Should the Milwaukee Brewers make Aaron Ashby a permanent relief pitcher?

The Milwaukee Brewers pitching lab has struck again! This time the lab has concocted some sort of magic potion that has solved Aaron Ashby's command issues. Well, it might have been the move to the bullpen, but the pitching lab potion sounds more fun.

As the calendar turned to August, so too was a new page turned for Aaron Ashby. August 2nd marked the beginning of a new role for the southpaw pitcher, one that has continued to late-September as the Milwaukee Brewers begin making preparations and evaluations for the postseason.

Ashby made seven relief appearances for the Nashville Sounds and the early returns of Ashby's new role were very encouraging. In those seven relief appearances, Ashby pitched 8.2 innings, gave up only four hits, six walks, and allowed six runs (four in his first appearance and two in his second followed by five scoreless), to go with 15 strikeouts.

That first relief appearance on August 2nd wasn't brilliance on the first try for Ashby, four earned runs due to three walks, two wild pitches and a hit by pitch, which were followed by a grand slam allowed by James Meeker in relief of Ashby who exited that game with the bases loaded.

His second relief appearance on August 6th, Ashby gave up a walk, a double and another walk in his second inning of work, Ashby was replaced by Kevin Herget who promptly gave up a two run single on the first pitch he threw, both runs charged to Ashby.

So while his first two relief appearances appeared shaky, the next five were nearly flawless. In five appearances basically every three days between August 10th and 23rd Ashby pitched 6.2 innings, allowed only two hits, one walk and zero runs while striking out 14 batters.

Aaron Ashby was then recalled to the Milwaukee Brewers on August 25th and a month later appears to be a lock for the Brewers post-season roster. Since returning to the major league club he's appeared in 11 games as a reliever, covering 18.2 innings and posting a 1.45 ERA.

Ashby has faced 73 batters in that time and allowed just 12 hits and walking three batters while striking out 28. There is absolutely no doubt that his command has improved significantly while working in shorter stints as a reliever.

Ashby's WHIP is just 0.80 as a reliever compared to 1.73 in the two starts he made earlier this season. He has pitched scoreless outings in 9 of his 11 appearances, including Wednesday night in Pittsburgh in relief of Freddy Peralta, who he shares a similarity with.

Aaron Ashby's contract

Aaron Ashby, like Freddy Peralta, was extended early in his career to potentially save the Milwaukee Brewers some money in the long term in exchange for some long term security for their pitchers.

Aaron Ashby's extension was given to him before his litany of shoulder injuries while he was still viewed as a starting pitcher. So the last question that remains, would the Milwaukee Brewers and Brewers fans be happy to have Aaron Ashby as a reliever at the salary he was originally signed to as a starting pitcher?

I believe the answer is yes, especially if he continues to be as reliable as he's been in the last month. Ashby's contract is for five years/$20.5 million. In 2024 he's making $1.45 million and the annual salary increases gradually before reaching it's peak at $7.7 million in the final year in 2027. Ashby's contract also carries two team options for 2028 and 2029 at $9 million and $13 million, so those two options aren't likely to be picked up if Ashby remains a reliever but up until 2027 may be reasonable.

Based on 2024 average annual values, $7.7 million would put Aaron Ashby just inside the top 30 of highest paid relief pitchers, if he continues to pitch as well as he has in the last month for the next two plus years and helps the Milwaukee Brewers make noise in the playoffs in that time, he'll be worth that money. Bottom line, Aaron Ashby has been incredibly effective and as they say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", keep Aaron Ashby in the bullpen long term.