The Brewers announced a flurry of roster moves this morning, highlighted by the club selecting the contract of left-hander Jared Koenig. The club also called up outfielder Joey Wiemer. To make room for the duo on the active roster, right-hander JB Bukauskas was placed on the injured list while infielder Andruw Monasterio was optioned to Triple-A, while outfielder Garrett Mitchell was transferred to the 60-day IL to make room for Koenig on the 40-man roster.
Koenig, 30, is getting his second crack at the major leagues after initially making his debut with Oakland back in 2022. A 35th-round pick by the White Sox out of high school in the 2014 draft, the southpaw didn’t receive an offer from the club after being drafted and was never drafted again, instead fashioning a career for himself in independent ball after college. After several years spent in indy ball, Koenig had a strong season with the Frontier League’s Lake Erie Crushers that saw him post a 2.24 ERA in 104 1/3 innings of work with a 30.6% strikeout rate. That performance earned him the attention of the A’s, who signed him to a minor league deal.
The left-hander continued to find success upon being assigned to the Double-A level in 2021, leading to him eventually contributing to the big league club in 2022. Koenig’s long road to the major leagues ended with him pitching 39 1/3 innings for the A’s that saw him post a lackluster 5.72 ERA with a 4.84 FIP, striking out just 12.4% of batters faced. Koenig returned to the minors last year, this time in the Padres organization, before signing on with the Brewers prior to the 2024 campaign.
In Milwaukee, Koenig figures to join the bullpen in a short relief capacity after transitioning out of his previous long relief/starting role last season. He’s looked good in four appearances with Triple-A Nashville, posting a 1.93 ERA while punching out 50% of the batters he’s faced. He’ll try to carry that success over to the big league Brewers, where he’ll join Bryan Hudson and Hoby Milner among the left-handed options at manager Pat Murphy’s disposal.
Coming up from Triple-A alongside Koenig is Wiemer, who appeared in 132 games for the Brewers as a rookie last season. The 25-year-old offers stellar outfield defense (his +8 Outs Above Average placed him in the 93rd percentile of major leaguers last year, per Statcast) and is capable of handling all three positions on the grass, but struggled to a .204/.283/.362 slash line in 410 trips to the plate last year.
While that offense certain left something to be desired, Wiemer was actually well above average against southpaws in 2023, slashing a much stronger .267/.298/.517 with seven home runs and eight doubles in just 121 trips to the plate against lefties. Wiemer figures to provide a right-handed complement to the club’s current center field duo of Blake Perkins and Sal Frelick, while also potentially freeing up Frelick for occasional reps at third base where the club is currently utilizing a combination of Joey Ortiz and Oliver Dunn.
Making room for Wiemer on the active roster is Monasterio, who has struggled in limited playing time this season. He’s gone hitless in nine plate appearances this season despite drawing two walks against just one strikeout, and will now head to Triple-A where he can get more regular playing time. Monasterio made his big league debut with the club last season, slashing .259/.330/.348 in 92 games while splitting time between second and third base.
Meanwhile, Koenig takes the roster spot of Bukauskas, who is headed to the injured list due to a lat strain. Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Bukauskas is set to undergo imagining on his shoulder before the Brewers determine a timeline for his return due to the right-hander’s lengthy history of lat injuries. Bukauskas has looked good through six appearances with the Brewers this year, striking out 27.3% of batters faced with just one earned run allowed on a solo homer to this point. Mitchell’s placement on the 60-day IL, meanwhile, hardly comes as a shock given the club does not expect him to return until June as he rehabs from a hand fracture.
I’m not buying into the Brewers hot start.
Hate on
It’s not hate. Just observation. I have nothing against the Brewers so no reason to get defensive.
I also said the same about the Rays after their 13-0 start last year.
And what exactly is this observation based on? Genuinely curious. They wont play .770 ball, but with the revamped offense and a year of additional experience for the crop of rookies last year, this start isnt all that surprising. They are a good team.
Only based upon Jimmy being a cub fan. So take those “predictions” lightly
The starting pitching is thin. DL Hall is not a No. 2 starter if he can’t get his fastball back up to 98 mph. None of the starters are used to consistently pitching seven innings, so wearing out the bullpen becomes a concern.
Miley will return soon plus this bullpen was built knowing the starter will rarely go 6 innings. While its a concern, its not a surprise. Plus with the log jam coming with Weimer returning and Mitchell on the way, I suspect we will see a trade to help the pitching out. On top of all that, the Brewers have pitching waiting in the minors.
Miley pitched in Cincinnati. But he’s a five- or six-inning pitcher at age 37.
Except Jimmy isn’t so
Name checks out
Youre right. On a short leash and did pretty well. If the Crew could get that consistently out of him, that would be pretty nice.
Brewers line-up is stacked.
It’s good, but let’s not go crazy. These monster numbers they’ve put up lately have come at Great American Ballpark and Camden.
Of those games at Camden and GAB, the Brewers hit 9 HRs for 17 of their 46 runs. Thats 36% in two of the most HR friendly parks in the league. And in those same stadiums/conditions, the Reds and Orioles have only put up 21 runs. That is telling.
The difference between this year and past years is a change in philosophy. Under Counsell, the Brewers were told to take a lot of pitches and to swing for power. Murphy’s philosophy is “Be you. Do what you do best. Swing at strikes, take balls, but know what kind of pitches you can handle.” Many more slap hits and bunts with this team. And their speed on the bases is turning a lot of singles into doubles.
The team mindset this year has been so refreshing and fun to watch. So much action on the bases. Love seeing the steals and runners already on the go before the bat hits the ball.
This such a refreshing change from the days of protecting 3-1 leads. The tension that this team got so accustomed to is gone. “It’s great to see them swinging free,” Murphy said.
FWIW, Camden is now a nightmare for RH power. 387 to left just off the line and 394 before the true alley with a raised wall to boot.
Thats true. That wall is a long way out. I was looking at the rolling averages from the last 3-4 years.
Easy to say. Everyone will falter at some point.
I don’t buy at McDonald’s anymore who cares what you buy lol
There young there fun to watch just enjoy good baseball no one cares what you think….. just enjoy a young team
I bet you don’t believe in the red Sox pitching or maybe the royals it’s baseball I bet you didn’t believe in Arizona last year! I bet you don’t believe in Baltimore you prob hate the rays pirates are junk to you…… you know baseball what a joke
Did you need to make three consecutive comments?
Great that he gets another cup of coffee. A Keurig is hot at first, but then they get creamed and eventually break down.
Monasterio was reassigned to AAA not placed on the IL.
The article says that.
Yes because they edited it.
Mitchell transferred to the 60-day. That’s the big news here. Let’s hope he bounces back.
I think thats just procedural. The GM said last week they expect him back June 1. I dont think this move pushes that back. Even if it does, with the way everyone is currently playing/hitting, him coming back a any later pushes that log jam down the road a little. Let what is real vs hot shake out a little more.
He broke his finger swinging a bat. Not getting hit by a pitch. I don’t think he’s the kind of player the Brewers can consider a workhorse. Blake Perkins might have a longer career than Mitchell.
That’s too bad for Bukauskus….he’s been good. But it has come with that now-dreaded higher spin rate, so I guess it isn’t too surprising. Ashby doesn’t look ready yet. If he ever will.
Ashby wasn’t that bad. Hoskins was. They win that game and Ashby goes at least 5 innings that day if it wasn’t for bad D, mostly by Hoskins
Hoping that was an anomaly from a year of no fielding. He’s not good at first, but gotta be better than that.
Why would the White Sox draft a player and not even offer them a contract?
In the 35th rounds you see family members of team administration selected. Who knows how little it takes to lose interest in someone so late in the draft.
Great to see Koenig get another shot.
I love to root for guys who have worked their way up from the lowest possible pro level. Koenig has some stuff, but it remains to be seen if he has enough command to succeed at the major league level.
You can’t just put “meanwhile” in the middle of a sentence, MLBTR. It has to come at the start.