Brewers Outright Jose Veras, Who Plans To Elect Free Agency

The Brewers entered the offseason with three potential question marks in their bullpen as Kameron Loe, Manny Parra and Jose Veras were all candidates to be non-tendered instead of receiving arbitration offers this winter. They've answered one of those questions by outrighting Veras off the 40-man roster.

Adam McCalvy initially reported that Veras has opted to become a free agent immediately, which is basically a paper transaction because he would have had enough service time to become a minor league free agent anyway. Now, however, McCalvy is reporting that the waiver process has yet to run its course so Veras isn't a free agent yet.

If a team claims Veras off waivers they would still have the right to offer him arbitration for next season. MLB Trade Rumors predicted that Veras would get $2.6 million in his third arbitration season. If no one claims him, he'll become a free agent as predicted above.

2012 was Veras' seventh major league season and his first as a Brewer. He posted a 3.63 ERA over 72 appearances but walked 5.4 batters per nine innings and allowed a 1.507 WHIP. He'll almost certainly catch on somewhere this winter, but probably for less than what he would've gotten in arbitration. He still could re-sign with the Brewers.

Veras was acquired a year ago in a deal that sent Casey McGehee to Pittsburgh. In a related note, MLBTR reports that McGehee also elected free agency after being outrighted today.