The Brewers agreed to a minor league deal with lefty Thomas Pannone, reports Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The BHSC client will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee to spring training in 2025.
It’ll be the second Brewers stint of Pannone’s career. He was also with the organization in 2023. While the 30-year-old’s broader track record in Triple-A doesn’t necessarily stand out, he’s been sharp against non-MLB competition in recent seasons. Pannone tossed 53 1/3 innings of 2.70 ERA ball with the Brewers’ Triple-A club in 2023, and he also spent parts of the 2022-23 seasons with the KBO’s Kia Tigers, pitching to a combined 3.49 ERA in 165 innings across those two seasons. Most recently, Pannone hurled 152 1/3 innings of 3.54 ERA ball between the Triple-A affiliates for the Cubs and Yankees in 2024. He fanned 21.9% of opponents against a 5.9% walk rate this past season.
All of that should allow Pannone to head to camp with the Brewers and compete for a rotation spot or long relief role. He’s stretched out and built up, meaning workload wouldn’t be an issue if the Brewers need to utilize him as a starter between Nashville and Milwaukee. (Notably, he’s out of minor league options, so if he’s added to the 40-man at any point, he’d have to stick or else be placed on waivers.)
For a Brewers club that is currently light on rotation depth, adding a lefty who’s pitched well for the past three seasons in the upper minors and in the KBO makes good sense. At the moment, Milwaukee’s rotation likely includes Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff (likely on an innings limit after missing 2024 due to shoulder surgery), Aaron Civale, Tobias Myers and one of Aaron Ashby or DL Hall. That group could change, of course, depending on how the rest of the offseason plays out. Each of Myers, Ashby and Hall can be optioned. Civale has been a speculative trade candidate (as is the case with most Brewers veterans when they’re down to one final season of club control remaining). Lefty Robert Gasser could join the bunch late in 2025, but he’s recovering from UCL surgery performed in June.