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Article: Veteran RHP José Ureña Signed To Minor-League Deal


Brewer Fanatic Contributor

Last night, we learned that the Brewers signed veteran right-hander José Ureña to a minor league deal with an invite to the final week of big-league camp.

Jose Ureña is a 30-year-old who made his big-league debut way back in 2015 with the Miami Marlins. In 2017, he went 14-7 with a 3.82 ERA in 169 2/3 innings. He had a 3.98 ERA in 31 starts and 174 innings. Following the 2020 season, he became a free agent. Last year, he signed with the Tigers. In 26 games (18 starts), he went 4-8 with a 5.81 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP in 100 2/3 innings. 

Ureña doesn’t blow the ball past hitters, instead posting an incredible 52% ground ball rate to go with the well below-average strikeout rate of 14.7%. Craig Counsell and the David Stearns front office have had a lot of success with ground ball pitchers, most recently Adrian Houser, Alex Claudio, Junior Guerra, Wade Miley, and Jeremy Jeffress. This is a good strategy with an infield that consists of Kolten Wong, Willy Adames, and Luis Urias - all three with above-average range.

It will be interesting to see if the Brewers look to use Ureña as a ground ball-inducing bullpen piece or if they try to stash him in Triple-A, let him stretch out, and call him up as rotation depth when needed.

What do you think of this signing? What do you think Urena's role will be for the 2022 Brewers? Leave your thoughts in the COMMENTS below. 


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On a minor league deal, there's really not any risk. 

Adam McCalvy puy up an article recently where he interviewed Trevor Gott, who said: “What I’ve loved about being here is it’s not just, ‘Hey, here’s what you’re good at, go do it,’” Gott explained. “It’s more, ‘This is what you’re good at, this is why you’re good at it, and this is when and where you need to use it.' It’s been great so far.”

I think the Brewers analyze pitching differently than others, and that's part of why their pitching staff has been so successful. If someone like Urena can get a little help from the lab, he could be a great guy to have in the bullpen. It's always nice to have someone you can bring in with runners on base who is very likely to induce a double play. Bring in specialists and put them in situations where they will succeed.

"The most successful (people) know that performance over the long haul is what counts. If you can seize the day, great. But never forget that there are days yet to come."

 

~Bill Walsh

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On a minor league deal, there's really not any risk. 

Adam McCalvy puy up an article recently where he interviewed Trevor Gott, who said: “What I’ve loved about being here is it’s not just, ‘Hey, here’s what you’re good at, go do it,’” Gott explained. “It’s more, ‘This is what you’re good at, this is why you’re good at it, and this is when and where you need to use it.' It’s been great so far.”

I think the Brewers analyze pitching differently than others, and that's part of why their pitching staff has been so successful. If someone like Urena can get a little help from the lab, he could be a great guy to have in the bullpen. It's always nice to have someone you can bring in with runners on base who is very likely to induce a double play. Bring in specialists and put them in situations where they will succeed.

"The most successful (people) know that performance over the long haul is what counts. If you can seize the day, great. But never forget that there are days yet to come."

 

~Bill Walsh

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On a minor league deal, there's really not any risk. 

Adam McCalvy puy up an article recently where he interviewed Trevor Gott, who said: “What I’ve loved about being here is it’s not just, ‘Hey, here’s what you’re good at, go do it,’” Gott explained. “It’s more, ‘This is what you’re good at, this is why you’re good at it, and this is when and where you need to use it.' It’s been great so far.”

I think the Brewers analyze pitching differently than others, and that's part of why their pitching staff has been so successful. If someone like Urena can get a little help from the lab, he could be a great guy to have in the bullpen. It's always nice to have someone you can bring in with runners on base who is very likely to induce a double play. Bring in specialists and put them in situations where they will succeed.

"The most successful (people) know that performance over the long haul is what counts. If you can seize the day, great. But never forget that there are days yet to come."

 

~Bill Walsh

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On a minor league deal, there's really not any risk. 

Adam McCalvy puy up an article recently where he interviewed Trevor Gott, who said: “What I’ve loved about being here is it’s not just, ‘Hey, here’s what you’re good at, go do it,’” Gott explained. “It’s more, ‘This is what you’re good at, this is why you’re good at it, and this is when and where you need to use it.' It’s been great so far.”

I think the Brewers analyze pitching differently than others, and that's part of why their pitching staff has been so successful. If someone like Urena can get a little help from the lab, he could be a great guy to have in the bullpen. It's always nice to have someone you can bring in with runners on base who is very likely to induce a double play. Bring in specialists and put them in situations where they will succeed.

"The most successful (people) know that performance over the long haul is what counts. If you can seize the day, great. But never forget that there are days yet to come."

 

~Bill Walsh

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Brewer Fanatic Contributor

Will be interesting to see what, if anything, he has left in the tank. Sinker Baller if I recall, correctly? But, really a ground ball pitcher who lacks any ability to strike batters out? It's been awhile. But, on a minor league deal take a look and see if there is anything there. Since the first couple games of Spring, the bullpen hasn't exactly been lighting it up as it were. 

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Will be interesting to see what, if anything, he has left in the tank. Sinker Baller if I recall, correctly? But, really a ground ball pitcher who lacks any ability to strike batters out? It's been awhile. But, on a minor league deal take a look and see if there is anything there. Since the first couple games of Spring, the bullpen hasn't exactly been lighting it up as it were. 

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Brewer Fanatic Contributor

Will be interesting to see what, if anything, he has left in the tank. Sinker Baller if I recall, correctly? But, really a ground ball pitcher who lacks any ability to strike batters out? It's been awhile. But, on a minor league deal take a look and see if there is anything there. Since the first couple games of Spring, the bullpen hasn't exactly been lighting it up as it were. 

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Brewer Fanatic Contributor

Will be interesting to see what, if anything, he has left in the tank. Sinker Baller if I recall, correctly? But, really a ground ball pitcher who lacks any ability to strike batters out? It's been awhile. But, on a minor league deal take a look and see if there is anything there. Since the first couple games of Spring, the bullpen hasn't exactly been lighting it up as it were. 

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Brewer Fanatic Contributor
1 hour ago, BSirvio said:

Ureña's reputation as a headhunter worries me. A minor league deal just to see what, if anything, he has left in the tank can't hurt, but I have to think that if he gives the Brewers significant innings this season, something has gone very, very wrong.

I think one of two things happens: he rotated through the bullpen for some length of time or he gets called up to start in place of somebody else and gets DFA following his stint. 
 

I have to agree it would be really bad if he gets a lot of innings. 

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Brewer Fanatic Contributor
1 hour ago, BSirvio said:

Ureña's reputation as a headhunter worries me. A minor league deal just to see what, if anything, he has left in the tank can't hurt, but I have to think that if he gives the Brewers significant innings this season, something has gone very, very wrong.

I think one of two things happens: he rotated through the bullpen for some length of time or he gets called up to start in place of somebody else and gets DFA following his stint. 
 

I have to agree it would be really bad if he gets a lot of innings. 

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Brewer Fanatic Contributor
1 hour ago, BSirvio said:

Ureña's reputation as a headhunter worries me. A minor league deal just to see what, if anything, he has left in the tank can't hurt, but I have to think that if he gives the Brewers significant innings this season, something has gone very, very wrong.

I think one of two things happens: he rotated through the bullpen for some length of time or he gets called up to start in place of somebody else and gets DFA following his stint. 
 

I have to agree it would be really bad if he gets a lot of innings. 

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Brewer Fanatic Contributor
1 hour ago, BSirvio said:

Ureña's reputation as a headhunter worries me. A minor league deal just to see what, if anything, he has left in the tank can't hurt, but I have to think that if he gives the Brewers significant innings this season, something has gone very, very wrong.

I think one of two things happens: he rotated through the bullpen for some length of time or he gets called up to start in place of somebody else and gets DFA following his stint. 
 

I have to agree it would be really bad if he gets a lot of innings. 

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