Brewers' Trade Deadline Moves Could Determine Joel Kuhnel's Future

With baseball’s August 3 trade deadline days away, pitching remains the Brewers’ greatest need. They're a great team in an enviable position, but in order to maintain their lead in the NL Central and make a push for the top postseason seed, they need to gather some reinforcements. It would be surprising if Milwaukee did not acquire a mid-rotation starter, a reliever, or both. If the club adds a couple of arms, it will have to send a couple out.

Joel Kuhnel currently lives on the roster bubble. The 31-year-old right-hander owns a career 5.58 ERA and 4.73 FIP in 117 appearances, most of them in low-leverage situations. As a Brewer, he’s pitched to a 6.52 ERA and 9.32 FIP. He’s out of minor-league options, so if there’s no room for him, they must remove him from the 40-man roster and expose him to waivers.

Whether by design, coincidence, or a combination of both, Kuhnel’s ramp-up to return from the injured list is lining up with the trade deadline. The Brewers haven’t revealed his next steps after a live batting practice session in Appleton on Thursday, but as a one-inning reliever, he should only need one rehab appearance before he’s ready to return next week.

Their trade deadline activity will probably determine whether there’s a spot for Kuhnel. Even with DL Hall on the mend, the Brewers could use another reliever capable of pitching multiple innings in close games to ease the strain on Aaron Ashby and Chad Patrick. A short-range lefty to take what was formerly Jared Koenig’s role would also help. Adding a starter could push someone currently in the rotation mix into long relief.

Should those deals not come together, there are worse fallback options than adding Kuhnel back to the bullpen. Despite his grisly performance before his injury, there are reasons why he seemed to be Pat Murphy’s preferred choice when a ‘B’ reliever had to pitch in a pivotal situation. When the Brewers acquired him from the Athletics in June, it was actually the second time they brought him in; they also signed him to a minor-league deal during the 2024 season.

Kuhnel’s sinker has helped him post a 50.4% ground-ball rate and hold right-handed hitters to a .614 OPS this season. His velocity has jumped a couple of ticks since coming over, making his stuff above average for the first time in his career.

The problem has been controlling those gains. As a Brewer, he’s walked 12.2% of hitters and plunked two batters. That’s a flip from the kind of pitcher he has typically been. He posted an excellent 5.6% walk rate for the Athletics and has walked only 6.4% of opponents for his career.

Leading up to his injury, Kuhnel was pitching frequently in key situations when the Brewers were short-handed in the bullpen, and that workload seemed to be taking its toll. That’s not a full excuse;  taking the ball regularly is part of the job for a big-league reliever. Still, he could fare much better in the right role.

The Brewers can do better than Kuhnel to round out their relief corps, and if they make additions before Monday evening, he’ll be among the first on the chopping block. There’s no harm in keeping him around as an insurance option, though. His stuff is good enough to be a serviceable middle reliever, if he's given the chance.

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