Brewers reel in a pitcher
The Brewers agree on a deal with free-agent righty Jhoulys Chacin.
Milwaukee Brewers general manager David Stearns and manager Craig Counsell have talked often this off-season about being “in need of innings” to add to their pitching staff for the 2018 season.
The Brewers took another step in that direction Wednesday by reaching a two-year agreement with freeagent right-hander Jhoulys Chacin, coming off a solid season with the San Diego Padres.
The agreement is the second in five days with a free-agent starting pitcher. The Brewers have an agreement with Yovani Gallardo to return to Milwaukee pending results of a physical examination performed Wednesday. That deal is expected to be announced Thursday.
Chacin, who turns 30 on Jan. 7, also must pass a physical, so there was no official announcement from the Brewers. But someone familiar with the talks confirmed the sides were working toward an agreement.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to report a deal was near. Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com later reported it would be a two-year contract at nearly $8 million per season. That would be a significant raise for
Chacin, who had a $1.75 million salary in 2017.
Chacin went 13-10 with a 3.89 ERA in 32 starts for the Padres last season, allowing 157 hits and 72 walks in 180 1⁄3 innings while recording a career-best 153 strikeouts with a 1.270 WHIP. He has reached 180 innings three times in the major leagues.
In eight-plus seasons with Colorado, Arizona, Atlanta, the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego, Chacin is 59-67 with a 3.93 ERA in 195 games (167 starts). His best season came with the Rockies in 2013, when he went 14-10 with a 3.47 ERA and pitched 197 1⁄3 innings.
A fastball/slider pitcher who throws in the low 90s, Chacin has done a good job of inducing ground balls (49.1% last year) and keeping it in the park (0.9 HRs per nine innings). His 18.6% line-drive rate in 2017 showed he induced lots of weak contact by hitters.
Chacin had dramatically different splits with the Padres, posting a 1.79 ERA at pitcher-friendly Petco Park and 6.59 ERA on the road, which is somewhat concerning. But he survived six seasons with the Rockies, pitching at hitter-friendly Coors Field.
The Brewers have been shopping for starting pitching depth after the shoulder surgery of Jimmy Nelson, who will miss the start of the 2018 season. They were linked earlier in the off-season to expensive free agents such as Jake Arrieta, but Stearns suggested that was an unlikely approach for his rebuilding team and has been shopping at a lower level of the price spectrum.
Word came last weekend that the Brewers had an agreement with Gallardo, who pitched for eight seasons for them at the outset of his career. He is coming off a couple of tough seasons with Baltimore and Seattle (11-19, 5.57 ERA combined) but the Brewers will give him a chance in the spring to bounce back in familiar surroundings.
Chacin and Gallardo will provide additional options to returning starters Chase Anderson, Zach Davies, Brent Suter and Brandon Woodruff, a rookie who made eight late-season outings in the 2017 season. Left-hander Josh Hader is another option if he is moved from his effective role as a reliever.