Former Houston Astros Pitcher DFA'd After Just 24 Hours With New Team
The Houston Astros parted ways with a pitcher after one game earlier this season and that player made his way back to the MLB just to be DFA'd just a day later..
The Milwaukee Brewers selected the contract of relief pitcher Joel Kuhnel on Tuesday, which would have been his second chance to make an impact in the big leagues this year.
Kuhnel played his college ball at the University of Texas at Arlington before being drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 11th round of the 2016 MLB draft.
He made his debut in 2019 with Cincinnati where he spent a few seasons hovering around a 6.00 ERA. He mostly bounced back-and-forth between the minors and majors outside of 2022 where he had a 6.36 ERA in 53 games.
Houston traded for him in late 2023 for cash considerations. He played in seven games that season for the Astros with a 4.66 ERA over 9.2 innings.
After the season, he elected free agency but found his way back to Houston with a minor-league deal. He's only appeared in one major league game this year, but gave up four runs on four hits over two innings pitched.
The Toronto Blue Jays then traded for him, once again for cash. He was DFA'd a few weeks later but cleared waivers and once again elected free agency.
He signed a minor-league deal a few weeks ago with Milwaukee, before having his contract selected on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-5, 290-pound reliever has had a solid season in Triple-A ball across his different stops, which could provide some confidence for a new team despite his past shortcomings.
In 19 games, 25 innings of work, he has a 2.52 ERA. He's never been an overwhelming strikeout guy, getting most of his outs with ground balls.
While the Brewers bullpen has been performing at a high level this season, the opportunity could still there for Kuhnel to carve out a role as someone to eat up innings as they search for more depth.
For now, he will either be headed back to the minors or electing free agency once again to find yet another new home.
DYLAN SANDERS
Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders