Jeffress took momentum into opener
SAN DIEGO – Jeremy Jeffress knew if he stunk it up during the Milwaukee Brewers’ exhibition season, he might get cut from the team.
No matter how much success you’ve had in the big leagues, that’s a fact of life when you’re working on a non-guaranteed contract.
“I wasn’t really worried about that,” the veteran reliever said. “My biggest thing was to see how I felt coming off last year, and fill the (strike) zone up with strikes. That’s all I worried about. The results were going to be the results. Let’s have some fun.”
And that’s exactly what the 30-yearold reliever did during the team’s successful exhibition campaign. Jeffress did not allow a single earned run in eight appearances, pitching 82⁄3 innings with four hits, three walks and eight strikeouts.
“He strung together a bunch of good appearances,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He has done every bit of what he needed to do. It was just getting here healthy, and he did that, so he’s ready to go.”
And, thus, Jeffress’ non-guaranteed deal became guaranteed when he made the Brewers’ opening day roster. He will make $1.7 million this season in addition to a $50,000 signing bonus, with club options for $3.175 million in 2019 and $4.3 million in '20. Jeffress can earn an additional $2.2 million in incentives each season for innings pitched and games finished.
Jeffress signed that contract under the threat of being non-tendered at the Dec. 1 deadline. Baseball can be a cutthroat business at that time of year as clubs go for cost certainty with players eligible for salary arbitration.
Though Jeffress pitched well (4-0, 3.65 in 22 games) after returning to his original club in a July 31 trade with Texas, the Brewers wanted to avoid a major bump in his $2.1 million salary through arbitration. His agent, Josh Kusnick, heard from the players union about the unconventional, non-guaranteed deal but also knew Jeffress had a comfort level in Milwaukee he never found elsewhere.
How much better has Jeffress pitched wearing a Brewers’ uniform? In 180 career games, he is 13-3 with a 2.56 ERA, 27 saves and 1.301 WHIP. In 91 appearances with Kansas City, Texas and Toronto, he went 4-3 with a 4.76 ERA, one save and 1.702 WHIP.
Jeffress carried the momentum generated in spring training into the Brewers’ opener Thursday against San Diego, pitching two scoreless innings to allow his team to pull out a 2-1 victory in 12 innings. Jeffress had to pull off a Houdini act in the 11th merely to keep the Brewers alive.
With one down, Eric Hosmer drew a walk and Jose Pirela dunked a bloop hit into shallow right. Hosmer advanced to third and when the ball eluded rightfielder Domingo Santana, Pirela advanced to second. Jeffress intentionally walked pinch-hitter Raffy Lopez to set up a double play, and veteran Chase Headley obliged with a grounder to third baseman Travis Shaw, who initiated a 52-3 DP that snuffed the rally.
Much of Jeffress’ success in recent seasons can be attributed to the development of a split changeup that falls off the table, and that’s the pitch he threw to Headley for the huge momentum swing.
Of pitching two innings right out of the chute, Jeffress said, “I get stronger as I go on. I thank the (coaching) staff for having the confidence to send me back out there. I’m ready for anything.”
“I think my stuff got better as camp went on,” Jeffress added. “There’s always room to get better. The main thing was getting in the work I needed and staying healthy. I know what I’m capable of doing.”