The Brewers have designated outfielder Brewer Hicklen for assignment, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. That’s the corresponding move to add first baseman Jake Bauers, a move that was previously reported.
Hicklen, 29, has a brief major league résumé. He got five plate appearances with Milwaukee last year and four with the Royals in 2022. He struck out in eight of those and is still looking for his first major league hit. He will now start the 2025 season in DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process can take 48 hours, so they could take five days to assess trade interest.
With that brief and awful major league track record, any interest would be based on his minor league work. Over the past four years, he has a .244/.352/.469 battling line on the farm. That production translates to a 114 wRC+. He struck out in 30.7% of his plate appearances but drew walks at an 11.7% pace. He also stole 14o bases in that stretch.
He has two minor league options remaining and only a handful of service days, so he could perhaps intrigue a club looking for an affordable and controllable outfield depth piece with some intriguing tools.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images