For the second straight off-season, Alex Claudio has signed with an organization on a minor league contract. Prior to the start of the 2022 season, he signed with the Mets. This year, he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. Claudio had previously spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons with the Brew Crew.
As a member of the Brewers, Claudio posted a 4.06 ERA in 2021 and 4.26 in 2020. He led the league in appearances in 2021 with 83. The soft tossing left-handed pitcher has a deceptive delivery and generates a lot of ground balls courtesy of his primary pitch, a sinker. He has a career 59.8% ground ball rate and tends to throw in the mid 80’s velocity wise.
Todd Rosiak and Adam McCalvy both reported the news on Claudio signing a minor league contract with the Brewers. It also includes an invite to spring training.
Brewers have signed old friend LHP Alex Claudio to a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training.
— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) January 3, 2023
Blast from the (recent) past: The Brewers signed LHP Alex Claudio to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Major League camp. If you still have your No. 58 jersey, you’re in luck.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) January 3, 2023
Prior to arriving in Milwaukee, Claudio made a name for himself as a member of the Texas Rangers. He posted four straight seasons of ERA’s under 3.00 until having a 4.48 ERA in 2018. That off-season he was traded to the Brewers.
After leaving Milwaukee, Claudio went onto pitch in the major leagues for the Angels and Mets. He threw just three big league innings in 2022 and spent most of his time at the Triple-A level. At Syracuse in 2022, he had a 3.91 ERA in 48.1 innings pitched.
Claudio’s signing with the Brewers is likely a move to improve their pitching depth. Last year left-handed throwing Hoby Milner became a good option out of the bullpen and he excelled at not allowing inherited runners to score. The Brewers have also added a bunch of new pitchers to the 40-man roster who will also be competing for bullpen roles.
Because Claudio’s deal is a minor league deal, he likely will begin the year in Triple-A. He could be a dark horse candidate to make the big league roster out of camp, but it would take an incredible run during spring training in order to do so.
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