Brewers Designate Rob Zastryzny For Assignment

The Brewers have designated left-hander Rob Zastryzny for assignment, per Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Zastryzny was on the injured list and on a rehab assignment. Since he’s out of options, it seems the Brewers decided to bump him off the roster rather than add him back into the bullpen.

Zastryzny, 34, hasn’t pitched in the majors this season due to a trapezius strain. He’s spent the season on the 60-day injured list. From 2024-25, he tossed 29 2/3 innings with a 2.12 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate as a member of the Milwaukee bullpen, however. Those rate stats are both a bit worse than average, but not egregiously so.

This year has been a challenge. Zastryzny started four different rehab stints that were halted prior to this most recent one. He’s never had a big fastball, sitting 92 mph during last year’s excellent showing, but he’s averaged just 90.2 mph in Triple-A this year while trying to work back from this nagging shoulder/upper back injury. He has a 3.27 ERA in 11 minor league innings overall, but the stop-and-start nature of his rehab, coupled with the pronounced drop in velocity, are ominous factors for a Brewers club that’s currently sporting the best record in baseball and working to secure a first-round bye in the postseason.

Zastryzny is a 2013 draftee (second round, Cubs) who has pitched in parts of seven major league seasons. Last year’s 22 frames in the majors were a career-high mark, however. Zastryzny has only 89 big league innings under his belt. They’ve been solid overall, as evidenced by a 3.84 ERA, but he’s had a hard time sticking due to injuries, sub-par rate stats and pedestrian velocity. Zastryzny has pitched in parts of 10 Triple-A campaigns and has a less-impressive 4.69 ERA through 437 1/3 innings there.

It’s possible another club that’s intrigued by Zastryzny’s 2024-25 run with Milwaukee could place a speculative claim, but he’d need to go right onto a major league roster due to that lack of options. He’s controllable for three additional years via arbitration, but it’d be tough to commit to an arb salary on a journeyman reliever who’ll turn 35 next spring and has spent the entire season to date nursing an injury that’s left his velocity two miles per hour shy of its most recent levels. If Zastryzny clears waivers, he’ll be able to elect free agency and get a jump start on the offseason, where there will likely be plenty of interest in signing him to a non-roster deal with an invite to spring training.