Milwaukee Brewers: 4 Lefty relievers to target

4. Jerry Blevins

Jerry Blevins suffered through his first negative WAR season last year. He managed a -0.1 WAR according to FanGraphs.

Blevins posted a 4.85 ERA in 49 innings last year. He struck out 41, walked 22, and was tagged for six homers. His .341 wOBA against lefties was a departure from his usual sub-.300 wOBA against left-handers that he usually posts. It could have been a case of a DOA season with the New York Mets getting the better of him. He threw 7 2/3 innings in the final month of the season, and managed a 9.39 ERA.

The good news is that Blevins didn’t see a dramatic difference in velocity or diminished skills. His velocity was about the same as it had been for previous seasons, and there was an odd change in his batted ball results. For his career, Blevins has a 0.84 GB:FB ratio. Last year? It was 0.38. Blevins surrendered more fly balls, didn’t see a noticeable increase in homers, but still struggled. This could have been a case of the Mets’ outfield falling asleep or playing out of position instead of Blevins struggling.

Blevins has a proven track record, and he should only command a one-year deal at this point. 2019 is Blevins age-35 season, and he needs to prove that he’s still capable of getting lefties out. He earned $7 million last year, and there’s no way he gets a Major League deal worth anything near that. A one-year ‘prove it’ deal worth $2-to-$3 million is about all Blevins can expect at this point.