Brewers acquire left-handed reliever Alex Claudio from Texas in exchange for draft pick
LAS VEGAS – In what had been quiet winter meetings for the Milwaukee Brewers, they did pick up help for their bullpen before leaving town Thursday.
The Brewers acquired left-handed reliever Alex Claudio from the Texas Rangers in exchange for their Competitive Balance Round A draft pick in 2019 (39th overall pick). Claudio, 26, was placed on the 40-man roster, which now stands at 37, and is arbitration-eligible for the first time.
The Brewers non-tendered two left-handed relievers who were arbitration-eligible – Dan Jennings and Xavier Cedeño – so Claudio gives them an option to fill one of those spots. He does have minor-league options remaining, which was key to the Brewers’ interest.
“Claudio is a pitcher we’ve had our eye on for some time,” general manager David Stearns said. “He has been one of the more consistent and durable left-handed relief pitchers in baseball over the last couple of years.
“He still has plenty of team control remaining, so it was a logical fit. So, we were happy to be able to line up with Texas.”
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Claudio is a finesse pitcher who does not throw hard – his fastball averages in the mid 80s (mph) – but has good deception in a side-arm delivery and relies heavily on his changeup. After a strong 2017 (4-2, 2.50 ERA, 11 saves in 70 games), he struggled more for the Rangers last season, going 4-2 with a 4.48 ERA in 66 games.
Claudio pitches to contact and that did not work in his favor last season. Opponents batted .366 on balls put in play, compared to .269 the previous season. He also struggled mightily against right-handed hitters, who compiled a .933 OPS against him.
“The underlying metrics were very similar last year,” Stearns said. “He’s a guy who puts a ton of balls on the ground. He’s got huge ground-ball rates (63% for his career). Every now and then, you have years where the ground balls find holes, and that’s what happened to him last year.”
“If possible, we wanted to add someone in this space. The most important thing is, as we look at our bullpen going forward, complementing the group that we have, is finding pitchers that have the ability to go multiple innings. Finding pitchers who have some flexibility in terms of their role. And (having) options is something that’s important to look at.
“So, Claudio checks all of those boxes. We’re excited to have him. We think he’ll fit nicely in our pen.”
Overall, Claudio posted a 13-6 record with a 3.20 ERA and 12 saves in 208 games over five seasons with Texas.
Stearns said the trade coming before the winter meetings ended was mostly coincidental. He had been talking with the Rangers for a few weeks about Claudio and the negotiation happened to reach the finish line before he headed back to Milwaukee.
“I’m happy that we’re adding a good player to our major-league team but it really doesn’t matter to me if it happens now or Jan. 15 or Feb. 15. Our goal is to build a team that’s ready for opening day. Obviously, there are tweaks to be made during the regular season as well.
“We’re happy whenever we think we’re making our team better, and we think we did with this move.”
Stearns will continue to monitor the relief market as well as starting pitching. He remains on the hunt for an established second baseman as well, be it via trade or free agency.
Asked if he was leaving the meetings with any "boiling pots" on the Brewers' hot stove, Stearns smiled and said, "Simmering, maybe. We have a number of ongoing conversations, similar to how we entered this week.
"I imagine we will keep those going in the coming weeks. Then, it generally quiets down around Christmas and New Year's, then you pick back up in January."
Rule 5 draft: The Brewers did not make any selections in the major-league phase of the Rule 5 draft of unprotected players, nor did they lose any from their system. The Brewers did select two players in the Class AAA phase – middle infielder Julio Garcia from the Los Angeles Angels system and catcher Alexander Alvarez from Tampa Bay’s system.
Garcia, 21, a switch-hitter, was a Class A Midwest League all-star for Burlington last season who Brewers pro scouting supervisor Bryan Gale said is a solid defender who still has offensive upside. Alvarez, 22, also played in the Midwest League at Bowling Green and has potential behind the plate.
“We are excited to add a catch-and-throw guy like him to the organization,” Gale said. “Young catching depth is always something we are on the lookout for.