The Milwaukee Brewers added some marginal bullpen depth Friday afternoon by signing former Cubs pitcher Julian Merryweather to a minor-league deal. This comes after the 33-year-old reliever opted out of his Mets contract, reports Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Could he show up in the Brewers pen sometime in September?
Milwaukee Brewers seek to make rival reliever latest reclamation success
The short answer is probably not. Merryweather struggled with the Cubs both this season and last, pitching to a 6.15 ERA in 33.2 innings. Not surprising to see Chicago cut him, allowing Merryweather to sign with New York at the end of May. He did not appear in a major league game for the Mets.
Two years ago, the erratic right-hander was actually quite good for the Cubs. Although the walks remained high at 4.5 per nine, he allowed only 58 hits in 72 innings and struck out 98. He went 5-1 with a pair of saves and a 3.38 ERA.
That’s the only time Merryweather has pitched well on an MLB mound in six seasons. His strikeouts dipped in both 2024 and ’25 while walks are still an issue. He has also surrendered 41 hits. In that time, batters have smacked him around for an OPS over .860.
Endowed with ample bullpen depth, the Brewers should not need Merryweather’s services, but perhaps they can parlay the reclamation project signing into a decent arm later. In fact, that’s kind of their thing.
Among key reliever cogs, Nick Mears, Grant Anderson, and Jared Koenig have all enjoyed success in Milwaukee after struggling elsewhere. It has been no small change, either. Each of them have gone from ERAs well over 5.00 to the low-3.00s or better during their time with the Brewers. Maybe the organization can work some similar magic on Merryweather.
While the latter is headed for Triple-A Nashville, the big-league group can look forward to reinforcement this weekend versus the Mets in the form of Shelby Miller.
Acquired at the trade deadline from Arizona, he went smoothly through rehab and was activated Friday afternoon ahead of the series. With the Diamondbacks this season, he posted a 1.98 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 36.1 innings.
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