Brewers Outright Taylor Clarke – MLB Transfer Rumors

10th of July: Clarke went unclaimed on the outright waiver and was assigned to Triple-A Nashville, according to the team’s transaction log on MLB.com. As previously mentioned, he’s likely to accept it. Clarke has logged 48 days of service while on the major league injured list entering this season, putting him at 4,168 years of service — just four days shy of the five years he would need to decline the outright waiver but keep his salary. (Clarke did not receive any major league service time during his DFA window because he was in Triple-A at the time of his assignment.)

3rd of July: The Brewers have named right-handers Taylor Clarke for the task of freeing up a place in the 40-man squad for the newly acquired right-hander Aaron Civale. The right-hander did not play in the Major League for Milwaukee after coming from Kansas City in an offseason transfer that sent the minor league right-hander Ryan Brady and minor league infielder Cam Devanney back to the royals.

Clarke, 31, was a major league pitcher for the 2019-21 D-backs and the 2022-23 Royals. He performed well with Kansas City in 2022, throwing 49 innings with a 4.04 ERA, a solid 23.6% strikeout rate and a pristine 3.9% walk rate. However, he was unable to carry that performance into the 2023 season, reflected in a 5.95 ERA in 59 frames. Clarke struck out an even better 24.4% of his opponents, but also walked 9% of the batters he faced and allowed significantly more hard contact, resulting in a bloated 1.83 HR/9 mark.

Milwaukee, likely intrigued by Clarke’s 95 mph average, his ability to miss batters and his remaining minor league option, sent two minor league players to Kansas City after the Royals designated Clarke for assignment themselves (to make room for the signing of Seth Lugo). He began the season on the minor league injured list and has been used as a starter since his return, though the results have not been encouraging. Clarke has pitched in 11 games, nine of them starts, and has been sentenced to a dismal 5.30 earned run average. He is again showing strong control (5.2% walk rate), but his strikeout rate has dropped to 19.5%, while last season’s home run problems continue (1.77 HR/9).

The Brewers will either trade Clarke or place him on waivers within the next five days. (The waivers themselves are another 48-hour process.) He has enough service time to decline a direct assignment to the minor leagues if he goes unclaimed, but doing so would mean forfeiting the remaining $1.25 million in salary for this season. Given that arbitration salary and his struggles in the upper minor leagues, it seems likely that Clarke will be released and remain with the Brewers in Triple-A Nashville. If he is not re-signed to the 40-man roster before the end of the season, he would be eligible for minor league free agency, as is the case with all players who have three years of service time but have been removed from a team’s 40-man roster.