MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers finally ran out of patience with homegrown right-hander Wily Peralta, the former 17-game winner and 2016 Opening Day starter who was designated for assignment Saturday amid a second straight subpar season.
Assuming the Brewers cannot trade Peralta, they will waive him in the coming days. If he clears waivers, he could opt for free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to the Minor Leagues, but that would mean forfeiting the more than $1.4 million left on his $4.275 million salary for this season.
The Brewers used the open roster spot to promote outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis from Triple-A Colorado Springs. He is expected to play a limited role off the bench.
"Asking someone to make a role change midseason is not easy," said Brewers general manager David Stearns of Peralta's move from the rotation to relief. "It just wasn't working as either side hoped it would."

The Brewers had been patient with Peralta because they hoped his power stuff would play in shorter relief stints. But he allowed 2.48 walks plus hits per inning in 17 1/3 innings as a reliever, including a discouraging outing in Washington on Sunday in which he surrendered seven earned runs on eight hits in 1 2/3 innings.
"It just wasn't working. He wasn't getting hitters out," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "Velocity isn't always the answer. It's certainly a good place to start, but the fact is unfortunately, just working with him and trying a few things, we've got to get outs. At this point, we weren't able to get outs, so it's time to make a change."
Peralta has been in the organization since he was 16, signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2006 for $450,000.

Anderson encouraged
Chase Anderson threw 36 pitches during a Saturday afternoon bullpen session that marked a significant step forward in his comeback from a left oblique strain. Anderson threw with more intensity than he did days earlier in Washington, and this time threw all four of his pitches.

"Last time was all fastballs. It's weird throwing a bullpen with all fastballs," Anderson said. "Arm feels great. I don't feel anything from the oblique. It's good stuff."
Anderson expects the next step with be another bullpen, again with greater intensity and more pitches. He would then face hitters in a simulated game before departing for a Minor League rehabilitation assignment.
If all goes well, the right-hander could return to the Brewers' rotation by mid-August.
Prospect Lara hurt
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Brewers infield prospect Gilbert Lara suffered a fractured right leg and dislocated right ankle during his first game following a demotion to rookie-level Helena on July 20. Lara, who was ranked 17th on MLBPipeline's preseason list of the top Brewers prospects but fell out of the new Top 30 released earlier this week, will undergo surgery next week, according to the newspaper.
The Brewers signed Lara for a club-record $3.2 million bonus in 2014.