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There is no 60-day disabled list during the MLB offseason, so now that the World Series is over it’s time for teams across the league to start getting their 40 man rosters in order. That includes our Milwaukee Brewers, who activated three players today and sent one of them to the open market:
C Stephen Vogt, RHP Jimmy Nelson and LHP Brent Suter have been reinstated from the 60-day disabled list. Vogt cleared outright waivers and elected free agency. The 40-man roster now stands at 37. pic.twitter.com/u7bcWzF4m3
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) November 1, 2018
Stephen Vogt, who arrived in the org via waiver claim in the summer of 2017, was expected to compete with Jett Bandy for the backup catching job in Spring Training after batting .254/.281/.508 with eight home runs in 45 games for Milwaukee. But shoulder problems landed him on the disabled list to begin the year, and after three rehab games with Biloxi in early May, it was discovered that he damage to the rotator cuff, capsule, and labrum in his throwing shoulder that required surgical repair. As a result, Vogt missed the entire season.
Vogt (who turns 34 today!) stayed with the team throughout their run into to the playoffs, even helping to catch bullpens once he was healthy enough (without throwing, of course). But given his arbitration projection of $3.065 mil, it always seemed likely that the team would choose to non-tender him, which they essentially did by passing him through waivers and outrighting him off the 40 man roster, allowing him to elect free agency. The Brewers don’t have a ton of catching depth in the upper levels of their system, so Vogt could be a candidate to return on a minor league deal assuming his shoulder returns to good health.
Nelson, 29, also missed the entire 2018 campaign while recovering from a shoulder injury of his own. He’s expected to go through a “normal” offseason, though, and should be ready to pitch in the Cactus League next spring. Suter, 29, spent a good chunk of the season in Milwaukee’s starting rotation and posted a 4.44 ERA in 20 games (18 starts) and 101.1 innings before undergoing Tommy John surgery in August. He won’t be able to get back on the mound until late next season, if at all.
Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs