Milwaukee Brewers sign Brad Boxberger to minor league deal, per report

According to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, reliever Brad Boxberger has reached an agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers for a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

Boxberger, 32, has had a couple of very good seasons, including his 2015 All-star season with the Rays when he recorded a league-leaded 41 saves and struck out 74 over 63 innings. In 2018, he put up 32 saves for the Diamondbacks, striking out 71 over 53 innings pitched.

The years between the successful 2015 and 2018 were injury-ridden for Boxberger. He spent 2019 in a sign and release cycle that involved the Royals, Nationals, and Reds’ systems before landing with Miami in 2020. He put up a 3.00 ERA and struck out 18 across 18 innings and pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in the playoffs. To put that in perspective, he pitched fewer innings in the abbreviated 2020 season than his injury-shortened seasons. He has pitched more than 30 innings in only one of the past five seasons.

What Box can bring to the Brewers will depend largely on whether when he can stay healthy. If so, the Brewers could be getting a versatile and valuable reliever. He can close or act as a setup reliever and a limited 2020 sample suggests he’s maintained the velocity he’s had in his more successful seasons. With nine seasons that include injury, recovery, an immaculate inning, and postseason and All-Star appearances, Boxberger could potentially bring experience, insight, and tenacity to a talented and young Brewer bullpen.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference