Brewers News: Milwaukee loses struggling reliever to Astros, 2024 Draft class wraps

The Milwaukee Brewers designated Janson Junk for assignment on Sunday to clear roster space for Devin Williams. They tried to sneak him through waivers and if he did, they could've outrighted him to Triple-A Nashville.

Instead, the Houston Astros swooped in and put in a waiver claim for the 28 year old right hander. Junk will immediately join the Astros 40 man roster.

Janson Junk claimed off waivers by Astros

Junk was already approaching the limit for the number of times the Brewers could option him to Triple-A this season. He had already been called up five times and sent down four times during the season. When players started to return from the 60 day IL and 40 man spots were at a premium, Junk ended up losing his.

The Brewers acquired Junk from the Angels back in November 2022 in the Hunter Renfroe trade. After one season in right field, the Brewers sent Renfroe to LA for a package of three pitchers including Junk, Elvis Peguero, and Adam Seminaris. Junk was seen as the headliner at the time since he was a starting pitching option. However, since then it's become clear that Elvis Peguero was the best addition as he's carved out an important role in the Brewers bullpen.

Junk made just seven appearances over the last two seasons with the Brewers, spending most of his time in Triple-A. Five of those appearances came this year, all in the bullpen, and Junk pitched to a 6.75 ERA in 8.0 IP.

Junk never gained a foothold in the majors in Milwaukee. Perhaps he can carve out a role with Houston.

Brewers round out Draft class

The Brewers finished up their 2024 Draft class with the signing deadline passing yesterday. Milwaukee ended up not signing their Competitive Balance B pick Chris Levonas, who opted to attend Wake Forest instead.

That's a very big blow to the Brewers overall Draft class. Instead of signing Levonas, the Brewers used the leftover money to ink Tyler Renz, the Crew's 18th round pick, to an $850,000 bonus.

Milwaukee signed three other Day 3 picks to over-slot bonuses, including 13th round pick Joey Broughton ($535,000), 15th rounder Travis Smith ($462,500), and 16th round pick Jayden Dubanewicz ($665,000).

Missing out on Levonas puts a big damper on the Crew's 2024 Draft. He was one of the two pillars this class was built around. They will receive the 68th overall pick in the 2025 Draft as compensation for not signing Levonas.