LAS VEGAS — The Milwaukee Brewers have activated right-handed pitcher Joel Kuhnel following his acquisition from the Athletics for cash on Saturday, bringing him onto the roster prior to Monday’s matchup against the A’s as the team works to strengthen their injury-depleted bullpen.
To make room for Kuhnel, Milwaukee sent right-hander Craig Yoho down to Triple-A Nashville.
This season with the A’s, Kuhnel posted a 1-2 record along with a 4.21 ERA while recording four saves across 25 outings. During his final seven games, he surrendered seven runs on 12 hits over eight innings of work. His most recent appearance came Thursday when he gave up four runs in the ninth inning, taking the loss in a 7-6 setback to the Cubs.
Milwaukee has been hit hard by bullpen injuries recently, placing three left-handed relievers on the 15-day injured list within the past week: Rob Zastryzny (left trapezius strain), DL Hall (left pectoral strain) and Brian Fitzpatrick (left UCL strain).
Manager Pat Murphy indicated that Kuhnel will likely be deployed in various situations as needed.
“Obviously with pitching injuries, we need some depth,” Murphy stated prior to Monday’s contest. “So, how he’ll fit in, he’s probably not going to crack that leverage at the end, seven, eight, nine to start with. But depending on the game situation, depending on the health of those guys and how much they’ve pitched, we certainly wouldn’t shy away from using him in big situations.”
Yoho had been promoted on Friday and appeared in two of three games during Milwaukee’s weekend sweep at Colorado, surrendering one run on a home run across three innings of work.
Milwaukee also revealed Monday that veteran right-hander Jake Woodford, who was designated for assignment Friday, turned down an outright assignment to Triple-A Nashville and chose to become a free agent instead. Woodford, who came over from Tampa Bay one week before the regular season began, compiled a 1-0 record with a 6.94 ERA over 16 appearances for Milwaukee.
