The Brewers are getting calls about right-handed reliever Nick Mears as groups across the league search for under-the-radar bullpen assist, per Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic. Milwaukee has additionally gotten loads of curiosity in nearer Trevor Megill and ace Freddy Peralta this winter. There’s no indication the Brewers are particularly motivated to half with any of the bunch.
Mears, 29, landed with the Brewers forward of the 2024 commerce deadline in a deal sending pitchers Bradley Blalock and Yujanyer Herrera again to the Rockies. An undrafted free agent signed by the Pirates following the 2018 draft, Mears was traded to the Rockies for Connor Joe, claimed off waivers by the Rangers and reclaimed by the Rockies earlier than settling right into a bullpen position in Denver throughout that 2024 marketing campaign.
On the time of the commerce, Mears had an ERA within the mid-5.00s however had proven high quality swing-and-miss potential. He struggled to a 7.30 ERA down the stretch in Milwaukee, however the Brewers saved him for the 2025 season anyhow. Mears rewarded that religion by breaking out as a stable setup arm.
In 56 2/3 innings this previous season, Mears notched 16 holds and a save whereas pitching to a 3.49 earned run common. The 6’3″, 217-pound righty scaled again his fastball utilization and ramped up his slider utilization with the Brewers. He really struck out fewer hitters in 2025 than in 2024 however continued to submit terrific swinging-strike and opponents’ chase charges. Mears has additionally dramatically improved his command as a Brewer; after strolling greater than 12% of his opponents in elements of two seasons with the Rox, he’s issued a free move to solely 5.8% of his opponents with the Brew Crew.
Mears is underneath membership management by the 2027 season. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz initiatives a modest $1.6MM wage for the well-traveled righty after that 2025 breakout. Provided that modest wage expectation, there’s little to no monetary incentive for the Brewers to maneuver him. Nevertheless, Milwaukee is at all times open-minded about buying and selling gamers as they inch nearer to free company. Mears has the potential to be an necessary piece of supervisor Pat Murphy’s late-inning reduction corps this season, however he might additionally fetch a modest prospect if the Brewers really feel assured that they will climate his loss.
Megill, Abner Uribe, Grant Anderson, Jared Koenig and Aaron Ashby all pitched to earned run averages of three.23 or higher in 2025 — every of them with a better-than-average strikeout charge. Nobody from that group walked greater than Anderson’s 9.7% of opponents, so there aren’t many command points with the quintet, both. Lefties Rob Zastryzny and DL Corridor logged stable ERA marks as properly, albeit with much less spectacular strikeout and stroll charges. The Brewers even have 26-year-old Craig Yoho, who posted video-game numbers within the higher minors this season, in addition to a plethora of younger starters who might transfer to reduction roles because of the depth within the system (e.g. Tobias Myers, Coleman Crow).
Notably, Mears is considered one of simply two out-of-options relievers the Brewers have (along with Zastryzny). That reality might make him barely simpler to pry free than a few of his optionable bullpen counterparts, who inherently present extra flexibility to a Brewers crew that usually takes an all-hands-on-deck method to its pitching utilization and usually shuffles up the lower-leverage portion of its reduction corps. Time will inform whether or not the depth they possess in the end results in a commerce, in fact, however Mears is not less than a reputation for followers of payroll-conscious golf equipment in want of bullpen assist to maintain behind their minds.
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