Article: Brewers Option Mejia, Designate Jakson Reetz

[TL Schwerz]

The Milwaukee Brewers were in action today against the Los Angeles Dodgers. While they didn’t put anyone new on the active roster, a pair of 40-man moves were made anyways. J.C. Mejia, who was on the 26-man roster, was optioned to Triple-A Nashville. Catcher Jakson Reetz was designated for assignment.

 

J.C. Mejia was activated on August 7th after having not pitched since May due to serving an 80-game suspension after testing positive for the banned substance Stanozolol. He didn’t get into a game after finishing his suspension term, however, and heads back to Triple-A having pitched just 2 1/3 innings at the Major League Level this season.

Mejia has thrown a total of 14 1/3 innings across rehab stints split between Double-A Biloxi and Triple-A Nashville. He’ll remain as depth until called upon again.

Jakson Reetz is a former third round pick by the Washington Nationals and made his Major League debut last season. He didn’t appear for Milwaukee this year and played just 19 games at Triple-A. Across nearly 70 games at Double-A, Reetz owned a 1.028 OPS with 22 homers. The Brewers free up a 40-man spot and send him through waivers with the move.

 

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[Outlander]

19 minutes ago, TL Schwerz said:

J.C. Mejia was activated on August 7th after having not pitched since May due to injury. He didn’t get into a game, however, and heads back to Triple-A having pitched just 2 1/3 innings at the Major League Level this season.

 

Mejia wasn't out due to injury he was suspended for testing positive for PEDs. Today was the first day he could have come back to the Brewers but was optioned instead.

Would have kept Reetz and got rid of Jackson.

[Outlander]

19 minutes ago, TL Schwerz said:

J.C. Mejia was activated on August 7th after having not pitched since May due to injury. He didn’t get into a game, however, and heads back to Triple-A having pitched just 2 1/3 innings at the Major League Level this season.

 

Mejia wasn't out due to injury he was suspended for testing positive for PEDs. Today was the first day he could have come back to the Brewers but was optioned instead.

Would have kept Reetz and got rid of Jackson.

[folly412]

What was the purpose of adding Reetz to the 40 earlier this month?  He was immediately optioned then, and now DFA'd.

Also, why free up a 40-man spot for someone who wasn't even good enough for one while on PEDs?

Lastly, Cousins has been on rehab assignment in Nashville for three weeks.  So waiting on a 40-man spot for him while Strzelecki and Kelly came up doesn't appear to be a theory that holds.

I just don't understand any of this.

[folly412]

What was the purpose of adding Reetz to the 40 earlier this month?  He was immediately optioned then, and now DFA'd.

Also, why free up a 40-man spot for someone who wasn't even good enough for one while on PEDs?

Lastly, Cousins has been on rehab assignment in Nashville for three weeks.  So waiting on a 40-man spot for him while Strzelecki and Kelly came up doesn't appear to be a theory that holds.

I just don't understand any of this.

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 hour ago, Outlander said:

Mejia wasn't out due to injury he was suspended for testing positive for PEDs. Today was the first day he could have come back to the Brewers but was optioned instead.

Thanks for the catch, I corrected the story.

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 hour ago, Outlander said:

Mejia wasn't out due to injury he was suspended for testing positive for PEDs. Today was the first day he could have come back to the Brewers but was optioned instead.

Thanks for the catch, I corrected the story.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

2 hours ago, folly412 said:

What was the purpose of adding Reetz to the 40 earlier this month?  He was immediately optioned then, and now DFA'd.

Also, why free up a 40-man spot for someone who wasn't even good enough for one while on PEDs?

Lastly, Cousins has been on rehab assignment in Nashville for three weeks.  So waiting on a 40-man spot for him while Strzelecki and Kelly came up doesn't appear to be a theory that holds.

I just don't understand any of this.

Reetz had an out in his contract, so the Brewers had to add him to the 40-man or release him. That out is no longer there. If he clears waivers, he remains Brewer property. I'd say it's 50-50 he clears. Some team may take a chance on the offensive awakening he's had this year.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

2 hours ago, folly412 said:

What was the purpose of adding Reetz to the 40 earlier this month?  He was immediately optioned then, and now DFA'd.

Also, why free up a 40-man spot for someone who wasn't even good enough for one while on PEDs?

Lastly, Cousins has been on rehab assignment in Nashville for three weeks.  So waiting on a 40-man spot for him while Strzelecki and Kelly came up doesn't appear to be a theory that holds.

I just don't understand any of this.

Reetz had an out in his contract, so the Brewers had to add him to the 40-man or release him. That out is no longer there. If he clears waivers, he remains Brewer property. I'd say it's 50-50 he clears. Some team may take a chance on the offensive awakening he's had this year.

[Jim French Stepstool]

7 hours ago, folly412 said:

What was the purpose of adding Reetz to the 40 earlier this month?  He was immediately optioned then, and now DFA'd.

Also, why free up a 40-man spot for someone who wasn't even good enough for one while on PEDs?

Lastly, Cousins has been on rehab assignment in Nashville for three weeks.  So waiting on a 40-man spot for him while Strzelecki and Kelly came up doesn't appear to be a theory that holds.

I just don't understand any of this.

If he can pitch from ahead in the count, I think Cousins can be very, very effective. I was also scratching my head about Kelley coming back, but wouldn't put Strzelecki in the same category. He's been quietly effective in the role he's been asked to fill. 

My guess is Reetz gets a flier from somebody.

[Jim French Stepstool]

7 hours ago, folly412 said:

What was the purpose of adding Reetz to the 40 earlier this month?  He was immediately optioned then, and now DFA'd.

Also, why free up a 40-man spot for someone who wasn't even good enough for one while on PEDs?

Lastly, Cousins has been on rehab assignment in Nashville for three weeks.  So waiting on a 40-man spot for him while Strzelecki and Kelly came up doesn't appear to be a theory that holds.

I just don't understand any of this.

If he can pitch from ahead in the count, I think Cousins can be very, very effective. I was also scratching my head about Kelley coming back, but wouldn't put Strzelecki in the same category. He's been quietly effective in the role he's been asked to fill. 

My guess is Reetz gets a flier from somebody.

[Jopal78]

14 hours ago, folly412 said:

What was the purpose of adding Reetz to the 40 earlier this month?  He was immediately optioned then, and now DFA'd.

Also, why free up a 40-man spot for someone who wasn't even good enough for one while on PEDs?

Lastly, Cousins has been on rehab assignment in Nashville for three weeks.  So waiting on a 40-man spot for him while Strzelecki and Kelly came up doesn't appear to be a theory that holds.

I just don't understand any of this.

Probably because Mejia is 25, a pitcher, and someone who they thought well enough of to trade for in the off-season. Coming off a suspension he hasn’t pitched in months so he needs to get stretched out. 
 

As for Reetz, the Narvaez injury and Severino DFA goofed up their depth, but Omar is going to be back on Saturday, I believe Severino is with AAA as a non-roster player, so they don’t necessarily need Reetz as much as they did his roster spot.

I don’t follow the minor leagues close enough to know, has Cousins pitched in back to back games? Coming off an elbow injury I’m sure they want to ramp him up slowly but he needs to be able to go in back to back days to be in this bullpen. Probably one of their September adds.

[Jopal78]

14 hours ago, folly412 said:

What was the purpose of adding Reetz to the 40 earlier this month?  He was immediately optioned then, and now DFA'd.

Also, why free up a 40-man spot for someone who wasn't even good enough for one while on PEDs?

Lastly, Cousins has been on rehab assignment in Nashville for three weeks.  So waiting on a 40-man spot for him while Strzelecki and Kelly came up doesn't appear to be a theory that holds.

I just don't understand any of this.

Probably because Mejia is 25, a pitcher, and someone who they thought well enough of to trade for in the off-season. Coming off a suspension he hasn’t pitched in months so he needs to get stretched out. 
 

As for Reetz, the Narvaez injury and Severino DFA goofed up their depth, but Omar is going to be back on Saturday, I believe Severino is with AAA as a non-roster player, so they don’t necessarily need Reetz as much as they did his roster spot.

I don’t follow the minor leagues close enough to know, has Cousins pitched in back to back games? Coming off an elbow injury I’m sure they want to ramp him up slowly but he needs to be able to go in back to back days to be in this bullpen. Probably one of their September adds.

[Outlander]

Cousins just recently pitched back to back this week on 8/16 and 8/17 so could be an indication he is getting close. Good point on Severino, if they really need a catcher in September they could always call him up.

Mejia has no options left next year so would have to think he is near top of the list to be DFA if they need room.

[Outlander]

Cousins just recently pitched back to back this week on 8/16 and 8/17 so could be an indication he is getting close. Good point on Severino, if they really need a catcher in September they could always call him up.

Mejia has no options left next year so would have to think he is near top of the list to be DFA if they need room.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

As said above, Reetz had an opt out clause which is why he was placed on the 40 man roster and then the poor performance at AAA is what got him off the roster.  This makes a lot more sense now.  They can still keep him if he clears waivers, which is what the Brewers were probably hoping for.  Link from MLB trade rumors:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/08/brewers-designate-jakson-reetz-for-assignment.html

As noted in the article, the Brewers now have only two healthy catchers on the 40 man roster (Narvaez and Jackson on the IL).  I dont see that as a huge issue, They could add Severino back if they needed a backup before Narvaez is ready.  The 40 man roster is getting pretty full though.  There are fewer obvious candidates they could drop to make room for somebody.