The Milwaukee Brewers have one spot remaining to be filled in their bullpen after today’s earlier roster moves, and it appears as though the club is close to filling it. According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the club is close to signing free agent right-hander Jared Hughes.
Hughes, 31, was drafted by the Pirates in the 4th round back in 2006. That has been the only organization he’s known to this point. He debuted in the majors back in 2011 and he’s made 313 appearances across parts of 6 seasons in the big leagues since then. He owns a 2.82 ERA along with a 189:102 K/BB ratio and 62% ground ball rate across 309.1 innings pitched, and he has posted a better-than-league-average DRA in each season of his career. Last season for the Pirates, he posted a 3.03 ERA/4.08 DRA in 59.1 innings.
Hughes struggled this spring and was released in the midst of a bullpen crunch in the Pirates’ bullpen a few days ago. He relies heavily on a sinker, which averaged 93 MPH last season (his second highest mark in 6 seasons) and mixes in a slider, and more sparingly, a changeup and four-seam fastball.
The club has yet to confirm.
UPDATE:
The deal has been officially announced by the Brewers. You can read more about it here.
Statistics courtesy of Baseball Prospectus and Baseball-Reference