- Home
- Brewers...
Brewers designate veteran pitcher for assignment
The Brewers have designated veteran left-hander Dallas Keuchel for assignment, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel went on to relay that right-hander Joel Kuhnel has had his contract selected and will take Keuchel’s place on the 40-man and active rosters.
Keuchel, 36, was acquired by Milwaukee in a trade with the Mariners late last month while the veteran southpaw was on a minor league deal with Seattle.
He was added to the Brewers roster shortly thereafter and ended up making four starts for the club. He posted a 5.40 ERA with just 11 strikeouts against eight walks in his 16 2/3 innings of work for the club, and yesterday surrendered three runs on eight hits in just three innings of work in a start against the Nationals.
The Brewers will now have seven days to either work out a trade involving Keuchel or attempt to pass him through waivers. The 13-year MLB veteran has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and return to free agency after clearing waivers if he so chooses.
While the veteran struggled during his time in Milwaukee, it’s certainly possible that his time in the Mariners system could get him another look at the big league level with a pitching-hungry club.
After all, the lefty posted a solid 3.93 ERA in 13 starts, which becomes even more impressive when you consider the fact that he was pitching in the inflated offensive environment of Triple-A’s Pacific Coast League.
While he struck out just 15.6 percent of opponents in those games, his ability to generate grounders was as impressive as ever as he posted a 59.5 percent ground-ball rate.
With clubs around the game in the hunt for starting pitching before the deadline and few clear sellers, it’s at least feasible that a team in need of pitching could give Keuchel a look after the impending All-Star break in hopes he could provide depth in the event they’re unable to land a more impactful arm.
As for Kuhnel, the 29-year-old first made his big league debut in 2019 and has pitched in parts of five MLB seasons to this point, though his only extended opportunity came with Cincinnati back in 2022.
The results left much to be desired, as Kuhnel posted a 6.36 ERA in 58 innings of work that was 31 percent worse than the league average by ERA+. Despite that, underlying metrics thought the righty pitched fairly well that year as his FIP, xFIP, xERA and SIERA were all better than average thanks to his solid 22 percent strikeout rate, an excellent 5.5 percent walk rate and an above-average 52.2 percent ground-ball rate.
Those solid peripheral numbers haven’t been enough to get him consistent work in the years since then, however, as he’s pitched just 15 innings in the big leagues since the start of the 2023 season.
Those limited opportunities generally haven’t gone well, as Kuhnel has posted a ghastly 7.20 ERA and a 5.84 FIP in that limited big league playing time.
Even so, both the Blue Jays and Brewers have added Kuhnel to their 40-man roster this year after he was designated for assignment by the Astros early in the season.
He’s yet to appear in the big leagues with either of those clubs, although now he’ll get the opportunity to do it with Milwaukee after having his contract selected by the Brewers for the second time this year. The righty’s numbers at the Triple-A level have been excellent this year, as he’s posted a 2.30 ERA in 27 1/3 innings of work despite a lackluster 15 percent strikeout rate.
More must-reads:
- Four reasons why Christian Yelich is a dark horse MVP candidate
- The greatest MLB players to hail from Canada
- The 'Highest-paid player for every MLB team' quiz
Trending slideshow: The 25 most memorable MLB Opening Day moments (Provided by Yardbarker)
- https://www.msn.com/en-my/sports/mlb/brewers-designate-veteran-pitcher-for-assignment/ar-BB1pXMf2?ocid=00000000
Related
Caitlin Clark thanks referee for technical foul in Fever's dominating win over Seattle
Nothing appears to throw Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark off her game. She said her fifth technical of the season in Sunday's win motivated her to play better.
SportsWatch: Francisco Alvarez clubs first career walk-off homer, leads Mets past Orioles
Francisco Alvarez whipped his bat high in the zone, splintered an inside fastball and sent it to center field for a 421-foot homer, leading the New York Mets past the Baltimore Orioles with his first career walk-off hit.
SportsCowboys News: CeeDee's cryptic post, Liufau's rapid rise, Aubrey breaks obscure NFL record
CeeDee Lamb appeared to send a message regarding his ongoing contract dispute... only no one is entirely sure what it means
Sports3 up, 3 down for Packers: Preseason loss to Broncos
The Green Bay Packers started slow against the Denver Broncos starters, never got going offensively and lost 27-2 in a preseason clash at EmPower Field at Mile High on Sunday night. Matt LaFleur's team gave up back-to-back scoring drives to rookie Bo Nix and fell behind…
SportsLarry Bird recalled when Oscar Schmidt begged him to come in the game: "Okay, I'm gonna hit a jumper on you"
Schmidt wanted to make sure that Larry Legend played against them that night.
Sports"The Hate for (Caitlin Clark) Is So Blatant": Jewell Loyd's Refusal to Address Fever Rookie Draws Mixed Reaction From Fans After Intense Battle
The narrative resurfaces. The post "The Hate for (Caitlin Clark) Is So Blatant": Jewell Loyd's Refusal to Address Fever Rookie Draws Mixed Reaction From Fans After Intense Battle appeared first on EssentiallySports.
SportsSteve Kerr 'Not Expected' to Return, USA Basketball Eyeing Two Replacement Candidates
USA Basketball is eyeing Erik Spoelstra and Tyronn Lue as potential replacement candidates with the news that Steve Kerr reportedly won't be returning as the team's head coach.
SportsHe Dunked on LeBron. Now ‘The Dancing Bear’ Is Back in the NBA.
Not many people get to dunk on LeBron James in a job interview. But in the gold-medal game of the Paris Olympics earlier this month, that’s exactly what Guerschon Yabusele did. Yabusele was a stocky forward for France, and a former Boston Celtics washout, with a gigantic Afro and outrageous nickname. When he soared in for a high wire slam over Jame...
Sports