TODAY: Reetz cleared waivers and elected to become a free agent, as McCalvy reports that Reetz declined an outright assignment to the Brewers’ Triple-A team. Because Reetz has been outrighted before in his career, he had the right to decline any further outright assignments in favor of a return to the open market.
AUGUST 18: The Brewers have reinstated right-hander J.C. Mejia from the restricted list and opened a spot on the roster by designating catcher Jakson Reetz for assignment, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
Reetz, 26, was signed by the Brewers to a minor league deal in the offseason. Despite having cracked the majors with the Nationals last year, he was sent to the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers to begin this season. He tore the cover off the ball there, hitting 22 homers in just 64 games, getting bumped up to Triple-A in July.
He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in early August but optioned to Triple-A. McCalvy relays that this was because Reetz had an opt-out date in his contract. Reetz has long been considered a glove-first catcher but had that tremendous outburst in Double-A this season, which was tempting enough for the Brewers to give him a roster spot for a time. However, he wasn’t able to sustain that after a bump to Triple-A, as he’s hit just .212/.254/.424 since joining Nashville, which amounts to a 73 wRC+.
Based on that diminished offensive output, Reetz has lost his roster spot to Mejia, who was acquired from the Guardians in March. He was hit with an 80-game suspension in May due to a positive PED test but now returns to the roster after serving his sentence. Prior to the suspension, he was shelled to the tune of six earned runs in 2 1/3 MLB innings, though fared much better in the minors. In 14 1/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A, he’s registered an ERA of just 0.63. He’s been optioned to Nashville and will serve as depth for the time being.
With Reetz off the roster, the club is in a precarious position behind the plate, at least for now. They now only have two healthy catchers on the 40-man roster in Victor Caratini and Mario Feliciano. They also have Omar Narvaez, who is on the injured list, and Alex Jackson, who is on the minor league injured list. Narvaez began a rehab assignment on Tuesday and should be back in the mix shortly.
miggywrld
DFA szn
stubby66
What the hell are the Brewers doing this is just stupid
Spike Hyzer
It was about the opt in date. They didn’t want to pay him. And he’s probably not good.
mustache101
Omar is due back for the cubs series starting tomm… I don’t see how this is a stupid move… it clears a 40 spot for either cousins or rosenthal in the near future… and MAYBE they are thinking of adding sal frelick to the 40 for the final run.. isn’t there a date coming up soon where it wouldn’t cost a year of service time to add sal?…
craig500
Rosenthal is already on the 40 man, on the IL. Would need to clear a spot for Cousins however.
g4
Minor league numbers often lie. Reetz has the look of a AAAA player
g4
Minor league numbers often lie. Reetz has the look of a AAAA player.
LordD99
Filed under the category: Players I’ve never heard of.
TheMan 3
An increasing number of teams are DFAing players except for the Bucs and Van Meter
stubby66
Tis the time to see if teams can find good back ups for next year plus time to give young guys valuable experience.
Spike Hyzer
You were saying that before, but advocating it so that they better contend.
Now you are advocating giving up, even though they are only 3 games out, so why not throw them in there.
Wrong.
They are still in contention. The schedule got really tough and Stearns miscalculated getting series wins against bad teams prior to that turn. But they did well against the Dodgers. Have some winnable games on the schedule Only half of this month’s remaining games are against Dodgers and Cards, but Cards have it easy other than with the Crew and one other series.
Craigtember is coming. The team has caught the Cards twice before this season. They are starting to get the bullpen in order and the starting is ok. It IS the best offense Stearns has ever fielded, 3rd before the break and 6th or 7th now in runs scored (differential among the 3 lowest in the league who are in the positive). They didn’t need a bat (if they had a sure thing, almost anyone in the minors could have been traded).
They are going to do this with the vets on hand and maybe a prospect or 2 late. You can’t even know a hitter until 150 ABs. And then he has to adjust and find a way. Can’t risk it with the unproven guys in the minors, no matter how well they’ve progressed through the system and the promise they show.
4 or 5 of them will be in the mix next year though.
After we pull a shocker and win the division and go to the Series. The team is a weird mix without a superstar bat, but it’s just enough most of the time. Pitching has let them down far more often. It almost did last night when Burnes got shaky. A lot of guys getting healthy as well.
UWPSUPERFAN77
I hope you are right! We are playing for the WC. Stl has 25 games against the Cubs, Pirates and Cincinnati! Enough said, race for division OVER!
Monkey’s Uncle
From Reetz Carlton to Reetz cracker.
BucksPackersBrewersWow!
Don’t forget about Puttin’ on the Reetz!
Pete'sView
You’re both crazy muthaf@#kers, but I had to grin.
CoachWhite44
Reetz is a solid player! He got everyday at bats in AA and shined, got to AAA and was platooned again! 22 homers before allstar break is pretty amazing to do even in AA, he deserves a legit shot somewhere!
DarkSide830
Maybe he can prove he can hit AAA pitching first.
stubby66
He has he has even got up a couple games in the majors
DarkSide830
He’s played like three dozen AAA games and has a .202 AVG.
Redstitch108* 2
Angels should pick this guy up. They got a 39 y/o backup on the roster and no depth within the org.
Gwynning's Anal Lover
Or the Pirates..
mlb1225
Tbh, I’m perfectly fine with Heineman and Delay for the rest of the season. Neither are good hitters, but I like how they work with the pitching staff.
DarkSide830
Would like to see Colby Fitch get a shot TBH.
angelsfan4life
I was coming on here to say the same thing. The Angels need to improve their catching options. Stassi is an easy out for the opposing pitcher. And is severely overrated as a defensive catcher.
layventsky
Didn’t they do that with the Brandon Marsh trade? They got back a well-regarded catcher prospect in Logan O’Hoppe.
DarkSide830
O’Hoppe is still.in AA.
angelsfan4life
Stassi needs to be traded. The Angels panicked and gave Stassi a 3 year extension. Because of not having anyone in the minors close to the majors. That extension already looks bad. And it doesn’t start until next season. As far as Fitch is concerned. I’m fine with the Angels giving him an opportunity. As long as I don’t have to watch Stassi strike out on a pitch, no where near the strike zone.
BarrelMan
Pedro Severino is available at Nashville if needed during the regular season.
craig500
Good point, could always add him to the roster if another catcher got hurt.
uvmfiji
You got not reetz to complain
uvmfiji
You got no reetz to complain
Dumpster Divin Theo
Who? Is MLBTR just making people up to drive traffic? We need proof he actually exists. Like some audio. Or a deli claim ticket.