MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers remained active on the waiver wire Monday, claiming 29-year-old right-handed reliever Steve Geltz from the Rays in a move to acquire additional bullpen depth.
It was Milwaukee's third waiver claim in 11 days, a spree that began Nov. 18 when the team claimed power-hitting Milwaukee native Adam Walker from the Twins. Walker's stay on the Brewers' overflowing 40-man roster was a brief one; he was designated for assignment to make room for Geltz.
Armed with a 91-95 mph fastball, a slider and a splitter he uses as a changeup, Geltz has pitched in the Majors for Tampa Bay in parts of three seasons. His best year was 2015, when he made a career-high 70 appearances with a 1.05 WHIP and a 3.74 ERA. In 2016, Geltz had a 5.74 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP in 27 Major League appearances.
In parts of eight Minor League seasons in the Angels' and Rays' systems, Geltz has struck out 11.8 batters per nine innings.
He's the second experienced addition to the Brewers bullpen in less than a week. Five days ago, the Brewers claimed 31-year-old Blake Parker off waivers from the Angels.
"I don't think this will be the last move we make with the bullpen over the next couple of months," Milwaukee general manager David Stearns said. "It will be a constant effort by us to get different looks, different skill sets and give ourselves the best opportunity to put together a strong pen heading into next season."
The Brewers hope Walker clears waivers and remains in their Minor League system.
"This time of year, a lot of players make their way through waivers as teams juggle their rosters and begin to prepare for the Rule 5 Draft and set up their 40-man [rosters] for the Winter Meetings," Stearns said. "We begin to see a significant amount of waiver activity. Sometimes that means you have to expose a player we just claimed. As always, it's a little bit the cost of doing business. We felt the opportunity to get a player like Geltz was worth that exposure."