Infielder who Brewers passed up on finally makes MLB debut with Giants

In a farm system as deep as the Milwaukee Brewers', there inevitably is not enough room on the big-league roster for every player that is performing well enough for a promotion in the minor leagues. Already this year, pitcher Jacob Waguespack has made the most of his MLB opportunity with the Detroit Tigers, as he owns a 1.66 ERA through 17 appearances.

That said, Milwaukee didn't have a clear path to adding Waguespack, a right-handed reliever, into their bullpen. Rather than stick around in Triple-A, he exercised a clause in his contract to become a free agent mid-season. Originally there were no takers, and Waguespack even re-signed with the Brewers, but with another opt-out clause approaching he was later traded to Detroit where a clearer path to the big leagues existed.

In similar fashion, now former Brewers minor league utility player Eddys Leonard has found his way onto the San Francisco Giants big-league roster. The 25-year-old was released on July 24, again likely due to an upward mobility clause in his contract, and made his long-awaited MLB debut on August 4 against the Texas Rangers before collecting his first hit a day later.

Former Brewers minor league standout Eddys Leonard is finally getting a chance in the big leagues

Leonard was signed to a minor league contract by the Brewers back in November of 2025. At the time of his release, he was slashing .287/.371/.502 with 12 home runs and 14 doubles. He spent just eight games with the Sacramento River Cats, the Giants' Triple-A team, belting four more home runs in that short span, before finally earning a promotion to the majors.

Power has always been a strong point of Leonard's profile, owning a career .458 slugging percentage in the minor leagues with 111 home runs across eight seasons. Historically, he does not strike out a ton either, hovering around the 20% range for his minor league career, while drawing walks at a fair clip, which gives him a decent floor as he makes the jump to face big league pitching.

Defensively, Leonard has experience at the corner infield spots, corner outfield spots, as well as second base San Francisco has been using him in left field in his first two games, but his versatility definitely gives him an advantage to get an extended look on a Giants team that sold at the trade deadline.

Now that Leonard has reached the major leagues with a team other than the Brewers, it will be interesting to see how he performs. Milwaukee clearly knew he was ready for the big leagues after his success at Triple-A Nashville, but the organization simply couldn't offer him a path to consistent playing time. That ultimately led Leonard to seek an opportunity elsewhere, where he'll finally have a chance to prove he belongs at the major league level.

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