Morning Rundown: Milwaukee Brewers ZiPS projections, Reds make two trades, Royals sign Lorenzen
Projections for Brewers released on Monday, Reds acquire pitcher and hitter.
Dan Szymborski continues to release his ZiPS projections on FanGraphs, with the Milwaukee Brewers coming out on Monday.
As we did with the Cincinnati Reds, here are some highlights from looking through the Brewers projections:
They have them around the 86-90 win range, even with losing two of their best players, Willy Adames and Devin Williams.
Even without Williams, their bullpen is projected to be worth 5.3 WAR. Trevor Megill (122 ERA+), Joel Payamps (118), and Bryan Hudson (118) seem to be responsible for a lot of that.
Jackson Churio is projected to have an OPS+ of 108, along with another 20/20 season. His 20th/80th percentile for OPS+ (142/104) and WAR (5.5/2.9) are both strong for someone coming into his second year at his age.
They are really high on Brandon Woodruff bouncing back from injury, with a 120 ERA+ and a 1.4 WAR.
On Monday, the Cincinnati Reds made two trades, one with the Texas Rangers and the second with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In the first move, they acquired right-handed pitcher Owen White from the Rangers in exchange for cash considerations.
A former top prospect, White was designated for assignment recently by the Rangers and then acquired by the Reds in a trade. He’s thrown just seven innings in the majors, allowing 13 earned runs in that process.
He’s also struggled in Triple-A, posting a 5.64 ERA in 99 innings with Triple-A Round Rock.
That move was followed up with a trade that netted them Gavin Lux from the Dodgers in exchange for Mike Sirota and a compensation pick.
Lux was moved a couple of days after the Dodgers signed infielder Hyeseong Kim to a multi-year deal. They are both left-handed middle infielders.
A former top prospect, Lux has played around 260 games in the past two years for the Dodgers. In 2024, Lux hit .251/.320/.383 with 10 home runs. He played all but 1.1 of his defensive innings at second base but has played the outfield before.
The Kansas City Royals have signed free-agent right-handed pitcher Micahel Lorenzen to a two-year contract. The first year is the only guaranteed in the contract, as 2026 comes with a mutual option. He will get paid $7 million this season, with the option being worth $12 million.
Lorenzen pitched with the Royals and Tigers last season, combining for a 7-6 record with a 4.58 ERA across 130.1 innings pitched.
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RIP Bob Veale, age 89.
You should do something on the days when there’s actual Pirate news, like put the heading in red or show a Jolly Roger or something. Won’t come up much.