According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Milwaukee Brewers have signed righty Josh Tomlin to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league spring training.
Rosenthal notes that if Tomlin makes the majors he will receive a base salary of 1.25M base in majors with $2.25M in incentives based on innings pitched. If he pitches 150 or more innings, the deal can max out at $3.5M.
A Look Back at His 2018 Season
Tomlin, 34, missed significant time during the 2018 season after suffering a hamstring injury in July. He was able to return to the club towards the end of August and finish out the year.
Overall he made 32 appearances for the Indians, mostly out of the bullpen, and put up a 6.14 ERA while striking out 46 and walking 12 batters. He also posted a career-high 1.479 WHIP, allowed a whopping 3.2 HR/9 innings, and his 7.16 FIP was the worst amongst all pitchers last season.
Earlier in the offseason, there was word of a potential return to Cleveland for Tomlin. He was also tied to the New York Mets due to his familiarity with Mets manager Mickey Callaway, who served as Tomlin’s pitching coach in Cleveland.
What He Brings to Milwaukee
Over his nine year career in Cleveland, Tomlin posted a record of 61-53 with a 4.77 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 4.69 FIP, 612 strikeouts, and just 133 walks over 898 innings. The righty has looked dominant at times in his career, but is coming off a dreadful 2018 season. He throws a ton of strikes, but Tomlin’s main problem has always been keeping the ball in the park.
He likely won’t be able to find a spot in a solid Brewers rotation that already contains Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson, Zach Davies, Jimmy Nelson, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta amongst other. However, if he performs to his capabilities in camp, Tomlin may be able to win himself a spot in the bullpen as a long reliever.
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