How five former Brewers are doing on their new teams

The Milwaukee Brewers of 2022 look a lot like the 2021 version of the club. Nearly the whole pitching staff as well as the vast majority of the everyday starting lineup are the same faces from last season.

Minor contributors to the 2021 Brewers including Derek Fisher, Tim Lopes, Orlando Arcia, Luke Maile, Jacob Nottingham, Manny Pina and Travis Shaw all have found new homes for this season but have not experienced anything in the way of regular playing time at the big league level.

There are, however, five names that we saw on last year’s Milwaukee Brewers roster that have carved out regular playing time on their new clubs. Whether they’re performing well or not remains to be seen.

Let’s take a look at five former Brewers and how they’re doing with their new teams.

Note: stats are current as of the morning of May 11th, 2022.

5. 1B/DH Daniel Vogelbach – Pittsburgh Pirates

Big Dan Vogelbach, best known for his clutch “ultimate grand slam” in a Brewers uniform, got pushed off of the Crew’s roster with Rowdy Tellez in line for more playing time. Tellez and Vogelbach are essentially the same player in that they are both lefty power bats that are both defensively limited to first base. With the universal DH not yet a sure-thing at the time, the Crew elected to non-tender Vogelbach in favor of Tellez.

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Vogelbach to a one-year, $1MM contract in March. The deal contains $400K in incentives and comes with a club option for a second season should he succeed in Pittsburgh.

Serving as the club’s primary cleanup hitter and DH, Vogelbach has 24 appearances under his belt for the Buccos, hitting four home runs and driving in 11 runs, posting a 118 OPS+ as well. He is not in line to see much time against lefties this season (he is hitting just .188 in 19 plate appearances against southpaws so far) but continues to be a huge power threat when he makes contact.

#4 – INF Eduardo Escobar – New York Mets

Eduardo Escobar, another player that quickly won over the hearts of Milwaukee Brewers fans, came over to the club last season via trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks. He made defensive appearances at third base and – for the first time in his career, first base – down the stretch for the Crew.

On the offensive side of things, the switch-hitter has historically been a much better hitter against lefties than he is righties, but is passable against both-sided pitchers.

Signing a two-year contract with the Mets shortly before the lockout began, Escobar’s contract has a club option for a third season as well.

Functioning as the everyday third baseman for the Mets, Escobar has appeared in 29 contests for the club, hitting one home run, driving in seven and posting a .215/.328/.346 slash line. The addition of the designated hitter in the National League has opened the door for an expanded role for Escobar as he is an aging player at a premium defensive position, he will benefit immensely from the days he can be used as the DH.

#2 – RHP Hunter Strickland – Cincinnati Reds

Hunter Strickland, one of the most dominant arms in the Brewers bullpen last season, signed a one-year, $1.825MM contract with the Cincinnati Reds on the heels of a very strong performance in 2021.

In 36+ innings across 35 games for the Crew last year, Strickland posted a sparkling 1.73 ERA and a 247 ERA+, striking out 38 batters and walking just 12. He has shown glimpses of success multiple times over the course of his career, primarily at the back end of the San Francisco Giants’ bullpen, but has yet to achieve solid numbers across consecutive seasons.

To begin 2022, Strickland has struggled mightily in his first 13+ innings and 14 appearances. He has walked 14 batters and struck out just 11 while posting a 6.59 ERA and a just-as-scary 5.73 FIP. 10 earned runs in 13 innings for Strickland is not going to cut it if he hopes to stick around, even when he’s playing on a team as awful as the Cincinnati Reds.

#1 – OF Jackie Bradley Jr. – Boston Red Sox

Perhaps the one player on this list that Brewers fan will not miss, Jackie Bradley Jr. returned to the Boston Red Sox via trade in December of this past year.

Bradley, now 32, was quite literally the worst offensive player in the majors last season, posting a slash-line of .163/.236/.261 while striking out in a whopping 30% of his plate appearances. His OPS+ on the season was just 33. While his glove remained one of the very best in the league, his bat was dreadful and ultimately earned him a -1.9 oWAR on the year.

In the trade that netted the Brewers Hunter Renfroe, Bradley went back to Boston where he enjoyed a pretty successful eight-year run from 2013 to 2020, making an All-Star Game and earning a Gold Glove Award along the way.

To begin the 2022 season, JBJ has continued to slide – posting a .195/.271/.287 slash line with no home runs and 23 strikeouts through his first 97 plate appearances. While his 63 OPS+ is slightly higher than it was last season, this continued offensive slump has now stretched into a second year, certainly a cause for concern.

While the Brewers have turned Jackie Bradley Jr. into Hunter Renfroe, a few of these other names will be sorely missed amongst your everyday Brewers faithful. Now it’s up to the Crew to show that they can have sustained success without a lineup featuring Vogelbach, Garcia and Escobar.