The Milwaukee Brewers have had one of those in the last two years best bullpens in baseball. Last season, they finished second in all MLB leagues (behind only Cleveland Rangers) with ERA 3.11. In 2023, they trailed only the New York Yankees with an ERA of 3.41. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Brewers also won the National League Central Division in each of the last two seasons.
Just over a week ago, Milwaukee traded two-time All-Star Devin Williams to the Yankees for left-handed starting pitcher Nestor Cortes and shortstop prospect Caleb Durbin. While losing Williams is certainly a blow to the bullpen, it’s not like the Brewers would benefit from having him through 2024. As fans may recall, the 2020 NL Rookie of the Year missed the first few months of the season due to stress fractures in his back.
Still, Williams is one of the best relief pitchers in baseball. As Milwaukee prepares for a future without him, they need to make sure their bullpen is just as good, if not better, than when he was with the team.
Milwaukee Brewers could sign Andrew Kittredge from St. Louis Cardinals
Of course, brewers don’t have a gigantic budget to work with. Therefore, they will have to find hidden weapons to fill their bull. According to Patrick McAvoy from Sports illustrations, Andrew Kittredgewho spent 2024 with the St. Louis Cardinals, could be one of those arms.
“One player to pay particular attention to is former St. Louis Cardinals, Andrew Kittredge, McAvoy wrote. “He’s someone the Brewers probably had a good look at against St. Louis in the league. The Cardinals had one of the best bullpens in baseball last year, and Kittredge was a gigantic reason for that.
Kittredge played in 74 games last season, posting a 2.80 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. The number of games/innings he was able to log would be attractive to the Brewers, who had just seen Hoby Milner sign with the Texas Rangers after Milwaukee did not tender him (Milner had made more appearances than any Brewers pitcher in the last four seasons). .
What’s also intriguing about Kittredge is that he’s not a closer. He recorded 16 career saves in eight MLB seasons. Instead, he is a solid back arm that can be used to position Trevor Megill or any other player Milwaukee selects as their closer, if they select one player at all. Since it’s not closer, Kittredge won’t be pricey.
In 2021, Kittredge made his first and only All-Star team while playing for the Tampa Bay Rays, the team he spent the first seven years of his career with. This year, he appeared in 57 games, posted a 1.88 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, and struck out 77 batters in just over 71 innings of work.
It was also the year in which his number of saves was the highest in his career (eight).
Milwaukee has already added some intriguing weapons to its bullpen, but adding Kittredge certainly wouldn’t hurt.
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