Milwaukee Brewers: Aaron Brooks claim off waivers

The Milwaukee Brewers have claimed a right handed pitcher Aaron Brooks off of waivers.

Brooks was selected off of outright waivers from the Chicago Cubs. He became available in reaction to the signing of Rene Rivera by the Cubs. After the claim, Brooks has been placed in Triple A for the Milwaukee Brewers. More information on the claim can be found here.

It is not out of the question to see Brooks in Milwaukee once September hits. The expansion of the roster could mean the new acquisition can impact the season. Though, his 6.20 ERA thus far in 2017 may throw a wrench in that idea.

Before this season, Brooks has been solid. His ERA in 2015 was in the mid three’s. And his shaky 2017 could be a result of a hip injury that erased his 2016 campaign. Even with the struggles this year, he is averaging a hair under seven strikeouts per nine.

There is room to argue that he take on a role in the bullpen creating groundballs in certain situations. He currently is throwing groundballs just about half the time. So he will miss barrels quite a bit. It could be a great add for a bullpen arm in the future.

The Milwaukee Brewers will be the fourth team for the 27 year old during his career. Brooks started with the Royals. However, he was traded to Oakland in 2015 along with Sean Manaea. Then, in 2016, he was dealt to the Cubs for Chris Coghlan. Finally, he was optioned and will not be throwing the ball for the Sky Sox.

He has already seen the MLB dream come to fruition. In fact, he saw time in Kansas City and Oakland. For his career, he is 3-5 with an 8.38 ERA and 40 strikeouts. However, of his 15 appearances, 10 of them were starts. To be fair, there is a chance for him to thrive given the correct role in the bullpen. But for now, he has given up 13 runs in nine innings as a reliever at the top level, which poses a huge obstacle for reliability.

Barring the injury riddled 2016, and the less than fantastic 2017, Brooks has been a solid pitcher throughout his career. He was selecting in the ninth round of the 2011 draft, and has proven to be able to compete. While he will never blossom into an ace, or maybe even a starter, his potential to fill a key relief role can silently be very important. It will all depend on what a new venue, and new coaching does to his game.

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Overall, this is a low risk move by the Milwaukee Brewers. If he never makes it to the MLB level, then there was no huge measure taken to get him. If he does grow into being a solid reliever, then claiming him will prove to be a very smart move.