The Brewers are re-signing left-handed reliever Tyler Jay to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Jay was with the Brewers organization at the end of the season but was lost on waivers to the Mariners early last month. Seattle passed him through waivers themselves a few weeks later, and Jay declined an outright assignment in favor of free agency after going unclaimed.
Jay, 31 in April, was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 draft but saw the early stages of his pro career with the Twins decimated by injuries. He battled shoulder and neck problems throughout his first few seasons in pro ball and was at one point evaluated for potential thoracic outlet syndromes but never wound up requiring surgery. The Reds picked Jay up in exchange for cash in 2019 after the Twins designated him for assignment, but he never reached the majors in Cincinnati either.
From 2020-22, Jay was out of affiliated ball entirely. He returned to a mound with the independent Joliet Slammers in 2022-23 and caught the eye of the Mets, who inked him on a minor league deal. The Mets eventually gave Jay his MLB debut this past season at age 30. He split time between Queens and Milwaukee after the Mets designated him for assignment and flipped him to the Brewers in exchange for minor leaguer TJ Shook.
It was only 7 2/3 innings in the big leagues between the two teams this past season, but the fact that Jay even reached the majors at all is fairly remarkable, given his career arc and the significant injury woes he dealt with in the years after the draft. He yielded four runs on nine hits and six walks with six strikeouts during his brief big league time and also excelled in Triple-A; in 56 2/3 innings of Triple-A work between the two organizations, he logged a 3.02 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate, 5.1% walk rate and 47.3% grounder rate.
Jay doesn’t throw all that hard, sitting at about 92 mph with his sinker and four-seamer, per Statcast. He’s a former top pick who now appears healthy on the heels of a nice upper-minors showing, however, and despite his age and the amount of time he’s spent in the minors, he still has a pair of option years remaining. If the Brewers wind up adding him to the 40-man at any point, he can be a flexible bullpen piece for manager Pat Murphy.
The Brewers aren’t hurting for left-handed relief options. They have Jared Koenig, Bryan Hudson, DL Hall, Aaron Ashby, Grant Wolfram and Rule 5 pick Connor Thomas all on the 40-man roster. That said, Koenig and Hudson only have one season of big league success under their belts (2024 with the Brewers), while Hall, Ashby and Wolfram could work as starters in Triple-A Nashville. Thomas is hardly a lock to make the roster, as is the case with most Rule 5 picks.