Brewers claim Vladimir Gutierrez off waivers, send him to Triple-A
Miami had designated the 28-year-old Gutierrez for assignment on Monday after he gave up three runs over four innings in a 9-7, 10-inning loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates a day earlier.
Gutierrez went 9-6 with a 4.74 ERA in 22 starts for the Cincinnati Reds in 2021. He was 1-6 with a 7.61 ERA for the Reds the next year before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He worked his way back from the injury to pitch in five minor league games last season.
The Marlins signed him in February.
“He threw the ball well this spring,” Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said before the team’s Friday night game against the Seattle Mariners. “He’s had success in the big leagues before, and it seems like he’s healthy and in a good spot. So we felt like he’d be a good arm to add to our mix.”
In other Brewers pitching news, left-hander Aaron Ashby went on the taxi squad this weekend as the team monitors the health of right-hander Jakob Junis, who is dealing with what manager Pat Murphy described as a “scratchy” shoulder.
Junis allowed one run over four innings Tuesday in a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
“We want to be careful there,” Arnold said. “Obviously keeping him healthy is really important for us.”
Arnold said Junis’ shoulder was “a little achy” but noted the issue was “nothing structural to my knowledge.”
Ashby pitched 8⅓ innings this spring after missing the entire 2023 season while recovering from shoulder surgery. During the 2022 season, Ashby went 2-10 with a 4.44 ERA and 126 strikeouts over 107⅓ innings in 27 appearances, including 19 starts.