Rea, Montas, Bauers among players involved
With the deadline approaching for players and teams to make option and qualifying offer decisions, the Brewers made a series of roster moves today. Included are the following:
- Colin Rea cleared waivers, and the Brewers exercised the $1 million buyout on his contract, making him a free agent.
- Frankie Montas declined his end of the mutual option in his contract, making him a free agent.
- Kevin Herget was claimed off of waivers by the Mets.
- Rob Zastryzny was claimed off of waivers by the Cubs.
- Jake Bauers and Bryse Wilson cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Nashville.
- The Brewers also extended a qualifying offer to Willy Adames.
Some of these moves are unsurprising. It was unlikely that Montas would be back, though I would have thought it would be the team that declined his $20 million option. The Brewers offering Adames the qualifying offer was a no-brainer; he won’t accept it, but the Brewers will now get draft compensation if and when he signs elsewhere.
Rea’s option being declined is perhaps somewhat surprising, but the writing was on the wall when the team placed him on waivers a couple of days ago. Had he been claimed, the Brewers could have saved the $1 million they will now pay him for the buyout. Herget and Zastryzny were solid depth options for the Brewers last season but the Brewers needed several 40-man roster spots open for players returning from the 60-day IL.
After these moves and including all players who will no longer be on the IL, my count is 36 roster spots accounted for.