The Brewers introduced a trio of strikes Saturday, together with Jared Koenig’s placement on the 15-day injured record because of left forearm tendinitis. Milwaukee has chosen the contract of left-hander Rob Zastryzny from Triple-A to take Koenig’s spot on the lively roster, and to create a 40-man roster spot, outfielder Chris Curler was designated for project.
With a 1.66 ERA over 38 innings this season, Koenig is the most recent in an extended string of unheralded pitchers to all of a sudden emerge as key members of Milwaukee’s bullpen. After spending a lot of his profession in impartial leagues and the Australian Baseball League, Koenig didn’t even make his debut in affiliated baseball till he pitched for the Athletics’ Double-A affiliate in 2021, and he made his MLB debut within the type of 39 1/3 innings of 5.72 ERA ball with Oakland in 2022. He then spent 2023 with the Padres’ Triple-A squad earlier than being launched, and he signed a minors take care of the Brewers final November.
Milwaukee chosen Koenig’s minors deal to the large league roster in mid-April, and whereas he was optioned a few instances, the southpaw has remained on the 26-man for the reason that begin of Could since he was merely pitching too nicely to demote. Koenig’s 89.7% strand price and .238 BABIP are doing plenty of the heavy lifting on that ERA, however his 3.42 SIERA continues to be greater than respectable, and generated by a 49.5% grounder price and above-average strikeout and stroll numbers. Koenig’s sinker has a modest 94.5mph common velocity, but it surely rapidly change into a devastating pitch that has restricted hitters to a .276 wOBA this season.
The 30-year-old’s breakout 12 months has now sadly been halted by this damage, which Koenig instructed reporters, together with Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, has been a problem “for the previous few weeks.” He’ll obtain an MRI on Monday to find out the extent of any harm, although Koenig’s feeling is that the crew’s medical workers “are usually not overly involved” for now.
With Koenig sidelined, the Brewers will exchange him with one other left-hander signed to a minors deal within the offseason. Zastryzny is a veteran of 5 MLB seasons, pitching with the Cubs from 2016-18 after which with the Mets, Angels, and Pirates in 2022-23, as these two stints had been sandwiched round a three-year hole of time within the minors and the canceled 2020 minor league seasons. Zastryzny has a 4.70 ERA over 59 1/3 innings and 45 complete appearances within the Present, together with his 4.79 ERA in 20 2/3 innings with Pittsburgh final season.
The numbers have been higher on the Triple-A stage for Zastryzny over the previous few seasons, with a selected spike upward in his time with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate — a 3.18 ERA, 34.2% strikeout price and seven.2% stroll price in 28 1/3 innings in Nashville. It will likely be fascinating to see if this manufacturing can carry over to the majors and whether or not or not the Brewers would possibly’ve revived one other pitcher, as Zastryzny joins Bryan Hudson and Hoby Milner because the left-handed choices in Milwaukee’s bullpen.
The 27-year Curler was a Thirtieth-round choose for the Dodgers within the 2017 draft, and his lengthy street within the minors lastly resulted in a cup of espresso within the Present this season. Curler appeared in a single recreation for the Brewers, pinch-hitting and taking part in three innings as a defensive sub in middle discipline in Milwaukee’s 10-2 win over the Pirates on Could 15, earlier than being optioned again to Triple-A a number of days later.
Curler has been within the Brewers’ group since Milwaukee acquired him in a commerce with the Guardians final August. The 27-year-old’s Triple-A efficiency has been fairly respectable over his profession, although it has been dragged down by a .201/.238/.321 slash line in 168 PA with Nashville this season. It was sufficient for the Brewers to determine make Curler the odd man out of the roster combine, so he’ll now be uncovered to the DFA wire earlier than Milwaukee can probably outright him off the 40-man.
