Milwaukee Brewers: 4 Lefty relievers to target

The Milwaukee Brewers have two left-handers on their 40-man roster, and one of them is Brent Suter. They’ll need to add a lefty reliever or two before the start of Spring Training. We have four names they should look to add.

It was a surprise to see the Milwaukee Brewers non-tender both Dan Jennings and Xavier Cedeno. It made sense for the team to keep at least one, but probably not both. Now they have to look for another lefty to get left-handed hitters out in the late innings.

The team at Reviewing the Brew has scoured the list of available arms, and put together a list of the four best names available right now. FYI, Boone Logan…didn’t make our list.

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.

2. Justin Wilson

Justin Wilson put together three consecutive years with a WAR value over 1.0…and then he came to the Chicago Cubs and struggled. Wilson was awful down the stretch in 2017, but posted a solid season in 2018.

He managed a 3.46 ERA in 54 2/3 innings last year. He struck out 69, walked 33, and was tagged for five homers.

If the Milwaukee Brewers were to sign Wilson, he would add yet another power arm to the back end of the bullpen. Wilson’s fastball sits in the 95-to-96 MPH range, and can touch 97 MPH. He also has a useful cutter, and a passable slider in his arsenal.

Wilson wasn’t non-tendered or DFA’ed. This off season is his first foray into the free agent market without any years of team control remaining. He earned $2.7 million in 2017, and $4.2 million in 2018. He’s only 31 years old, and should look for a multi-year deal that pays $4 million to $6 million per season. The Milwaukee Brewers should have interest in Wilson if he can be persuaded to take a deal closer to the $4 million than the $6 million.

Wilson struggled against righties and in Wrigley Field last year. He posted a .318 wOBA against right-handers, compared to a .283 wOBA against left-handers. He also owned a 5.04 ERA in Wrigley Field. One of those will rarely be an issue with the Brewers, and the other can be managed.

1. Luis Avilan

Luis Avilan split his 2018 season between the Chicago White Sox, and the Philadelphia Phillies. He was non-tendered by the Phillies last week, and the Milwaukee Brewers should look to take advantage of the Phillies’ frugality.

Avilan manged a 3.77 ERA in 45 1/3 innings last year. He struck out 51, walked 18, and gave up three homers. He posted splits similar to Wilson last year with a .283 wOBA against lefties, and a .315 wOBA against righties.

Avilan earned $2 million last year in his third year of arbitration. He has one more arb-eligible season left, but it doesn’t really matter as he’s a free agent right now. He’ll either sign a one-year deal this year, and become a free agent next year, or look for a multi-year deal this year, and stay with the same team. Either way, he’s done with arbitration.

The Milwaukee Brewers could likely add Avilan to the mix on a one- or two-year deal that provides a slight raise over his 2018 salary. A two-year deal in the $5-to-$6 million range isn’t out of the question, and it won’t break the Brewers’ budget. Avilan is only in his age-29 season, and has been a solid performer for years. He’s not quite the power arm that Wilson is, but he also doesn’t have the control issues that Wilson is known for.