Crew inks reliever Grimm to Minors deal

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers added a potential bullpen piece on Wednesday by striking a Minor League deal with veteran right-hander Justin Grimm, who may be familiar to Milwaukee fans from his five years with the rival Cubs from 2013-17.

Grimm's contract includes an invitation to big league camp, where he will compete for a spot in a bullpen undergoing a major overhaul. On Monday, the Brewers non-tendered their two most-often used relievers in 2019, left-hander Alex Claudio and right-hander Junior Guerra.

In parts of seven Major League seasons, the 31-year-old Grimm has a 4.98 ERA in 356 innings. He has pitched exclusively in relief since going from the Rangers to the Cubs in the July 2013 trade that sent Matt Garza to Texas, compiling a 4.33 ERA, a .225 opponents’ average and a 1.30 WHIP in 287 career appearances out of the bullpen.

Grimm split the 2018 season between the Royals and Mariners, and then spent time with the Indians, Dodgers and Reds in '19 but didn’t pitch in the Majors. At Triple-A for the Dodgers and Reds last year, he struck out 11.6 batters per nine innings but posted a 5.23 ERA in 52 games.

With the departure of Claudio (Major League-leading and franchise record-tying 83 regular-season appearances) and Guerra (72 outings), Matt Albers, Drew Pomeranz and Jay Jackson all gone via free agency and Jeremy Jeffress' release at the beginning of September, Brewers bullpen jobs are up for grabs at the moment. They do have Josh Hader, though they reportedly are open to offers for the lefty relief ace. And the club is hopeful about comebacks for Corey Knebel and Bobby Wahl from injuries.