The Brewers acquired former Brewer Ray King fron the Nationals on Tuesday, for a player to be named later…plus also called up catcher Mike Rivera from AAA Nashville.
Why?
Now, don’t get me wrong…I like both players. But are either of them going to be instrumental in winning the division?
First, King is only effective against lefties: as Adam McCalvy points out:
King would not be eligible for postseason games should the Brewers make it that far. He posted a 4.54 ERA in 55 games for the Nationals this season and limited left-handed batters to a .161 average (righties hit .328).
Okay, so Manny Parra is out hurt and that leaves only Brian Shouse…and Chris Capuano…and Mitch Stetter…as lefties out of the pen. King makes 4; Parra could be back by the 15th–he’d make 5. Geez, just how many guys do we need to get left-handed hitters out? Plus, it was taking out a lefty for a righty that caused all the problems on Monday….
Mike Rivera? Well, he hit .268 for the Brewers last year…not exactly tearing up the Senior Circuit. Maybe Miller’s injury is worse than they are letting on…but I think this will likely hurt Nashville’s chances in the PCL playoffs…which Doug Melvin might be secretly trying to do. But if they are going to deplete the Sounds’ roster, then why not call up Tony Gwynn, Jr.?
I hope I’m wrong…this just feels like grasping at straws to me.
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