Milwaukee Brewers Acquire Lefty Reliever Xavier Cedeno From White Sox

The Milwaukee Brewers finally made another addition to their pitching staff on Friday, bringing in left handed reliever Xavier Cedeno from the Chicago White Sox.

While most Brewers fans were hoping for another starting pitcher, GM David Stearns instead acquires a reliever according to Ken Rosenthal.

The 32 year old Cedeno figures to take the place of Dan Jennings in the Brewers bullpen as the situational lefty. Jennings left Thursday’s game with an injury but he won’t require a DL stint. The Brewers have outrighted Nate Orf off the 40 man roster to make room for Cedeno.

Also, Cedeno still has one more year of team control, as he’s arbitration eligible this winter. He’s earning $1.05 million this season.

How Is Cedeno Pitching?

On the season, Cedeno has a 2.84 ERA in 33 appearances covering 25.1 innings pitched. He has a 9.9 K/9 this year and has walked batters at a 4.6 BB/9 rate.

Overall he’s pitched well this season, and he doesn’t allow many home runs. His main issue is walking opposing hitters. But most of his walks are to right handed hitters, and Cedeno’s main use will likely be as a LOOGY, who will only face lefties.

Against Cedeno, lefties have a .209/.277/.326 slash line this season, with 16 strikeouts in 43 total at-bats.

What Did The Brewers Give Up?

The Brewers are sending OF Bryan Connell and RHP Johan Dominguez in exchange for Cedeno. Connell is 19 years old and is hitting .239 with seven home runs this year. Dominguez is 22 years old and has a 0.82 ERA in 33 innings. Both were with the Helena Brewers.

Neither of these players likely figured into the Brewers long term plans, which made it much easier for the Crew to give them up for Cedeno.

It’s an interesting trade for the Brewers, as they seem to be replacing Dan Jennings who, according to Robert Murray of The Athletic, will not require a DL stint and should be good to go in a few days.

The Brewers have until midnight on Friday to make any more trades and acquire players that will be eligible for the playoffs.