The trading deadline deals are beginning to trickle in and will continue to do so over the next week. The latest: The Milwaukee Brewers send three minor league pitchers to the San Diego Padres for reliever Scott Linebrink. From the Brewers media relations staff:
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Brewers today acquired RHP Scott Linebrink from the San Diego Padres in exchange for LHP Joe Thatcher, RHP Will Inman and LHP Steve Garrison. Linebrink will wear uniform #40 and is expected to join the team this weekend in St. Louis. The announcement was made by Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Melvin.
“One of our primary goals heading into the trade deadline was to add a quality pitcher to the bullpen,” said Melvin. “We feel that this move addresses that goal. Scott has been one of the top setup men in baseball in recent years and he will be a valuable addition to the staff as we move forward in our quest to earn a postseason berth.”
Linebrink, 30, went 3-3 with a 3.80 ERA and 1 save in 44 relief appearances for the Padres this season. He has allowed seven runs in 2.2 innings over his last three outings. Prior to those appearances, he had a 2.55 ERA and was holding opponents to a .228 batting average (now .240).
Linebrink owns a career record of 28-13 with a 3.19 ERA and 4 saves in 357 appearances (6 starts) over eight Major League seasons with San Francisco (2000), Houston (2000-03) and San Diego (2003-07). His 219 appearances from 2004-06 ranked fifth in the National League as he appeared in 73 games in each of those seasons. His 90 holds during that period led the Major Leagues.
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As mentioned in the release, Linebrink has struggled of late. What's most troubling is his strikeouts are way down on the season. Over the previous three years, he's struck out more than eight batters per nine innings. This year, his strikeout rate is 5 K/9 IP. And with the decrease in strikeouts comes an increase in home runs. For his career, he has an 8.8% HR/FB rate, but this year it's almost doubled to 16.1% HR/FB.