Brewers: 3 Non-Tendered Relievers Who Are Worth Targeting

LHP Chasen Shreve

No, left-handed reliever Chasen Shreve didn’t have a sub-1.00 ERA like Wisler and Tropeano in 2020. But he would fill a need that opened up for the Brewers after the non-tender deadline passed.

Similar to Tropeano, Shreve was also signed to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training, but by the Mets as opposed to the Yankees. He was added to the roster before the shortened 2020 season began and remained on the roster all season.

Shreve appeared in 17 games and had a 3.96 ERA (3.99 FIP) over 25 innings pitched with a career low 1.160 WHIP.

Shreve set a career best in strikeouts per nine at 12.2 and his 4.3 walks per nine was right around his career average. It was his hits per nine, though, that improved quite a bit in 2020 as his 6.1 mark was a career best and well below his 7.7 career average.

As one of the few lefty relievers who was non-tendered this offseason, Shreve could be of particular interest for the Brewers. He would fill a role vacated by the aforementioned Claudio, whose departure leaves Josh Hader and Brent Suter as the only left relievers on the roster.

It would be a bit of a shift in style from, though. As a harder thrower than Claudio, Shreve is much better at racking up strikeouts. However, Shreve doesn’t induce as much soft contact as Claudio, with the latter ranking in the top 97th percentile in hard hit percentage and exit velocity and the former ranking in the bottom 25th percentile in each.

This would be another decision that comes down to the dollars. While Claudio was projected in the $2.0MM to $2.3MM range by MLB Trade Rumors, Shreve was projected for just $800k to $1.1MM. Those savings for the similar production could point Milwaukee to Shreve over another Claudio reunion.

Of course there are plenty of others relievers for Milwaukee to choose from this offseason. But to get the most bang for their buck, these are three who would make a lot of sense to make Brewers in 2021.