Brewers add intriguing KBO arm Gerson Garabito on minor league contract

Seemingly every offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers make at least one under-the-radar trade or signing that eventually becomes a key piece of their major league roster. Whether it was adding Grant Anderson in what looked to be an inconsequential trade with the Texas Rangers last winter, trading Abraham Toro for Chad Patrick the offseason prior, or signing Blake Perkins and adding Isaac Collins in the minor league Rule 5 draft the year before that, the trend has caught the attention of Brewers fans, who know now to never overlook a signing or trade no matter how insignificant it may initially seem.

The Brewers' front office just made a move that could easily be this year's diamond in the rough signing. Joining Milwaukee on a minor league pact is former Texas Ranger Gerson Garabito, as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Curt Hogg on the social media platform X.

As noted by Hogg, the deal also includes an invitation to big league camp, a sign that Milwaukee thinks highly of Garabito's abilities. He will join the Brewers' big league squad, and, more importantly, the pitching lab down in Maryvale next February.

Brewers sign former Texas Ranger and KBO right-hander Gerson Garabito to minor league deal with an invitation to big league camp

Initially signed as an international free agent by the Kansas City Royals back in 2012, Garabito has 10 years of experience in the minor leagues. He finally debuted in MLB back in 2024, when he served as a long-reliever for the Rangers, and despite a strong start to his major league career, a tough month of September left Garabito with a pedestrian 4.78 ERA at the end of his rookie campaign.

However, when the 2025 season rolled around, Garabito found himself on the Rangers' Opening Day roster, once again ready to offer multiple innings of relief out of Texas' bullpen. After three poor appearances, however, Garabito was optioned to the Rangers' Triple-A squad, where he pitched for the next two months. The now-30-year-old Garabito found very little success with Texas' Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express, and on June 14, the Rangers released him from their organization.

Garabito pivoted, joining the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization in an effort to prove to other MLB teams that he was not only a productive arm, but one who could start games at the big league level. In the KBO, Garabito did exactly what he needed to; he posted a 2.64 ERA in 15 starts, while striking out 84 opposing hitters in just 78.1 innings pitched. That performance was enough to earn him a minor league contract and an invitation to Spring Training with one of the best pitching development organizations in all of baseball, the Brewers.

Garabito's arsenal falls into the "kitchen sink" category. In 2024, back when Garabito had a major league sample size large enough to draw conclusions from, he featured a low-90s fastball 38% of the time, but that pitch's usage was closely followed by a curveball that is closer in shape to a sweeper, which Garabito threw 34% of the time. With a changeup, sinker, and seldom-used slider to go along with his two main offerings, Garabito should have the ability to find success against both righties and lefties, which was the case back in 2024. In fact, during his 2024 season, Garabito was actually more effective against left-handed batters than he was against right-handers. Additionally, though he wasn't a big strikeout pitcher during his rookie campaign in 2024, Garabito showed a knack for both inducing soft contact and not issuing free passes to opposing hitters.

It's likely that the Brewers, who have a tendency to try and turn relief arms into starting pitchers, envision Garabito in a starting role going forward. He not only has the arsenal of pitches to face a lineup more than one time, but Garabito was a starting pitcher throughout his minor league career.

It's an excellent foundation to build from, and if there's one organization who can unlock Garabito's full potential, it's the Brewers. It's another savvy, low-risk, high-reward move from Matt Arnold and the Brewers' front office, one that provides them with valuable, versatile pitching depth.