Milwaukee Brewers Add LH Reliever Blaine Hardy on Minor League Deal

Marcus Semien. Justin Turner. Eddie Rosario. And offers for Josh Hader. These are all rumors that came out this week about the Milwaukee Brewers, but the move that they make — at least at this time — is signing left-handed reliever Blaine Hardy to a minor league deal with an invitation to camp—a move that we’ve seen GM David Stearns make a few times this offseason.

Hardy missed all of the 2020 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last March while with the Minnesota Twins. Prior to that, he spent his entire big league career from 2014 to 2019 with the Detroit Tigers, bouncing between the minors and the big leagues.

Over his career, Hardy has pitched in 289.2 innings and has recorded a 3.73 ERA, a FIP of 4.11, and a 1.329 WHIP. More recently in his last season of play in 2019, Hardy logged a 4.47 ERA and a FIP of 5.72 in 39 appearances, with the long ball being a bigger issue for him than what it had been in the past.

His career strikeout rate of 19.4 percent is okay, and his career walk rate of 8.3 percent is nothing special either. The good news is that on the balls in play, 43.1 percent of them have been grounders—a good trait to have when American Family Field (that was weird to type) is your home.

For a reliever, Hardy has a vast repertoire, relying heavily on his change up that he threw nearly 45 percent of the time in 2019. He used his fastball, which maxes out at about 89 mph, 21 percent of the time and his curve 20 percent. He also has a cutter that he will utilize and very rarely a sinker.

With that said, it’s worth noting that Hardy’s pitch mix from 2019 looked different from years past. In 2018 he used his fastball, change up, and curve more evenly, with his fastball being his go-to pitch.

Hardy certainly has the potential of being a player who can contribute this season. He’s experienced and gives the Milwaukee Brewers’ bullpen another left-handed option, something that they are missing with the departure of Alex Claudio.

On Opening Day, Hardy will be about one year removed from Tommy John surgery. At this point, we do not know if he will be ready, but if he isn’t, as long as there are no setbacks, he should be available sooner than later. It’s also worth mentioning that he does still have a minor league option available.

This was another very Stearns-ian type of move. Hardy has the upside of a contributor, but on a minor league deal, there is very little risk for the Brewers if this isn’t a move that pans out.

All stats via Baseball Reference, Fangraphs, and Brooks Baseball