The Brewers have designated outfielder Brewer Hicklen for assignment, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. That’s the corresponding move to add first baseman Jake Bauers, a move that was previously reported.
Hicklen, 29, has a brief major league résumé. He got five plate appearances with Milwaukee last year and four with the Royals in 2022. He struck out in eight of those and is still looking for his first major league hit. He will now start the 2025 season in DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process can take 48 hours, so they could take five days to assess trade interest.
With that brief and awful major league track record, any interest would be based on his minor league work. Over the past four years, he has a .244/.352/.469 battling line on the farm. That production translates to a 114 wRC+. He struck out in 30.7% of his plate appearances but drew walks at an 11.7% pace. He also stole 14o bases in that stretch.
He has two minor league options remaining and only a handful of service days, so he could perhaps intrigue a club looking for an affordable and controllable outfield depth piece with some intriguing tools.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
How could they 🙁
They the Jakes now 🤷🏻♂️
What does MIL see in Bauers?
Had a better spring than hicklen….who was awful.
Not a good look for a team to dfa such an aptly named player.
How will the Brewers brew without a Brewer?
Booooo
So much hope for the bobble head later this summer. Was wondering if it could be put into the local Bobble head Hall of Fame when it was distributed at a game.
I can’t for the life of me understand why Bauers keeps getting opportunities. Especially with the Brewers, who like to pride themselves on being scrappy and intelligent…….
Not a big fan of Bauer, hopefully he proves me wrong.
Most Brewer fans were ready to run Bauers out of town last season prior to playoffs. Got lucky with one pinch hit HR in playoffs. Not worth a spot on this team. Why not give Hicklen, or any other free swinging minor league player a shot??? Tyler Black can hit .199 with one eye closed lol.
Black didn’t hit .199 in spring.. Just sayin’. Oh, yeah.. Bauers is a much better first baseman. Best glove at the position in the team.
The Brewers couldn’t let Brewer Hicklen steep any longer—time to pour him out of the roster.
Still seeing that name as Jack Bauer.
Read the article. Hicklen has struck out in eight of nine MLB PA’s. That’s 88% for the math challenged. Yet some Brewer fans are clamoring for this guy. Typical, as long as a player is a vanilla good ol’ boy. They want him on the team. Just last year they were excited about Bauers. C’mon, there needs to be changes within this franchise. Unless you’re satisfied with one and done playoff appearances?
ONE WS appearance in 50 plus years!!!