The Brewers have acquired infielder Braden Shewmake from the Astros, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Houston, who designated Shewmake for assignment on Friday, receives cash considerations in return. To clear 40-man roster space for Shewmake, Milwaukee has designated outfielder Greg Jones for assignment.
A first-round pick by Atlanta in 2019, Shewmake debuted in 2023 and has since taken 154 big league plate appearances between the Braves, White Sox, and Astros. He has batted .192/.204/.315 with a wRC+ of 39 in that time. While his 15.6% strikeout rate is excellent, Shewmake’s 1.9% walk rate in the Majors is well below average.
Houston acquired Shewmake in April in a minor trade with the Yankees. The 28-year-old batted .256/.272/.423 with an 89 wRC+ in 83 plate appearances for the Astros, showing the aforementioned strikeout and walk trends. Shewmake landed on the 10-day injured list on June 2nd and missed over a month of action. He was activated on July 6th but only appeared in two more games before being designated for assignment.
While the 89 wRC+ was acceptable for a backup infielder, the presence of Nick Allen and Zach Dezenzo and the recent return of Jeremy Peña made the out-of-options Shewmake expendable. He’ll now get a look with the Brewers instead. Milwaukee currently has Andrew Vaughn on the roster, but he’s limited to first base. Shewmake has played shortstop, second, and third base and gives the Brewers more defensive versatility behind their starting infielders.
More to come.
