The Milwaukee Brewers designated struggling right-hander Jeremy Jeffress for assignment on Sunday.
The reliever has struggled mightily in 2019, a season after he earned his lone All-Star selection. He is 3-4 with a save and a 5.02 ERA this season after going 8-1 with 15 saves and a 1.29 ERA in 2018.
He becomes the second pitcher that was a key to the Brewers’ National League Central division title to recently be jettisoned by the Brewers. Last month, the Brewers designated Jhoulys Chacin for assignment after he struggled to a 3-10 mark and 5.79 ERA a season after he went 15-8 with a 3.50 ERA. Chacin signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.
General manager David Stearns said the move “was a tough one,” according to the Journal Sentinel.
Stearns told reporters that even if the Brewers had kept Jeffress for the rest of the season they would have declined his 2020 option.
The GM told reporters that shoulder weakness that Jeffress experienced at the start of the season “was probably something that impacted his season.”
Jeffress, 31, is 28-11 with 44 saves and a 3.16 ERA in 10 major league seasons.