Milwaukee Brewers sign Michael O’Neill and Aaron Kurcz to minor league deals

The Milwaukee Brewers have announced that they’re adding more veteran depth to their farm system. The Crew has signed outfielder Michael O’Neill and pitcher Aaron Kurcz.

The 26-year-old O’Neill was drafted by the Yankees in 2013. He became a free agent in 2017 and signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. O’Neill has spent most of his time in the minors in Double-A. Last season, he made it to Triple-A for the first time in his career, granted for only six days. Across his two levels, he hit .251/.313/.394 in 522 PA with 12 HR, 31 SB and 127 Ks.

Kurcz is a 28-year-old righty who brings the heat. He was drafted out of the College of Southern Nevada by the Chicago Cubs. He has made it as high as Triple-A, with a 4.13 ERA over 181 innings with 184 K against 77 BB at the level. Despite an exciting profile, Kurcz spent a few months playing ball in Mexico. This winter, he has been taking to Twitter to petition for a job, showing off his 99 mph fastball.

In 2016, FanGraphs ranked Kurcz as the Oakland A’s 23rd-best prospect. They graded his fastball and slider as future plus tools, but gave a 40 to his changeup and control. Fun fact: Bobby Wahl also made that list at 13.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference