The Brewers have placed Luis Rengifo on release waivers, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. He’ll almost certainly go unclaimed and become a free agent within the next 48 hours.
Milwaukee signed Rengifo to a $3.5MM reclamation contract in February. The switch-hitting infielder was coming off a .238/.287/.335 season in his final year with the Angels. The Brewers hoped he’d rebound to something closer to his .273/.323/.431 batting line between 2022-24. They added Rengifo shortly after trading Caleb Durbin to the Red Sox to get Kyle Harrison, hoping the veteran infielder could cheaply replace some of their lost production at third base.
Although the Brewers surely have no regrets about that trade, the follow-up signing didn’t pan out. Rengifo’s bat tanked even further, as he hit .205/.280/.254 without a home run in 209 plate appearances for Milwaukee. He had the best strikeout walk and profile of his career, but most of his contact was weakly hit on the ground.
Milwaukee’s third base situation has accordingly been an issue all season. They’re hitting .237/.304/.301 with an MLB-worst one homer through 299 trips to the plate. That’s mostly due to Rengifo, as David Hamilton has a serviceable .294/.341/.388 line while playing the hot corner. Hamilton hasn’t played as well as a shortstop and has a below-average .236/.317/.326 slash overall. He’s now in a platoon with Joey Ortiz, who was pushed off shortstop by the promotion of Cooper Pratt. It’s the weakest point in Milwaukee’s starting lineup and something they could try to augment at the deadline.
Assuming he clears waivers, Rengifo will remain on Milwaukee’s books for the remainder of the season. They’ll cover his $1.5MM salary and pay him a $2MM option buyout at the end of the year. A signing team would pay him the prorated $780K minimum for any time he spends in the Majors. Rengifo might nevertheless be limited to minor league offers, as he’s a .229/.285/.313 hitter in his past 750 trips to the dish.
