Brewers designate Braden Shewmake for assignment

The Brewers announced that infielder David Hamilton has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Fellow infielder Braden Shewmake has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Shewmake was just acquired from the Astros in a cash deal less than two weeks ago. Hamilton had landed on the IL a few days prior due to a hamstring strain, so Shewmake was slotted in as a bench infielder. He got into four games for Milwaukee, making eight plate appearances. He got two hits and struck out three times. He is out of options, so he has been squeezed off the 40-man now that Hamilton is ready to return.

He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Brewers could take as long as five days to explore trade interest. Shewmake has been outrighted before in his career, so he would have the right to elect free agency if that happens again.

Shewmake’s past pedigree is stronger than his recent performance. He is a former first-round pick, selected 21st overall by Atlanta in 2019. He was considered to be a sure-handed infielder and a threat on the bases but the bigger question was whether or not he would put on enough muscle to be any kind of threat at the plate.

A few years later, he hasn’t really developed any kind impact offense. He has a .196/.206/.320 line in 162 big league plate appearances. That’s a fairly small sample size, but he also has a tepid .240/.305/.382 line in 1,225 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level.

The limited profile has pushed him into journeyman status. He was traded to the White Sox a few years ago. In the 2024-25 offseason, he went to the Royals and Yankees via waivers. He exhausted his final option with the Yanks last year, then got outrighted off the roster in February of 2026. He was traded to the Astros in April and spent a few months on that club’s bench before being designated for assignment and flipped to Milwaukee for cash. He has now lost his roster spot again and will find out in the next week whether he’ll get another shot somewhere else.