Brewers promote right-hander from 2024 trade with Orioles to big-league roster

Milwaukee Brewers fans might remember the brief stint that right-handed reliever Thyago Vieira had with the big-league club back in 2023 and 2024. Vieira made a total of 18 appearances out of the Brewers' bullpen during the final month of the 2023 campaign and the first two months of the 2024 season. However, one would certainly earn the respect of their peers if they could accurately name what team the Brewers traded Vieira to in May of 2024 and who they acquired in return from said team.

To spoil the suspense, that team was the Baltimore Orioles, and the Brewers acquired right-hander Garrett Stallings from the AL East club in exchange for Vieira and right-handed pitcher Aneuris Rodriguez. The reason for the Vieira discourse on this random Tuesday in 2026 is that earlier today, Milwaukee announced that Stallings has been promoted to the major league squad for his MLB debut. In a corresponding move, the Brewers have sent left-hander Robert Gasser to the Arizona Complex league in what is simply a savvy move to get another arm in their bullpen for the next week.

Brewers option Robert Gasser to minor leagues to add extra relief arm for the next week

The now-28-year-old Stallings was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Angels out of the University of Tennessee in the 5th round of the 2019 draft, and in the time since has logged nearly 600 innings in the minor leagues. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling the 2020 minor league season and the Angels trading Stallings to the Orioles in December of 2020, the right-hander never actually pitched in Los Angeles' system.

Working as both a reliever and a starter, Stallings posted mediocre numbers in the Orioles and Brewers' farm systems. That said, he's been better over the last two seasons, pitching for the Nashville Sounds. Stallings maintained a 3.99 ERA with a 1.20 WHIP in 99.1 innings last year and held a 3.45 ERA with a 1.28 WHIP in 62.2 innings prior to his promotion this year.

Stallings has three fastball shapes -- four-seam, sinker, and cutter -- none of which exceed an average velocity of 92 mph. He pairs those three fastballs with a slider that he mostly throws to righties and a changeup which is used to neutralize left-handed pitching. He is likely to be used in a low-leverage long relief role on the Brewers' big-league roster -- a role Milwaukee certainly needs amid their grueling stretch of games.

Meanwhile, the Gasser demotion to the minor leagues comes as a bit of a surprise, but the rationale behind the move makes complete sense. Gasser started last night's series opener against the Cincinnati Reds and, after throwing 96 pitches, won't be available until next week's series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Generally, a pitcher going down to the minor leagues means that they can't rejoin the big-league roster for 15 days after their demotion unless they are replacing an injured player. However, those rules don't apply to the 27th man of a doubleheader roster, meaning Gasser can rejoin the Brewers' rotation for their twin bill against the Cardinals next Tuesday. As a result, Milwaukee adds an extra arm to their bullpen, Stallings, without having to jeopardize Gasser missing his next start. It's an incredibly savvy move from the Brewers front office.

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