Article: Jake Cousins One Step Closer for Brewers

[TL Schwerz]

Maybe the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers hate each other, but the distaste is muted among the Twins and Brewers giving the consistency of competition. Still, Kirk Cousins has a cousin named Jake who pitched in the Milwaukee system and the Brewer reliever is nearing a return.

Jake Cousins hasn’t pitched at the Major League level since April 30. Kirk Cousins hasn’t played for the Minnesota Vikings since January 9. Maybe you could make an argument relating to toughness here as Kirk last played when it was cold out, but the reality is that the cousins have been shelved for a significant amount of time.

The Brewers have been searching for pitching help, largely in the rotation but also the bullpen, for much of the 2022 season. Minnesota has not sought to supplant their current signal caller and continue to look at him as the answer for new head coach Kevin O’Connell.

Removing the cousin parallels, Jake is nearing a big league return. His rehab assignment has been transferred to Triple-A Nashville, and it comes following a one inning cameo with the Arizona Complex League team. Cousins punched out two while in a hitless appearance across an inning of work.

Making his big league debut a season ago, Cousins posted just a 2.70 ERA for Milwaukee in 30 innings. The strikeout numbers were gaudy with a 13.2 K/9. His walk rate is scary at 5.7 BB/9, but he limited the longball and worked around potential damage. With Josh Hader and Devin Williams at the back of the pen, this is certainly an arm Craig Counsell can utilize when healthy.

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