Karsay spent over a decade in the big leagues, suiting up for five teams between 1993-2006. He’d eventually move into coaching in the Cleveland farm system before joining a big league staff over the 2018-19 offseason. The Brewers tabbed Karsay as bullpen coach for three seasons under Craig Counsell. He stepped down in January 2022 to spend more time with his family.

The 51-year-old is evidently now in position to return to a regular coaching role. He’ll oversee a relief corps that was one of the worst in the majors this year. Los Angeles finished 25th with a 4.88 ERA and struck out only 22% of batters faced, the fifth-lowest figure in MLB. Only the Rockies had a worse run prevention mark in the second half, as All-Star closer Carlos Estévez tailed off down the stretch. Among returning relievers with 20+ innings pitched, just Estévez and José Soriano allowed fewer than four earned runs per nine overall.

Upgrading the relief unit should be a clear priority for GM Perry Minasian and his front office. The Halos have already been linked to Robert Stephenson, arguably the #2 free agent bullpen arm available.

Best known for his 11 seasons as a big league hurler from 1993-2006, Karsay transitioned into coaching and spent seven seasons in Cleveland’s organization as a pitching coach at four different minor league affiliates.  Karsay took over as Milwaukee’s bullpen coach prior to the 2019 season, and Haudricourt put it, Karsay was “serving in essence as co-pitching coach” alongside formal pitching coach Chris Hook and associate pitching/catching/strategy coach Walker McKinven.

In Karsay’s three seasons with the Brewers, Milwaukee relievers have led all bullpens in strikeout rate (27.9%) and rank second in SIERA (3.78).  Such arms as Josh Hader, Brent Suter and Devin Williams have been the cornerstones of the pen, but the Brew Crew has also been successful in turning unheralded arms into valuable relievers or in mining bounce-back seasons from more experienced pitchers looking for a change of scenery.

Beyond Karsay’s departure, another change to Craig Counsell’s staff could be in the offing.  Single-A manager Matt Erickson is under consideration for a promotion to the Brewers’ coaching ranks in an unspecified role (though not bullpen coach). Milwaukee is known to be looking for a third hitting coach, or Erickson could possibly be added in a more general coaching capacity.  The Brewers currently have 10 members of their coaching staff, with an 11th to be filled once Karsay’s replacement is found.

Erickson is a longtime member of the organization whose only MLB playing experience came in a four-game cup of coffee with the Brewers in 2004.  Since retiring, Erickson has both coached and (since 2011) managed his hometown team, as the A-level Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are located near Erickson’s birthplace of Appleton, Wisconsin.

Berry, 35, recently wrapped up a 13-year career as an outfielder — one that included parts of five seasons in the Majors. The speedster was a frequent late-season pickup for playoff hopefuls seeking a pinch-running specialist. He logged 94 games with the 2012 Tigers as a rookie but never came close to that mark again, ultimately wrapping up his time in the Majors with a .262/.333/.364 slash with 29 steals in 31 tries over the course of 132 games.

Berry also played in parts of 13 minor league seasons, hitting .257/.350/.327 with a whopping 399 steals. The last of those 13 seasons came in the Brewers organization in 2018, and he’s since been working as a minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator with the Brewers organization.

The rest of the coaching staff will look familiar to Brewers fans. Pat Murphy returns for a sixth season as Craig Counsell’s bench coach. Jason Lane will be one of the two base coaches along with Berry — their specific base designation has not yet been specified. Hitting coach Andy Haines, pitching coach Chris Hook and bullpen coach Steve Karsay are all returning for their third years on the staff. Assistant hitting coach Jacob Cruz is back for a second season, and the Brewers are also returning Walker McKinven as their associate pitching, catching and strategy coach.

• As of last Tuesday, the Nationals had yet to speak with Ryan Zimmerman or his agents, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports.  Zimmerman is a free agent for the first time in his 15-year career, after the Nats spent $2MM to buy out their $18MM club option on the veteran first baseman for the 2020 season.  Back in August, Zimmerman said that remaining in Washington was a priority, and he was willing to play on a series of less-pricey one-year contracts.  Assuming he hasn’t changed that stance, Zimmerman could be viewed by the Nationals as something of a fallback, as the team may feel safe in first exploring other first base options.
• The Mets will interview Steve Karsay for their pitching coach opening, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.  Karsay is currently the Brewers’ bullpen coach, after spending 2012-18 as a pitching coach in the Indians’ minor league system.  Of course, most fans know Karsay best from his 11 seasons and 603 1/3 career MLB innings with five different teams (most notably the A’s, Indians, and Yankees) from 1993-2006.  Twins assistant pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and University Of Michigan pitching coach Chris Fetter are the only other known candidates linked to the Mets’ job.
• Between Will Smith, Mark Melancon, and Shane Greene, the Braves could be committing roughly $33.5MM in salary to three relievers next season, Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes.  Greene’s salary is still up in the air, as the Braves could potentially non-tender the righty rather than pay him $6.5MM in projected arbitration salary.  A non-tender or trade could be possible if the Braves are wary of overspending on their bullpen, since $33.5MM is rather a hefty sum for a trio that only featured one member (Smith) who posted really outstanding numbers in 2019.  Tucker observes that the Braves already have around $100MM (barring any more non-tenders) on the books for player payroll for next season, which leaves them with quite a bit of spending capacity if the team is willing or able to match its season-ending $144MM payroll figure from last year.

Hook has been with the organization for more than a decade, primarily working as a pitching coach at the minor league level before spending the 2018 season as the organization’s pitching coordinator. The 50-year-old had an 11-year professional playing career, including 65 2/3 innings with the Giants in 1995-96. He’ll be plenty familiar with a number of the team’s homegrown arms, having worked with them along the way in their journey to the Majors.

“I think when you know players and how they think, you can move them quicker,” said Hook of that benefit (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy). “That’s the way I feel. Even though I don’t know all of these pitchers, I know a good bit of them, and I feel like they trust me. If we trust each other, you can do good things with people.”

The 46-year-old Karsay was a pitching coach in the Indians’ system for the past seven years, including a 2016-18 run as the pitching coach in Triple-A Columbus, where he worked with promising young arms like Mike Clevinger and Shane Bieber, among others. Karsay collected 41 saves and posted a 4.01 ERA through 603 1/3 innings as a Major Leaguer from 1993-2006.

Barringer creates yet another opening the Astros need to fill after previous losing bullpen coach Doug White, hitting coach Dave Hudgens and assistant hitting coach Jeff Albert to other organizations (to say nothing of assistant GM Mike Elias heading to Baltimore as the new Orioles general manager). Barringer was the Astros’ assistant athletic trainer from 2017-18 and the organization’s minor league medical coordinator in 2016. Prior to that, he as a minor league athletic trainer with the Cubs and Diamondbacks for a combined five seasons.