Brewers promote reliever who last pitched for Milwaukee in 2023

Coleman Crow turned in another brilliant performance in his second major league start last night. The 25-year-old Crow, who tossed 5.1 innings and allowed just two earned runs in his MLB debut back in April, improved upon his debut outing by tossing five innings and allowing just one earned run for the Milwaukee Brewers in last night's win over the Minnesota Twins.

Unfortunately, as was the case with his debut on April 17, Crow's start yesterday was what is referred to as a "spot start." The term means that a pitcher is simply filling in for one turn in the rotation and regardless of how they perform, they won't remain with the big-league club going forward. It's not an easy role, being asked to deliver important starts for the major league club every once in a while and pitching for the Triple-A club in between, but it's one that Crow has filled successfully to this point in the season.

Unsurprisingly, given the fact that Crow's second major league start fell into this "spot start" category, the young right-hander was optioned back to Triple-A ahead of the second game of the series in Minnesota. The reasoning there is that if the Brewers aren't going to throw Crow when his spot in the rotation would come around again, they may as well replace him with an extra bullpen arm.

That extra bullpen arm is one Brewers fans should be familiar with. As announced by the team just moments ago, the Brewers have selected the contract of right-hander Peter Strzelecki, who pitched for the Brewers back in 2022 and 2023.

Brewers option Coleman Crow after second spot start of the season, Peter Strzelecki added to big-league bullpen

The Brewers signed Strzelecki as an undrafted free agent back in 2018, and four years later he made his debut for the big-league squad. His debut season was incredible; the right-handed reliever posted a dazzling 2.83 ERA in 30 appearances out of the Brewers' bullpen in 2022 while striking out 40 batters in 35 frames.

Strzelecki was off to a slower start in 2023 (4.54 ERA through his first 36 appearances), and after being optioned to Triple-A in late June, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks at the midseason trade deadline for southpaw Andrew Chafin in a deal that didn't work out great for either side. Brewers fans don't need to be reminded about Chafin's tenure in Milwaukee, but Strzelecki was never really given a chance in Arizona before he was designated for assignment ahead of the 2024 season.

Strzelecki ultimately landed with the Cleveland Guardians for the 2024 campaign, and despite finding a great deal of success (2.31 ERA), was limited to just 10 appearances sprinkled throughout the season. Cleveland, somewhat confusingly, designated him for assignment after the season, and he bounced around between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays' organizations in 2025, but didn't appear in a major league game.

The Brewers signed Strzelecki to a minor league pact shortly before Spring Training got underway this year, and he's since made 16 appearances for the Nashville Sounds. He holds a 4.12 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 19.2 innings of work in Triple-A this season and now gets his first chance in MLB in over a year.

Though Strzelecki had been mainly a four-seam-slider pitcher up to this season, the Brewers have implemented a sinker that the right-hander now throws far more frequently than his four-seam. A changeup that he's thrown roughly 17% of the time with the Nashville Sounds rounds out his four-pitch mix.

Expect Strzelecki in low-leverage, one-inning stints for now, but if the Brewers can unlock what they did during the 2022 season, the now 31-year-old, who is out of minor league options, could be a very exciting addition to Milwaukee's 'pen.

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