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The Brewers have made a roster move today, with Slingin’ David Stearns trading out one former Houston Astro for another. Earlier the club announced via Twitter that they had designated outfielder Alex Presley for assignment, and in his place they have purchased the contract of utilityman Jake Elmore from AAA Colorado Springs.
Presley made his Brewers’ debut on April 21st and clubbed three home runs within his first 12 games in Milwaukee. The 30 year old quickly came back down to earth, however, and a .269 OPS in June brought his season slash line down to .198/.271/.293 across 129 plate appearances. He graded out as a negative defender in the outfield as well with -4 Defensive Runs Saved in 222.2 innings.
Elmore, originally a 34th round draft pick by Arizona in 2008, will be joining his fifth major league team in the last five seasons after spending 2012 with Arizona, 2013 with Houston, 2014 with Cincinnati, and 2015 with Tampa Bay. The recently-turned 29 year old is a utilityman extraordinaire and has appeared at every position in the big leagues including pitcher and catcher. He has spent most of his time at shortstop and second base and while he is quite versatile, he’s never graded out as a strong defender at any given position. He owns a career .215/.277/.288 batting line with four home runs in 379 plate appearances.
Elmore signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee prior to this season and was enjoying a highly successful campaign for the Sky Sox before his promotion, becoming a fixture on the leaderboards during our weekly “Down on the Farm Report.” In 57 games in AAA he posted a .313/.422/.373 slash with two home runs and 13 steals, which still comes out to a 123 wRC+ even after factoring in the park adjustment for hitter-friendly Colorado Springs. Perhaps even more impressive was his 19:26 K/BB ratio. Elmore’s presence gives the club yet another threat to get on base via the free pass, and he’ll also serve to help the club fortify their infield depth on a short bench.
Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs