'Pesky and athletic': Raimel Tapia is the latest addition to the Brewers outfield

MINNEAPOLIS – Raimel Tapia’s body of work against the Milwaukee Brewers wasn’t enormous since breaking into the major leagues in 2016 with just 19 games in total.

Nevertheless, his .300 average and .794 OPS over that span left enough of an impression on the Brewers’ brass that the team moved quickly to sign him to a free-agent deal when he became available on Sunday.

Now, the hope is he can have the same type of impact for a Milwaukee team that can use both the outfield depth as well as the offensive skills Tapia can provide.

“He’s been a good hitter in this league,” Brewers general manager Matt Arnold said. “A guy that’s been pesky and athletic, a guy that we’ve faced and who’s had success against in the past and always kind of given us fits.

“So, when he became available, he was somebody we earmarked as maybe being able to help us. He brings great energy, is a really good athlete and is somebody we think can give us a nice spark here.”

Tapia, 29, was designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox last week and then released after he hit .264 with a home run and 10 runs batted in over 39 games. He made the team’s opening-day roster after signing a minor-league deal.

He was coming off arguably his best season in 2022 when he hit .265 with seven homers and 52 RBI in 128 games with the Toronto Blue Jays but was then non-tendered.

In 606 career games – 439 of those coming with the Colorado Rockies – Tapia is a .276 hitter.

An added bonus: Tapia has almost even splits with a .277 career average against right-handed pitchers and .275 average against lefties.

"We're going to use him against right-handed pitching," manager Craig Counsell said. "It's going to be against big splits where we can take advantage of having another left-handed hitter. That's the primary purpose."

The left-handed-hitting Tapia was in uniform and took part in pre-game activities with the Brewers on Tuesday but wasn’t activated until Wednesday morning.

He made his debut in Milwaukee's 4-2 loss and struck out in his only at-bat.

Infielder Abraham Toro was optioned to Class AAA Nashville to make room on the 26-man roster while right-hander Cam Robinson was designated for assignment to clear space for Tapia on the 40-man.

“I’m just ready for whatever comes,” he said through translator Carlos Brizuela.

“Whether it’s going in for defense, pinch-running, having good at-bats – I’m just trying to prepare myself to help the team win. I think I bring a chip to the field. Just hustle, try to run the bases hard – make a single into a double, bring excitement, try to get the fans going.

“Try to use my speed and do whatever I can.”

In the Brewers’ current alignment, Christian Yelich will continue to be the regular in left field while rookie Joey Wiemer has played well enough defensively to continue to start in center.

“I think it’ll probably be more right field, with (Yelich) in left and how well Joey’s played in center,” Arnold said. “But he has the ability to play all three.”

Toro homered and drove in five runs in five games since being recalled from Class AAA Nashville but experienced some hiccups defensively at third base.

Robinson, 23, was added to the 40-man roster in November after leading the minor leagues in saves with 25 in 2022.

He struggled after opening the season at Nashville and was even worse after being demoted to Class AA Biloxi on May 2. In 21 total appearances, Robinson is 0-2 with an 8.55 ERA, WHIP of 2.40 and two saves. He struck out 30 in 20 innings but opposing batters hit him to the tune of a .326 collective average.

Eric Lauer optioned to Class AAA Nashville

Following their 7-5 loss on Tuesday, the Brewers announced they'd reinstated left-hander Eric Lauer from the injured list and optioned him to Class AAA Nashville.

It's been a big fall from grace in a short amount of time for Lauer, who was expected to be a key cog in Milwaukee's rotation this season. Instead, he failed to build upon a strong 2022 campaign and went 4-5 with a 5.48 earned run average in nine appearances (eight starts) before going on the IL.

Lauer had also made two rehab appearances for Nashville and showed no signs of getting back on track there, recording a 13.50 ERA and WHIP of 3.43 in 4 ⅔ innings.

"We just need to get Eric pitching," Counsell said. Lauer went 11-7 with a 3.69 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 158 ⅔ innings in 29 starts last year.

"That's the bottom line. You want Eric pitching at the top of his abilities like he did at times last year when he was a very, very good major-league starter. We just haven't seen that for most of this year.

"We'll just try to get him some consecutive starts where he can get it going a little bit and feel good, and that should hopefully lead him to getting back here."

Another starter, left-hander Wade Miley, will rejoin the rotation on Saturday after a one-game injury rehab stint at Class AA Biloxi.

Brewers complete Trevor Megill trade

The Brewers later Wednesday announced they had sent right-hander Taylor Floyd to the Twins as the player to be named to complete the teams' April 30 trade for right-hander Trevor Megill.

Floyd, 25, was a 10th-round draft pick of the Brewers in 2019 out of Texas Tech. He was 1-2 with a 3.04 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 23 ⅔ innings over 15 appearances for advanced Class A Wisconsin this season.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Pesky and athletic': Raimel Tapia latest addition to Brewers outfield