Brewers Sign Joel Kuhnel To Minor League Deal

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

The Brewers group is the third cease of the season for Kuhnel, who’s additionally been with the Astros and Blue Jays this season. He allowed 4 runs in two massive league frames for Houston, however the bulk of Kuhnel’s time has been spent in Triple-A. Between Sugar Land, Buffalo and now Nashville, he’s pitched a mixed 21 innings of Triple-A ball with a 3.00 earned run common. Kuhnel has solely struck out 10.1% of his opponents in Triple-A but in addition sports activities a robust 6.7% stroll charge and an enormous 60.3% ground-ball charge.

This yr’s temporary look with the ’Stros was the fifth season during which Kuhnel has seen work on the MLB stage. 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 charge, 6.3% stroll charge and 52.5% grounder charge. He’s averaged just below 96 mph on each his four-seamer and sinker within the majors, sometimes pairing these two fastballs with a mid-80s slider and a changeup that’s averaged 90 mph.

Milwaukee has a slew of pitchers on the injured listing, though they’ve been hit hardest within the rotation. That’s taken an oblique toll on the aid corps, nonetheless. The mountain of accidents has pushed reliever Bryse Wilson again right into a beginning function, and it’s additionally prompted the Brewers to make use of their relievers extra closely than any crew within the sport. Brewers beginning pitchers have the fewest innings of any crew in MLB (316 1/3), whereas their 277 innings from the bullpen are naturally probably the most in MLB. Add in that star nearer Devin Williams has but to pitch this season attributable to a again damage, and stockpiling bullpen depth turns into all of the extra vital.

Kuhnel will give the Brewers one other skilled possibility the following time they should pull a recent arm up from Nashville on the again of a bullpen day or quick begin from their patchwork rotation.