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Kevin Herget

Mets Claim Kevin Herget From Brewers

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The Mets have claimed right-hander Kevin Herget off waivers from the Brewers, per a report from Robert Murray of FanSided. There had been no prior indication that Herget was designated for assignment, though with today’s deadline to activate players from the 60-day injured list plenty of 40-man roster movement is to be expected around the league.

Herget, 34 in April, signed a minor league deal with the Brewers last offseason after being cut loose by the Reds. He went on to get a limited amount of big league action in the majors in 2024, tossing 11 1/3 innings for Milwaukee with two earned runs allowed. In Triple-A, he had a larger sample of work, posting a 2.27 earned run average in 47 2/3 innings. He struck out 32.4% of batters faced at that level while only giving out walks 6% of the time.

The Mets were apparently intrigued by those strong numbers, grabbing Herget off waivers today. The Mets just lost Brooks Raley, Adam Ottavino, Ryne Stanek and Drew Smith to free agency so they have filled in some lost bullpen depth with this claim. Despite his age, Herget is still in his pre-arbitration years and is therefore cheap and can potentially be controlled for years to come.

Brewers Designate Enoli Paredes For Assignment

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The Brewers announced that right-hander Kevin Herget has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville. fellow righty Enoli Paredes has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Paredes, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in the offseason. He started the year with 18 strong Triple-A appearances, allowing 1.31 earned runs per nine innings. His 11% walk rate in that time was high but he struck out a huge 41.5% of batters faced and also got grounders on 56.8% of balls in play, earning himself a call-up to the big leagues.

Since then, the surface level results have been good, though with less impressive stuff under the hood. He spent about two months on the injured list from early July to the middle of September but has tossed 20 2/3 big league innings around that. The 1.74 ERA looks impressive but his 16.7% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate are both subpar, while his 44.8% ground ball rate is right around league average. He’s been helped by a .224 batting average on balls in play and 84% strand rate, which is why his 3.56 FIP and 4.95 SIERA are both far higher than his ERA.

It seems the Brewers didn’t expect him to maintain his run prevention and bumped him off the roster. He’s out of options, so they had to cut him from the 40-man entirely. He won’t have much short-term appeal on the waiver wire since he won’t be postseason eligible with any acquiring club.

Paredes can be retained for four seasons beyond this one. Perhaps some club will be intrigued by his dominant form in the minors earlier this year and put in a claim with long-term goals. However, his major league results this year line up with his longer track record. He pitched for the Astros from 2020 to 2022, logging 32 1/3 innings with a 3.90 ERA, 23.6% strikeout rate, 19.7% walk rate and 44.7% ground ball rate. If he were to go unclaimed, he could elect free agency by virtue of having a previous career outright.

Brewers Outright James Meeker

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TODAY: Meeker has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

June 11: The Brewers announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Carlos Rodriguez, a move that was reported last week. To get him onto the active roster, righty Kevin Herget was optioned to Triple-A Nashville. To open a 40-man spot, righty James Meeker was designated for assignment.

Meeker, 29, was just added to the club’s roster on Friday. He made his major league debut that night, tossing one scoreless inning before getting optioned the next day when the club signed Elieser Hernández.

Though it’s surely tough to lose his roster spot so quickly, the fact that he even made it at all is something for Meeker to be proud of, given his long and unusual path to the majors. He went undrafted in 2018 and then spent a few years in Indy Ball. He got a minor league deal with the Brewers in 2021 when he was already 26 years old.

He spent the past few years climbing up the ladder, including 27 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this year. He has a 2.67 earned run average on the farm so far this year with a 27.3% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate. He’s generally been a ground ball pitcher throughout his time in the minors, keeping batted balls on the dirt roughly half the time.

The Brewers will now have a week to trade Meeker or pass him through waivers. Players with three years of service time or a previous career outright can reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, but Meeker doesn’t meet either of those requirements. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, he’ll stick with the Brewers as a depth arm without taking up a roster spot.

Brewers Designate Mitch White For Assignment

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The Brewers announced Thursday that right-hander Mitch White has been designated for assignment. His spot on the active roster goes to righty Kevin Herget, who has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville.

Milwaukee acquired White from the Giants in exchange for cash just under three weeks ago. San Francisco had also designated the right-hander for assignment prior to that swap. White made six appearances with the Brewers, pitching 8 1/3 innings and yielding six earned runs on eight hits and four walks (two of them intentional). He punched out six batters. On the season as a whole, White has tossed 23 2/3 innings and been roughed up for a 7.23 ERA between the Blue Jays, Giants and Brewers. He’s fanned just 11.8% of his opponents against a matching 11.8% walk rate.

White, 29, has pitched in parts of five big league seasons. Once a prospect of note within the Dodgers organization, the 2016 second-rounder had a nice early-career run in L.A. before stumbling following a trade to Toronto. In 105 2/3 frames as a Dodger, White recorded a 3.58 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate. He’s since pitched to a 5.45 ERA with a diminished 17.7% strikeout rate.

White is out of minor league options, so the Brewers didn’t have the choice to send him to Triple-A. He’ll either be traded, placed on outright waivers or released within the next week. Because of that lack of options, any team to claim White or make a small trade for the righty will need to carry him on the big league roster.

Brewers Select Kevin Herget

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The Brewers announced they’ve selected right-hander Kevin Herget onto the MLB roster in advance of tonight’s game in Kansas City. Janson Junk was optioned to Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move. To create space on the 40-man roster, Milwaukee transferred Jakob Junis from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list.

Milwaukee also announced that starter Freddy Peralta will begin serving his five-game suspension tonight. The right-hander received the ban after MLB determined he intentionally threw at Rays outfielder Jose Siri last week. Players suspended for on-field rules violations cannot be replaced on the roster. The Brewers will play with 25 men for the next few days.

Herget returns to American Family Field for his second stint of the season. Milwaukee signed him to a minor league deal in Spring Training and selected his contract two weeks into April. They designated him for assignment a few days later and passed him though waivers. The 33-year-old accepted the minor league assignment and is back after making six more appearances in Nashville. Five of those were scoreless. Herget has had one nightmare outing where he was tagged for five runs in an inning and a third. Otherwise, he has kept opponents off the board this season.

The Brewers never called upon Herget during his first stay in the big leagues, so he’s still looking to make his team debut. He has pitched for the Rays and Reds over the past two years. In 31 1/3 innings, he owns a 5.74 ERA with a well below-average 12.4% strikeout rate. Herget has allowed 4.23 earned runs per nine across parts of seven seasons in Triple-A. His 22.8% strikeout percentage at the top minor league level is closer to average. He also consistently throws strikes, walking fewer than 7% of Triple-A opponents and only 4.4% of batters faced in his limited MLB work.

Junis has been out since April 3, when he landed on the IL with a shoulder impingement. The 60-day minimum is retroactive to the time of his initial placement on the injured list. He’ll be out of action until at least the start of June. Junis’ rehab hit a scary setback when he was struck in the head by a fly-ball during batting practice a couple weeks ago.

The righty was taken to a hospital for further evaluation but thankfully indicated a few days later that he didn’t suffer any serious injuries. He has been lightly throwing recently but will still need to build his pitch count and embark on a minor league rehab assignment. Junis started the season in the rotation after signing a $7MM free agent deal over the offseason. The Brewers have suggested he might work out of the bullpen once he’s ready to return.

Brewers Outright Kevin Herget

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Right-hander Kevin Herget has cleared waivers and been outrighted by the Brewers to Triple-A Nashville, per Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Brewers had designated the righty for assignment on the weekend.

Herget, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in the offseason. He had his contract selected April 9 and was bounced off the roster five days later without making an appearance. Prior to joining the big league club, he made four scoreless appearances in Triple-A, striking out five batters while only issuing one walk. He also had two scoreless appearances in Spring Training.

Though he didn’t get into a big league game with the Brewers, he has 31 1/3 innings of major league experience with the Rays and Reds. He has a 5.74 earned run average in that time, striking out just 12.6% of batters faced but limiting walks to a tiny rate of 4.4%. His work in the minors has naturally been more intriguing. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has tossed 230 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 3.86 ERA, 24.1% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate.

Herget has been outrighted before in his career, which gives him the right to reject this outright assignment and elect free agency. It’s not yet clear whether he’s chosen to report to Nashville or head back out to the open market.

Brewers Claim Corbin Martin

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The Brewers have claimed right-hander Corbin Martin off waivers from the Diamondbacks, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Hogg adds that right-hander Kevin Herget was designated for assignment to make room for Martin on the club’s 40-man roster. The Brewers subsequently optioned Martin to Triple-A.

Martin, 28, was a second-round pick by the Astros in the 2017 draft and, after dominating the Double-A level of the minors in his first full pro season, garnered plenty of top-100 prospect buzz prior to the 2019 season, even making his big league debut early in the season. Martin’s rise was thrown off course by him undergoing Tommy John surgery midway through the 2019 campaign, but that didn’t stop Houston from packaging him alongside Seth Beer, JB Bukauskas, and Josh Rojas to acquire future Hall of Famer Zack Greinke from the Diamondbacks in a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline that summer.

The right-hander’s career began to come off the rails once he arrived in Arizona, however. Martin missed the entire 2020 season while rehabbing from surgery and didn’t make his organizational debut with Arizona until May of that year. He struggled through 43 1/3 innings of work split between the major league level and Triple-A that year, posting a whopping 10.69 ERA in five big league appearances along with a 5.93 ERA in 27 1/3 frames with the club’s affiliate in Reno. Martin’s struggles continued in 2022 as Martin pitched to a 4.84 ERA and 4.59 FIP in seven appearances for the big league club. The righty spent the majority of the season in the minors before once again being shut down due to injury in August of that year.

That proved to be the last time Martin would pitch in the majors for the Diamondbacks. The right-hander missed the entire 2023 campaign after suffering a lat tendon tear in his right shoulder that ended up requiring surgery. He returned to action with the beginning of the 2024 season, but allowed a 9.00 ERA in three innings of work before being designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks last week.

Now with the Brewers, Martin will be reunited with Bukauskas as a potential bullpen option in Milwaukee, though the right-hander will begin his tenure with the club in the minor leagues. Given Martin’s previous prospect pedigree and impressive results when healthier earlier in his career, the Brewers are no doubt hoping they can tap into some of that potential Martin has flashed throughout his career now that he’s fully healthy. If he does enough to earn himself an opportunity in the majors, he’ll enter the club’s middle relief mix alongside the likes of Bryse Wilson and Thyago Vieira.

Making room for Martin on the Brewers’ 40-man roster is Herget, who was selected to the club’s roster earlier this week after signing with Milwaukee on a minor league deal last month. The 33-year-old ultimately did not make an appearance with the Brewers at the big league level, though he had posted 5 1/3 scoreless innings of work in Triple-A. After being drafted by the Cardinals in the 39th round of the 2013 draft, Herget bounced around the minor leagues before eventually making his big league debut with the Rays in 2022. He’s made brief cameos in the majors in each of the past two seasons with Tampa and Cincinnati, pitching to a combined 5.74 ERA and 4.56 FIP in 31 1/3 innings of work. The Brewers will now have one week to waive, trade, or release Herget.

Brewers Select Kevin Herget, Option Aaron Ashby

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The Brewers announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Kevin Herget, with left-hander Aaron Ashby optioned in a corresponding move. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, righty Devin Williams was transferred to the 60-day injured list. It was reported a few weeks ago that Williams has stress fractures in his back and will be out of action for about three months.

Herget, 33, has logged big league time in each of the past two seasons, spending the 2022 campaign in the Rays organization and the 2023 season with the Reds. He’s posted a 5.74 ERA in 31 1/3 MLB frames, with a 12.6% strikeout rate that’s only a bit more than half the league average but an outstanding 4.4% walk rate. Herget delivered pedestrian numbers in 47 1/3 Triple-A innings with the Reds’ top affiliate last season but was excellent in Triple-A with the 2022 Rays when he racked up 97 1/3 frames with a 2.95 ERA, 24.4% strikeout rate and pristine 3.9% walk rate.

Though Herget doesn’t throw hard (92.6 mph average fastball) or miss many bats, his command is sharp. He’s only walked 6% of the hitters he’s faced in pro ball, including just 6.3% in parts of seven Triple-A seasons. He’s walked only one of his 17 opponents (5.8%) in 4 1/3 shutout innings to start the Triple-A season with the Brewers’ affiliate in Nashville. Herget also has a pair of minor league options remaining, so if the Brewers decide this will be a short stint in the big league bullpen, he can be sent back to Nashville without first needing to clear waivers.

Optioning Ashby is the latest discouraging development in what’s been a frustrating couple of years for the former top prospect. The now-25-year-old lefty debuted late in the 2021 season and impressed down the stretch, fanning nearly 30% of his opponents in 31 2/3 innings. Ashby split the 2022 season between the Brewers’ rotation and bullpen, pitching quite well through the season’s first few months — so much so that Milwaukee signed him to a five-year, $20.5MM contract extension.

That hasn’t gone nearly as well as hoped. Ashby posted a decent 4.23 ERA with a 4.31 FIP and much more promising 3.44 SIERA in his final 38 1/3 innings that season. He fanned 26.1% of his opponents, issued walks at a 9.1% clip and kept the ball on the ground at a 57.4% rate in ’22 following the extension.

Shoulder troubles popped up in 2023, however, eventually requiring arthroscopic surgery. Ashby wound up pitching just seven innings all season — all of which came in the minors. He returned this season but was rocked for 11 runs (nine earned) on 14 hits and five walks with seven punchouts in just 8 1/3 spring innings. His regular season began with a the left-hander yielding eight runs (four earned) on six hits and a pair of walks in 3 2/3 innings. Ashby averaged 96.5 mph on his sinker in 2021 and 95.8 mph in 2022; he’s sitting at just 93.8 mph to begin the current season.

The Brewers are surely still hopeful that Ashby can rebound to an extent. Whether he factors into the rotation or eventually settles in as a bullpen piece, the former fourth-round pick has shown clear ability to miss bats and generate grounders at a premium level. Command has long been an issue, and Ashby probably won’t ever excel in that regard, but he could still play a prominent role on the team if he can get back to the 27.1% strikeout rate, 12.6% swinging-strike rate and 34.1% opponents’ chase rate he displayed in 2021-22.

Under the terms of that previously mentioned contract extension, Ashby is being paid $1.25MM in 2024. He’s owed salaries of $3.25MM, $5.5MM and $7.5MM from 2025-27, and Milwaukee has club options on what would’ve been his first two free agent seasons: $9MM in 2028 (with a $1MM buyout) and $13MM in 2029.

Brewers Sign Kevin Herget To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers recently signed right-hander Kevin Herget to a minor league contract. He’s in big league camp and made his spring debut yesterday, tossing a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts against Texas.

Herget became a minor league free agent at the start of last offseason. The 32-year-old had logged a career-high MLB workload with the Reds a season ago. He pitched in 14 games and tossed 24 1/3 innings of mostly low-leverage relief. He allowed 5.18 earned runs per nine with a well below-average 12.4% strikeout rate. Herget missed more bats at the Triple-A level, where he fanned 22.7% of opponents in 47 1/3 frames. His 5.13 ERA in the minors wasn’t far off his big league work, largely on account of an elevated home runs rate (1.52 HR/9).

A former 39th-round pick, Herget has spent a decade in professional baseball between five organizations. He first reached the majors two seasons back, making three appearances for the Rays. Herget has logged 31 1/3 innings of 5.74 ERA ball at the highest level. He owns a 4.25 mark over parts of six seasons at Triple-A.

Herget brings plenty of upper minors experience to Milwaukee camp. He’s likely to start the year as a long relief depth option at Triple-A Nashville. He still has a pair of minor league options remaining, so the Brewers could freely move him between the majors and Nashville if they add him to the 40-man roster at any point.

Five Reds Elect Free Agency

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Five players who spent time with the Reds in 2023 are now free agents, per the transaction log on MiLB.com: Michael Mariot, Alejo López, Matt Reynolds, Kevin Herget, and Alec Mills. All five were designated for assignment and sent outright to Triple-A at some point during the year. Following the conclusion of the regular season, they had the right to elect free agency, a right which they have now exercised.

Mariot pitched in one game for Cincinnati in 2023, marking his first big league appearance since 2016. Over the past seven years, he has signed minor league deals with the Reds, Padres, Royals, Phillies, and Tigers, as well as contracts with teams in the Atlantic League, the Mexican League, the American Association, and the Chinese Professional Baseball League. While his MLB stint with the Reds didn’t last long, it’s undeniably impressive that the 34-year-old righty made it back to the big leagues after so much time away. In all likelihood, he will look to sign another minor league contract for 2024.

Unlike Mariot, who has bounced around quite a bit throughout his professional career, López has played in the Reds organization since the team selected him in the 27th round of the 2015 draft. The utility man made his major league debut in 2021 and earned semi-regular playing time in 2022, appearing in 61 games with a .645 OPS. Unfortunately for López, he was designated for assignment before the 2023 season, and with so much infield depth on the roster, the Reds only selected his contract for a couple of brief stints with the big league club; he appeared in one game, hitting a double and scoring a run. Still just 27 years old and with an option year remaining, he’ll look to latch on with a new club in need of infield (and outfield) depth this offseason.

Despite playing 92 games for the Reds last year, Reynolds didn’t stick around long in 2023. He was DFA’d in January but had his contract selected again in April after Wil Myers hit the injured list. He remained on the roster for just over a week, appearing in two games. Out of minor league options, he was DFA’d again once Myers returned and spent the rest of the season at Triple-A, splitting his time between all four infield positions. Reynolds has played in the majors in six of the past seven seasons, and after posting an .865 OPS at Triple-A, the versatile infield defender and former second-round pick should be able to find another minor league deal over the winter.

Following an impressive performance at Triple-A, Herget made his MLB debut last season at 31 years old. In three appearances for the Rays, he gave up six runs in seven innings of work, but evidently, he did enough to earn a more extended look with the Reds in 2023. After signing a minor league deal with Cincinnati over the offseason, Herget had his contract selected in early April. Across five separate stints with the big league club, he threw 24 1/3 innings, winning a game and collecting a save. While he gained more MLB experience this year, Herget failed to produce encouraging numbers at either the major or minor league level, posting an ERA over five at each. As a free agent, he will have the opportunity to negotiate a new minor league deal. Alternatively, he could choose to return to independent league ball, having previously played in the Atlantic League and the American Association.

Mills is perhaps best remembered for his 2020 campaign with the Cubs, his only season as a full-time starting pitcher. He finished with five wins in 11 starts, including a no-hitter against the Brewers on September 13. Following a less effective season in 2021 and an injury-marred campaign in 2022, Mills was sent outright to Triple-A and elected free agency after the season. He signed a minor league deal with the Reds in 2023 and spent most of the year at Triple-A Louisville, posting a 6.10 ERA in 12 games (nine starts). In his lone MLB appearance, he gave up five runs (two earned) in a single inning of work. While it has been a couple of years since he last looked like a capable big league pitcher, the 31-year-old righty will presumably look to sign a new minor league deal.

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