Milwaukee Brewers: Josh Fields Inks Deal, Adds To Bullpen Depth

On Tuesday it was reported that the Milwaukee Brewers have signed Josh Fields to a contract for the 2019 season.

According to Robert Murray of The Athletic, the Milwaukee Brewers signed RHP Josh Fields to a minor league contract.

Fields, 33, will join the Crew at American Family Fields of Phoenix in their limited remaining time at the complex this year.

Who Is Josh Fields?

For the past two and a half seasons, Fields has been a member of the bullpen for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 124 appearances covering 117.1 innings for the Dodgers, Fields has a 2.61 ERA. He’s actually been a very productive member of the bullpen over his career. Last year, Fields posted a 2.20 ERA in 41 innings of work.

Fields has a career 3.71 ERA. He spent the first three and a half seasons of his career with the Houston Astros. He was with the Astros at the same time as current Brewers GM David Stearns, back when he was the Astros’ Assistant GM.

Fields pitches much better against righties than he does against lefties. He has allowed a .212/.275/.357 slash line against righties in his career. Against lefties, Fields has allowed a .242/.308/.413 slash line.

Over the past two seasons with the Dodgers, Fields has posted an 88.1% and 86.8% left-on-base percentage. Whatever runners he inherits, they don’t score on him very often. Fields also works primarily with a fastball-curveball combination in his arsenal.

The one thing about Fields that isn’t optimal is that he’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher, nearly half of batted balls off him have gone in the air in his career. Fortunately, he’s been able to keep a relatively low HR/FB ratio, but he’s also been pitching in Dodger Stadium the past few years, which is friendlier to pitchers than Miller Park is.

Back on March 10th, the Dodgers released Fields after he was designated for assignment three days prior. He missed two months last season with shoulder inflammation.

What Will The Brewers Do With Josh Fields?

It’s a minor league deal for Fields with an invite to big league camp. He likely won’t make the initial 25 man roster because it’s getting late in spring training, but he’ll most likely be up in Milwaukee at some point this season and could carve out a nice role for himself.

He’s been a stable member of big league bullpens for the past several seasons. He might need a little time to get up to speed, but he can definitely earn a spot in the early innings with this bullpen group.

Part of the Crew’s depth was eaten away with Bobby Wahl‘s ACL injury, and Fields helps replace that void. With Jeremy Jeffress also unlikely to make the Opening Day roster, the Milwaukee Brewers won’t have their bullpen at full strength. Fields brings big league experience and past success to this bullpen group.

This is a great signing by the Brewers bringing in a veteran arm to supplement their bullpen group that isn’t starting out the strongest because of a few injuries.

The Milwaukee Brewers pride themselves on the depth of their roster. Fields makes the pitching staff even deeper. With a lot of shuffling between Triple-A and MLB, Fields is joining that carousel of pitchers going up and down this season.