After trades, Brewers make moves to fill big-league roster holes

By Dave Heller
Published

After dealing away four players on their big-league roster, the Milwaukee Brewers had some holes to fill.

With two outfielders (Carlos Gomez and Gerardo Parra) and two pitchers (Mike Fiers and Jonathan Broxton) no longer on the team, Milwaukee has called up three players from Triple-A and acquired another pitcher on waivers.

Coming up from the Triple-A Colorado SkySox are outfielder Logan Schafer, utility player Elian Herrera and pitcher Tyler Thornburg. In addition, Milwaukee claimed pitcher Preston Guilmet off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The left-handed hitting Schafer can play any of the three outfield positions. The third-round draft pick of the Brewers in 2008 has played 245 games with Milwaukee, including 22 this season when he batted 182/270/273 in 40 plate appearances. Schafer was hitting 258/292/342 with Colorado Springs.

Herrera was acquired off waivers from the Dodgers in November 2013. He has played 107 games with the Brewers in two seasons. In 38 games this year, Herrera batted 212/259/374 while playing at second base, third base, right field and left field. The 30-year-old was hitting 357/413/490 at Triple-A.

Thornburg, Milwaukee's third-round pick in 2010, struggled in six relief appearances earlier this season with the Brewers, allowing 13 runs (six earned) on 16 hits in 9 2/3 innings. Strictly starting at Colorado Springs, in 17 games this season he is 2-7 with a 5.28 ERA and 1.602 WHIP.

This will  be the seventh major-league team for Guilmet since April 2014. He was traded from Cleveland to Baltimore on April 7, 2014, purchased by Pittsburgh in October of that year then claimed off waivers by Toronto in December. In May 2015, Tampa Bay claimed him off waivers and three months later the Dodgers did the same thing. Just three weeks later, Milwaukee claimed him from L.A.

Through all that, Guilmet has pitched in just 17 MLB games and only three this season. In 21 career innings he has a 6.43 ERA and 1.333 WHIP. With three minor-league teams this year, Guilmet has a 1.95 ERA and 1.113 WHIP in 32 1/3 innings.

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