The Brewers have passed right-hander JB Bukauskas through waivers and outrighted him to Triple-A, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The righty was designated for assignment last week. He had the right to elect free agency but has decided to accept, per Hogg, and will be in camp with the Brewers as a non-roster invitee.
Bukauskas, 28, has been with the Brewers for almost two years now. He was claimed off waivers from the Mariners in April of 2023. Despite that fairly lengthy span of time on the roster, he hasn’t pitched much for the big league team, spending much of it on optional assignment or on the injured list.
Lack of health was the story last year, as a right lat strain kept him on the IL for most of 2024. He was only able to toss six innings in the majors and another six in the minors. When combined with his previous seasons, including time with the Diamondbacks and Mariners, his big league track record is still small. He has 30 1/3 innings in total, having allowed 5.04 earned runs per nine.
Despite that limited résumé, Bukauskas is appealing in other ways. He’s a former first-round pick and was once a top 100 prospect. He’s also shown flashes of his potential in the minors. In his 83 2/3 innings on the farm over the past four years, he has a 3.23 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate. He still has one more option year remaining.
But that’s apparently not enough to get him a roster spot at the moment, on the heels of his injury-marred season. That suggests he would likely be limited to minor league deals if he were to head out to the open market. He had the right to do so because he was previously outrighted in his career, but decided to stay with the Brewers and accept an invite to camp. He should be looking to show his health and effectiveness in camp as he tries to push for an opportunity to prove himself in 2025.
Wouldn’t be shocked if he’s good this year. Generally good AAA numbers post-pandemic, some success in the past few seasons in the Majors.
The Brewers may not know Bupkis, but they know Bukaukas, who once had promise in politics but looked goofie driving around in a tank while adorned in sweater vest
I didn’t realize Mr. T was still involved in sports.
A pitchers job is to throw the Roger Beshens Football Slider.
“If you don’t throw it we will find someone else to do it for you. So set aside your pride and join the club.
Every pitcher should have this in their locker and one for the back pocket.
Watching the elite fall. I know it sounds bad, but when you follow baseball as closely as some of us do, it’s wild to see guys like this and how their careers turn into a roller coaster. He was a 1st round pick out of North Carolina, a solid baseball school in a solid baseball conference, drafted by Houston who develops prospects pretty well and trade to the dback and ultimate on the Mariners if I recall correctly. Both again, develop pitchers pretty well. You would have thought this kid would have thought this kid will turn into a quality big league starting pitcher at a minimum. He’s 28, he could still be something but clearly a bullpen guy or spot starter for a few year but lord, goes to show you how easy it is to miss on these guys or just how much things can change in such short time.