Brewers Acquire Jeremy Jeffress

The Brewers have struck a deal to acquire righty Jeremy Jeffress from the Rangers, as ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick first reported (via Twitter). The move reverses the reliever’s move this time last year, when he headed to Texas from Milwaukee along with Jonathan Lucroy. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman tweets that the Rangers will receive righty Tayler Scott in return.

The 29-year-old Jeffress returns to the organization that drafted him in the first round in 2006, and for whom he played in 2010 and 2014-16. (He saved 27 games for the Brewers last season, although he doesn’t seem likely to now supplant Corey Knebel as the Brewers’ closer this year.) Jeffress hasn’t been the pitcher this season that he was in that second Brewers stint, however — in 40 2/3 innings with Texas this year, he’s posted a 5.31 ERA, 6.4 K/9 and an ugly 4.2 BB/9. He has, however, maintained mid-90s velocity, and the Brewers likely hope he returns to some version of his prior self as he gets a change of scenery. If he does, they can control him for two more years after this one through the arbitration process.

Scott, 25, had a 2.34 ERA with a strong 9.2 K/9 but a too-high 5.1 BB/9 in 61 2/3 innings of relief this season at Double-A Biloxi. He was a fifth-round pick of the Cubs in 2011, but Chicago released him last year, then signed a minor-league deal with the Brewers after a brief stint in independent ball. He did not rank in MLB.com’s list of the Brewers’ top 30 prospects.