Brewers continue to fill out their roster with minor and major league deals ahead of spring training, adding Jorge Alfaro yesterday
The Milwaukee Brewers have signed right-handed relief pitcher Elvin Rodríguez to a major league deal. The contract is a one-year deal with a club option for the 2026 season. The Brewers designated J.B. Bukauskas for assignment to make room for Rodríguez on the 40-man roster.
Rodriguez’s deal is for one year with a club option for 2026.
JB Bukauskas has been DFA’d to make room on the 40-man. https://t.co/yLNDmeI2tR
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) January 17, 2025
After signing with the Angels as an international free agent in 2014, Rodríguez was traded to the Tigers in 2017 as part of the Justin Upton trade. He debuted with the Tigers in 2022, posting a 10.92 ERA in 29 2⁄3 innings as both a starter and a reliever for Detroit. He reappeared in the majors a year later with the Tampa Bay but made just one appearance for the Rays before being designated for assignment.
Hoping to revive his career, Rodríguez signed with the Yakult Swallows of the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan ahead of the 2024 season. He posted a 1.74 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP across 88 innings for the Swallows, earning him another chance in MLB with the Brewers.
Although he does have experience starting games, Rodríguez, who relies heavily on just two pitches, joins the Brewers as bullpen depth. He throws a mid-90s fastball that averaged 20.5 inches of induced vertical break in his three-inning outing for the Rays in 2023. This rising effect on his fastball has given Rodríguez an above-average fly ball rate throughout his time in the minor leagues (47%), meaning Rodríguez will benefit greatly from the Brewers’ elite outfield defense. His secondary pitch, a slider with above-average movement, not only offers a change of direction, but also a significant change in velocity. Averaging just 82 mph, Rodríguez should be able to keep hitters off-balance with this intriguing two-pitch mix.
Bukauskas and his heavy sinker will head to waivers where they should receive a great deal of attention. Since re-inventing his fastball and ditching his changeup for a slider that plays well off of the new fastball shape, Bukauskas has looked like a new pitcher, and one that could be a valuable addition to any major league bullpen. Unfortunately, an injury-riddled 2024 season prevented Bukauskas from proving himself to the Brewers and now he will likely find himself on a new team in 2025.
On Friday morning, the Brewers also confirmed rumors that they had signed catcher Jorge Alfaro to a minor league deal with an invitation to major league spring training. While this move had been rumored about a week ago, it was officially confirmed when the Brewers announced their minor league invitees to big league camp earlier today.
A former top 100 prospect, Alfaro will turn 32 years old in June and is coming off of a lost season in 2024. After signing with the Cubs as a non-roster invitee last winter, Alfaro was released before Opening Day and did not re-sign with a new team for the entirety of the 2024 season. He did participate in the Dominican Winter League this year and slashed .303/.361/.455 in 26 plate appearances.
Alfaro is a bat-first catcher who has been plagued by a high strikeout rate throughout his career. He is an average defender who should benefit from the Brewers’ ability to develop strong defensive catchers. Alfaro should add some competition to the catching room this spring and serve as an insurance policy in case of an injury or as the third catcher on the depth chart if Jeferson Quero shows he is not quite ready for the majors.
In other exciting roster news, the Brewers have invited four of their top 30 MLB Pipeline prospects as non-roster invitees for spring training, including Cooper Pratt (No. 2), Jacob Misiorowski (No. 3), Luis Lara (No. 18), and Craig Yoho (No. 21).