Claiming reliever Arcenio Leon off waivers, Milwaukee Brewers add another reliever – MLB News
The Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, November 2, continued making new moves, offering outright assignment to Triple-A Nashville to multiple players and claiming a right-handed reliever Arcenio Leon off waivers from the Houston Astros.
Friday’s move to bring in Leon is part of the strategy to improve and strengthen the roster in order to make it competitive enough for the upcoming season. Leon made his appearance in Double-A Corpus this year.
With 44 relief appearances, Leon had maintained 4.38 ERA. General manager Doug Melvin spoke about the move in his talk with the press.
"He's probably got a chance to make our Triple-A club or our Double-A next year," Brewers' general manager Doug Melvin said. "We've seen a good amount of him. [Pro scout] Leon Wurth saw him, [special assistant] Dan O'Brien was familiar with him, and he's always had a good power arm. So we figured we'd try and add him to our inventory."
Having previously appeared in the Venezuelan Summer League, he has demonstrated his talent, garnering attention of the Brewers which actually claimed the waivers on Friday.
With the bullpen struggling in 2012, with a number of blown saves, the Brewers are looking for a bunch of relievers that can consistency perform.
"One of the things I look back on and can correct is being tied up with no flexibility in our bullpen," Melvin said. "We want to have flexibility in our bullpen and have the roster space in case guys become available."
With Jose Veras opting for the free agency, the Brewers had space in the roster. Bullpen was the Brewers’ strength last year when they outrivaled several teams in the National League, making it to the National League Championship Series.
However, much to the chagrin of the team, this year did not witness the kind of excellent performance by the bullpen which was there to see in 2011.
With the recent moves, it will be interesting to see how rewarding will it be for the Brewers in the long run given the aim to spring back and make ascent in the Division and League.
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