Brewers infielder Mike Brosseau has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. That leaves Brosseau to remain as a member of the Brewers organization going forward, though he won’t occupy a 40-man roster spot. The club had previously designated Brosseau for assignment last week. Brosseau had the option to reject the outright assignment, though in doing so would have forfeited the remainder of his $1.4MM salary this season.
Acquired from the Rays during the 2021-22 offseason, Brosseau had a solid first season in Milwaukee in 2022 as a bench player. In 160 plate appearances across 70 games, Brosseau slashed .255/.344/.418 with a wRC+ of 118 while playing mostly third base for the club. That production earned Brosseau a roster spot with the club entering the 2023 campaign, though things did not go as well in Brosseau’s sophomore season in Milwaukee. Brosseau’s BABIP, which stood at .345 last year, cratered to just .224 in 78 plate appearances this season. Combined with a dip in walk rate, that drop in BABIP caused Brosseau’s production to drop to just .205/.256/.397 with a well below-average wRC+ of 74.
While Brosseau struggled badly with the Brewers in the majors this season, it’s easy to see why the club would want to retain him as a depth option moving forward. Since making his debut with the Rays in 2019, Brosseau owns a career slash line of .242/.313/.428 with 26 home runs in 647 career plate appearances. All that adds up to a wRC+ of 105 that registers as slightly above average, which when combined with his ability to play all four infield spots and both outfield corners makes for a very useful bench option.
Unfortunately for Brosseau, the Brewers are overflowing with similar utility options on their 40-man roster. Brian Anderson, Brice Turang, Willy Adames, and Owen Miller are currently handling the club’s infield on a daily basis in the big leagues. Andruw Monasterio and Jahmai Jones are the top options off the bench, while Luis Urias and Abraham Toro are both currently in the minors acting as depth already on the 40-man roster. With Brosseau so blocked, it seems likely that the club would have to clear space in their infield through either a rash of injuries or, perhaps, moves at the trade deadline on August 1 for Brosseau to return to the majors with the club this season.
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