The Brewers and right-handed reliever Julian Merryweather are in agreement on a minor league deal, reports Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Merryweather had been with the Mets but opted out of his minor league deal earlier in the week. The Warner Sports Management client will report to Triple-A Nashville for the time being.
Merryweather, 33, was a key piece of the division-rival Cubs’ bullpen back in 2023, when he posted career-bests in terms of innings pitched (72), ERA (3.38), strikeout rate (32.3%) and holds (17). He’s pitched just 33 2/3 big league frames since, due in large part to health troubles. Shoulder and knee injuries limited Merryweather to 15 MLB innings and just 6 2/3 innings of rehab work in 2024. He pitched 18 2/3 innings with the Cubs this year but turned in career-worst strikeout and walk rates while working with a fastball that was down more than two miles per hour from 2023.
The Cubs designated Merryweather for assignment and released him in May. He signed with the Mets a bit more than a week later and has since pitched 12 Triple-A innings with a 4.50 ERA, a strong 28.8% strikeout rate and an alarming 17.3% walk rate.
A former fifth-round pick by Cleveland, Merryweather stands 6’4″ and is listed at 215 pounds. He’s long possessed plus velocity and bat-missing abilities, but command and especially durability have frequently worked against him. He crossed five years of MLB service while in DFA limbo earlier this year despite having logged only 158 1/3 innings in the majors — a testament to how much time he’s spent on the injured list due to a host of ailments (including knee, shoulder, elbow, oblique, abdominal injuries). He’s still sitting 96 mph on his four-seamer this year, but that’s down considerably from 2023’s average of 98.1 mph.
Milwaukee has a track record of rehabbing relievers or even coaxing new levels of performance from previously nondescript bullpen arms. If they can get Merryweather back on track, the Brewers could control him via arbitration into next season, but for now he’ll simply be a depth option for a bullpen that sits 12th in the majors with a 3.65 ERA over the past month (and 16th overall in 2025, with a 3.97 mark).