Brewers' recent trade acquisition likely to face former team after promotion to big-league bullpen

On Saturday afternoon, the Milwaukee Brewers acquired right-handed reliever Joel Kuhnel from the Athletics for cash considerations. Kuhnel, who signed a minor league contract with the Athletics during the offseason, was designated for assignment by the Athletics on Friday and lasted just one day on waivers before the Brewers scooped him up.

The Brewers, who are known for turning cast-offs from other organizations into key major league contributors, having immediate interest in Kuhnel had to be a concern for the Athletics, but the A's seemingly couldn't find another trade partner and accepted Milwaukee's offer shortly after designating the intriguing right-hander for assignment.

Now, with just hours remaining until the Brewers and Athletics open their three-game series in Las Vegas, Milwaukee has officially added Kuhnel to their big-league bullpen. Just moments ago, the Brewers announced that Kuhnel will replace right-hander Craig Yoho, who made two appearances against the Colorado Rockies this weekend and surrendered one earned run in three innings pitched, in the big-league bullpen.

Athletics could very quickly regret parting ways with Joel Kuhnel, who joins the Brewers' bullpen ahead of the two teams' series in Las Vegas

Kuhnel's DFA came as a surprise to many around the baseball world. The 31-year-old right-hander, who has compiled a total of just 119.1 innings of major league experience in parts of the last six seasons, has never posted eye-popping numbers, but he was off to a strong start in 2026.

Prior to a rough outing against the Chicago Cubs on June 4, during which Kuhnel allowed four earned runs in two-thirds of an inning, the veteran right-hander had a 2.88 ERA and even converted all four save opportunities that Athletics' manager Mark Kotsay awarded him. However, the one poor outing at Wrigley Field was apparently enough for the Athletics to cut ties with the crafty reliever.

Kuhnel isn't a big strikeout pitcher -- he currently sports a 13% strikeout rate that ranks him in the 2nd percentile among major league pitchers -- but his deep arsenal of pitches and low walk rate led him to success through the first two months of the 2026 campaign. Kuhnel relies mostly on a 94.3 mph sinker that he throws 53% of the time, but he also has the ability to throw a cutter and a four-seam fastball. When it comes to off-speed offerings, Kuhnel relies mostly on a slider to righties and a changeup to lefties, both of which he consistently lands in the strike zone.

The former Athletic is no doubt an intriguing addition to the Brewers' bullpen, and under the guidance of Jim Henderson, Chris Hook, and the Brewers' coaching staff, Kuhnel could quickly become an important piece of Milwaukee's 'pen. For now, he will likely ease into his role with the Brewers by handling low-leverage relief situations, but if he continues to find success like he did in April and May, he could soon start to make some high-leverage appearances for the Brew Crew.

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