

Misiorowski, 23 in April, is not yet on the 40-man roster but is one of the top pitching prospects in the league. He reached as high as Triple-A last year, though the club eased off his workload by having him pitch shorter stints out of the bullpen to finish the year. Between Double-A and Triple-A, he tossed 97 1/3 innings on the year with a 3.33 ERA. He struck out 30.5% of hitters and got grounders at a 45.8% clip but also gave out walks 14.4% of the time. Though the club eased off the gas, that innings total is still his personal high thus far.

The righty is clearly going to factor into the mix at some point, but there’s clearly still some development going on. 2025 will likely be about reining in the control and getting the workload beyond the 100-inning mark, but it’s entirely possible that he throws some big league innings this year.

Elvin Rodríguez

Rodríguez, 27 in March, is a wild card at the moment. He spent 2024 in a multi-inning role for the Yakult Swallows in Japan. He logged 45 innings over 32 appearances with a 1.80 ERA, 24% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate. Whether the Brewers view him more as a starter or a reliever is unknown.

Carlos Rodríguez

Rodríguez, 23, made a limited MLB debut last year. He tossed 12 1/3 innings over three starts with a 7.30 ERA. Over the past three years, he has logged 365 2/3 innings on the farm with a 3.49 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate. Most prospect evaluators consider him a capable back-end starter but he’s still young and has a couple of options remaining, so he’ll likely be in the Triple-A rotation until circumstances change.

Chad Patrick/Logan Henderson

These two were each just added to the 40-man roster in November, to keep them out of the Rule 5 draft. Henderson, 23, is considered more of a legit prospect but he is still a question mark. Elbow surgery limited him to just 13 2/3 innings in 2022. He got that up to 78 2/3 in 2023 and then 81 1/3 last year. His minor league numbers are strong overall, with a 3.11 ERA, 34.1% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate. However, he mostly gets by with a fastball/changeup mix that leads some to predict he’ll end up in the bullpen. Patrick is considered more of a depth/spot starter.

Bruce Zimmermann/Thomas Pannone/Easton McGee

These three signed minor league deals with the club this offseason. They all have a bit of major league experience and give the club some non-roster depth. Zimmermann has a 5.57 ERA in 158 1/3 innings and Pannone a 5.46 ERA in 118 2/3 innings, while McGee hasn’t allowed a run in his 9 2/3 innings.

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Though the Woodruff timeline creates some uncertainty, there are plenty of intriguing options here for the short term. But as mentioned, the Brewers will likely see three starters departing at the end of the year and a fourth after 2026. Ideally, guys like Ashby, Hall, Misiorowski and Gasser would step up take those spots, because the club usually doesn’t have a lot of spending power for bringing in free agents. That makes 2025 a key season in Milwaukee, since their future rotation plans are completely in flux.

Brewers, Thomas Pannone Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers agreed to a minor league deal with lefty Thomas Pannone, reports Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The BHSC client will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee to spring training in 2025.

It’ll be the second Brewers stint of Pannone’s career. He was also with the organization in 2023. While the 30-year-old’s broader track record in Triple-A doesn’t necessarily stand out, he’s been sharp against non-MLB competition in recent seasons. Pannone tossed 53 1/3 innings of 2.70 ERA ball with the Brewers’ Triple-A club in 2023, and he also spent parts of the 2022-23 seasons with the KBO’s Kia Tigers, pitching to a combined 3.49 ERA in 165 innings across those two seasons. Most recently, Pannone hurled 152 1/3 innings of 3.54 ERA ball between the Triple-A affiliates for the Cubs and Yankees in 2024. He fanned 21.9% of opponents against a 5.9% walk rate this past season.

All of that should allow Pannone to head to camp with the Brewers and compete for a rotation spot or long relief role. He’s stretched out and built up, meaning workload wouldn’t be an issue if the Brewers need to utilize him as a starter between Nashville and Milwaukee. (Notably, he’s out of minor league options, so if he’s added to the 40-man at any point, he’d have to stick or else be placed on waivers.)

For a Brewers club that is currently light on rotation depth, adding a lefty who’s pitched well for the past three seasons in the upper minors and in the KBO makes good sense. At the moment, Milwaukee’s rotation likely includes Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff (likely on an innings limit after missing 2024 due to shoulder surgery), Aaron Civale, Tobias Myers and one of Aaron Ashby or DL Hall. That group could change, of course, depending on how the rest of the offseason plays out. Each of Myers, Ashby and Hall can be optioned. Civale has been a speculative trade candidate (as is the case with most Brewers veterans when they’re down to one final season of club control remaining). Lefty Robert Gasser could join the bunch late in 2025, but he’s recovering from UCL surgery performed in June.

Yankees Sign Thomas Pannone To Minor League Deal

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Left-hander Thomas Pannone has signed a minor league deal with the Yankees and has been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had previously been with the Cubs on a minor league deal but was released earlier this week.

Pannone, 30, was working out of the rotation for Triple-A Iowa prior to his release and was putting up decent numbers, so it’s possible that he triggered some kind of opt-opt. After signing a minor league deal with the Cubs in the winter, he logged 90 2/3 innings over 19 starts with a 4.37 earned run average, 22% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and 42% ground ball rate. The run-scoring environment in the International League has been pretty strong this year, with pitchers in the IL having a combined 4.90 ERA. Pannone’s 4.37 mark is 12th out of 29 qualified pitchers in that league.

The Yanks have a strong rotation at the major league level right now but their depth has taken a few hits. Though Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman and Luis Gil have the five big league spots, guys like Clarke Schmidt, JT Brubaker, Cody Poteet and Clayton Beeter are all injured. Schmidt went on the injured list in late May due to a lat strain and still hasn’t begun a rehab assignment. Poteet landed on the IL about a month ago due to a right triceps strain and he hasn’t started a rehab assignment yet either. Brubaker was rehabbing from last year’s Tommy John surgery but was recently shut down with an oblique strain. Beeter has some kind of shoulder issue and might be done for the season, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post on X.

Since Pannone has been in decent form this year, the Yanks will bring him aboard to replace some of that missing depth. He has 118 2/3 innings of major league experience with the Blue Jays and Brewers with a 5.46 ERA in that time. He also spent parts of 2022 and 2023 in Korea, tossing 165 innings for the KBO’s Kia Tigers with a 3.49 ERA. If Pannone is added to New York’s roster at any point, he is out of options.

Cubs, Tom Pannone Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Cubs are in agreement with left-hander Thomas Pannone on a minor league deal, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (on X). He’ll be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee. Pannone would be paid at an $800K rate for any time on the MLB team.

Pannone returns from South Korea, where he spent a half-season with the Kia Tigers. The 29-year-old also played part of the 2022 campaign with the Tigers before returning to the affiliated ranks last offseason. He reached the majors for one game with the Brewers, working 2 2/3 innings of relief. Milwaukee granted him his release in July so he could re-sign with the Tigers.

Over 16 appearances in Korea, he worked to a 4.26 ERA across 82 1/3 frames. Pannone had a modest 18.8% strikeout rate while walking 6.6% of batters faced. It marked a step down from his KBO performance in 2022, when he’d posted a 2.72 ERA over a near-identical workload.

Before this year’s cup of coffee in Milwaukee, Pannone’s big league experience was with the Blue Jays between 2018-19. He pitched in a swing capacity for Toronto, allowing 5.43 earned runs per nine over 49 appearances (13 of which were starts). Pannone has compiled a 5.10 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout percentage in 305 career Triple-A frames. He’s out of options, so if he cracks Chicago’s MLB roster at any point, he’d need to remain in the majors or be designated for assignment.

KBO’s Kia Tigers Sign Thomas Pannone, Place Shaun Anderson On Waivers

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The Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization announced that they have signed left-hander Thomas Pannone, with right-hander Shaun Anderson placed on waivers in a corresponding move. Hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net.

Pannone, now 29, was with the Kia Tigers for the second half of last season. He tossed 82 2/3 innings over 14 starts with a 2.72 ERA. He struck out 21% of batters faced while walking 6.9% of them. This winter, he returned to North America and signed a minor league deal with the Brewers. He reported to their Triple-A club and threw 53 1/3 innings over 11 appearances with a 2.70 ERA in that time.

That solid performance got him selected to the big league roster a week ago but he was designated for assignment after just one appearance of 2 2/3 innings. He was released yesterday and will now rejoin the Kia Tigers. He previously played in the majors with the Blue Jays in 2018 and 2019. When combined with his lone outing this year, he has a 5.46 ERA in 118 2/3 innings over 50 major league contests.

KBO teams are only allowed three roster spots for non-Korean players, so Pannone’s signing had to come with a corresponding move. That will be Anderson, 28, who signed with the Tigers in the winter. He made 14 starts this year, tossing 79 innings with a 3.76 ERA. He only struck out 19% of opponents but kept the ball on the ground at a 61.7% rate. Despite those fairly solid results, the Tigers will opt to give Pannone a try and have let Anderson go.

Brewers Designate Mike Brosseau For Assignment, Select J.C. Mejía

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The Brewers announced a series of roster moves today, reinstating infielder/outfielder Brian Anderson from the paternity list, recalling right-hander Tyson Miller and selecting the contract of righty J.C. Mejía. In corresponding moves, they optioned relievers Clayton Andrews and J.B. Bukauskas in addition to placing first baseman Rowdy Tellez on the 10-day injured list due to right forearm inflammation. To get Mejia onto the 40-man, infielder Mike Brosseau was designated for assignment. Additionally, left-hander Thomas Pannone, who was designated for assignment on the weekend, was released.

Brosseau, 29, has alternated hot and cold in his career, serving as a utility player for the Rays and Brewers. He hit .284/.343/.500 for the Rays over 2019 and 2020 but then slumped to a line of .187/.266/.347 in 2021. He was then traded to the Brewers and bounced back with a .255/.344/.418 showing last year for a 118 wRC+.

He and the club avoided arbitration in the offseason by agreeing to a $1.4MM salary for this year. He had shown an ability to provide above-average offense while playing every infield position, the outfield corners and even some mop-up duty on the mound, making that a relative bargain price. Unfortunately, he’s having another down season at the plate here in 2023. He hit .205/.256/.397 for a wRC+ of 74 and got optioned to the minors about a month ago. He’s been even worse in Triple-A since then, hitting .188/.232/.375 in 69 plate appearances.

The Brewers will now have a week to trade Brosseau or pass him through waivers. He’s obviously having a rough year but has plenty of past success that could interest other clubs. He also has a couple of option years, including this one, meaning he wouldn’t even require an active roster spot. That could hold some appeal for a club looking for a bit of extra versatile depth.

Mejía, now 26, was acquired from Cleveland prior to the 2022 season but received an 80-game suspension for a positive PED test in May of that year. He was outrighted off the 40-man in August. This year, he’s been in Triple-A, tossing 30 1/3 innings over 23 appearances. He has a 3.86 ERA in that time, striking out 25.2% of opponents against a 10.2% walk rate. He’s also kept the ball on the ground at an incredible 64.5% clip.

The Brewers have used their bullpen quite a bit in recent days, including last night’s contest which went to 11 innings and saw the club use six different pitchers. They’ve brought up Mejía and Miller to provide the bullpen with some fresh arms, with five games left before the All-Star break.

Pannone has previously been outrighted in his career and therefore would have had the right to reject another such assignment. The club has skipped that formality and just sent him back to the open market to look for his next opportunity. He made one appearance for the Brewers in his brief time on the roster, tossing 2 2/3 innings with two earned runs allowed. In 53 1/3 Triple-A innings this year, he posted a 2.70 ERA.

Brewers Designate Matt Bush, Thomas Pannone

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The Brewers designated right-hander Matt Bush and left-hander Thomas Pannone for assignment.  In corresponding moves, the team selected the contract of left-hander Clayton Andrews from Triple-A Nashville, and also called up right-hander J.B. Bukauskas from Triple-A.  Milwaukee now has 39 of 40 spots filled on its 40-man roster.

Acquired from the Rangers at last year’s trade deadline, Bush’s numbers dropped off after the deal, in large part to an increase in home runs.  Bush posted a 2.95 ERA over 36 2/3 innings with Texas while allowing five big flies, yet he gave up six homers in 23 innings with the Brew Crew, boosting his ERA to 4.30.

Bush and the Brewers agreed to a $1.85MM arbitration-avoiding salary for 2023, but the righty has struggled to both stay healthy and deliver consistent results out of Milwaukee’s bullpen.  He missed just shy of two months due to tendinitis in his right rotator cuff, and posted a 9.58 ERA in 10 1/3 innings.  Yesterday’s 8-7 loss to the Pirates saw Bush allow three runs in the ninth inning, including Carlos Santana’s two-run walkoff homer.

If another team claimed Bush on DFA waivers, it will become responsible for the roughly $925K still owed to the right-hander over the course of the season.  It seems likely that Bush will clear waivers, therefore putting the Brewers on the hook for the remaining salary while a new club would owe Bush just the prorated portion of a Major League salary.  If Bush clears waivers and is then outrighted to Triple-A Nashville, Bush can decline that outright assignment in favor of free agency, because he has been outrighted in the past.

Pannone also has this option, as he was outrighted off the Blue Jays’ roster back in 2020.  The southpaw left Toronto’s organization after that season, and he bounced around to the Red Sox, Angels, and the KBO League’s Kia Tigers before landing in Milwaukee on a minors deal this past winter.  The Brewers selected Pannone’s contract just three days ago, and his one appearance (also in yesterday’s 8-7 loss to Pittsburgh) marked Pannone’s first Major League game since the 2019 season.

Andrews was a 17th-round pick for the Brewers in the 2018 draft, and the 26-year-old is now close to making his MLB debut.  His career was essentially put on hold for the better part of three years due to first the canceled 2020 minor league season, and then a Tommy John surgery that limited Andrews to 19 2/3 total innings in 2021-22.  However, he has been healthy and effective at Nashville this year, with a 1.65 ERA and 31.8% strikeout rate over 32 2/3 innings of work.  A 12.4% walk rate is cause for concern, as Andrews’ control has been something of an issue even prior to 2020.

If Andrews can limit the walks, he might get a longer-term opportunity in a Milwaukee bullpen that is short on left-handed pitching.  Hoby Milner is the only other southpaw in the relief corps, though Justin Wilson (who underwent Tommy John surgery last year) just started a rehab assignment and might be available by late July or early August.

Brewers Select Thomas Pannone, Option Peter Strzelecki

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The Brewers announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Thomas Pannone, with righty Peter Strzelecki optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. The club already had a vacancy for Pannone on their 40-man roster.

Pannone, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in the offseason and has been faring well in Triple-A this year. He’s tossed 53 1/3 innings over 11 appearances, nine of those being starts. He has a 2.70 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate and 37.7% ground ball rate. That performance will get him back up to the big leagues for the first time in a few years. He made 49 appearances as a swingman for the Blue Jays over 2018 and 2019 with 5.43 ERA.

It’s unclear what sort of role the Brewers envision for the lefty. Their rotation seems set on paper with Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Wade Miley, Julio Teheran and Colin Rea taking the five spots. Teheran has generally fared well this year but it’s his first meaningful big league action since 2020 and he was lit up in his last start, allowing seven earned runs against the Mets yesterday.

Though Pannone has been working as a starter in the minors, it’s possible that he’ll be installed in the bullpen. The club has been operating with Hoby Milner as its only left-handed reliever and Pannone would give them another option in that department. It’s also possible that his multi-inning abilities are the important thing, regardless of handedness. The club is in the midst of a stretch of playing 17 consecutive days, which will last until the All-Star break. Pannone’s abilities to work in long relief could prevent the other relievers from becoming overly taxed.

In order to make room for Pannone, the club has made the somewhat surprising decision to option Strzelecki. He posted a 2.83 ERA last year and was bumped into higher leverage situations this year, having already tallied 14 holds. His strikeout rate has dropped from last year’s 27% rate to 23.7% this year, but he’s also lowered his walk rate from 10.1% to 6.4%. His ERA has jumped to 4.54 but his 3.79 FIP and 3.60 SIERA suggest there’s at least some bad luck in there. Nonetheless, the club will send him down to Nashville for the time being.

Brewers Sign Thomas Pannone To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers announced to reporters, including Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, that they have signed left-hander Thomas Pannone to a minor league deal with an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Pannone, 29 in April, was drafted by Cleveland back in 2013 but was traded to the Blue Jays at the 2017 deadline as part of the Joe Smith trade. He made it to the big leagues with the Jays in 2018 and 2019, making 13 starts and 36 relief appearances over those two seasons. He posted a 5.43 ERA in that time with a 19.4% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate and 33.5% ground ball rate.

That’s the extent of his major league experiences so far, with the Jays outrighting him in August of 2020. He signed a minors deal with the Angels for 2021 but posted a 7.07 ERA in 118 1/3 innings in Triple-A that year. 2022 began with another minor league deal, this time with the Red Sox. After 63 innings with a 4.57 ERA, he signed with the KBO’s Kia Tigers in June. He seemed to get into a good groove over there, tossing 82 2/3 innings over 14 starts with a 2.72 ERA, striking out 21% of batters faced while walking just 6.9% of them.

Pannone will now see if he can parlay that half season of success in Korea into better results in North America. The Brewers have plenty of rotation depth, with Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Eric Lauer, Freddy Peralta, Aaron Ashby and Adrian Houser candidates for the regular rotation, with Ethan Small, Janson Junk, Jason Alexander, Tyson Miller and Gus Varland also on the 40-man roster. Pannone’s best path to the roster might be as a lefty reliever, since Hoby Milner is the only southpaw projected for Milwaukee’s bullpen at the moment.

If Pannone does get selected to the club’s 40-man, he’s out of options and would have to stick around or else be designated for assignment. If he does stick around, he’ll be able to do so for an extended stretch as he has just over a year of service time.

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