Brewers veer away from acquiring young talent to add veteran reliever Anthony Swarzak

WASHINGTON - The Brewers made official Wednesday morning what had leaked out the previous evening: They have acquired veteran reliever Anthony Swarzak from the Chicago White Sox.

In exchange for Swarzak, the Brewers sent minor-league outfielder Ryan Cordell to Chicago. Cordell, 25, was playing at Class AAA Colorado Springs but has been on the disabled list since June 26 with a back issue, and the White Sox needed to check his medical records before the deal became official. 

The Brewers have been scouring the trade market for both starting pitching and relief help, and general manager David Stearns made, for him, an unusual move to trade a minor leaguer for a veteran. During his club rebuild, Stearns has been doing the opposite, sending away established players for prospects.

"As we progress through our plan, the major-league team at times is going to take on added importance," Stearns said. "This was a situation where we thought Anthony fit a need for us very nicely. He's a pitcher who has had a great deal of success this year against both right-handed and left-handed hitters.

"He's a pitcher who has missed bats and is able to perform in both shorter segments and longer segments. That was important to us because he lengthens the overall quality of our pen and gives (manager) Craig (Counsell) another weapon to match up against guys as he thinks is best."

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Swarzak will be 32 in September and is a free agent after the season. The right-hander also is having by far the best year of his career, posting a 4-3 record and 2.23 earned run average in 41 appearances. He has pitched 48 1/3 innings, allowing 37 hits and 13 walks with 52 strikeouts.

In six-plus previous seasons with Minnesota, Cleveland and the New York Yankees, Swarzak posted a 4.52 ERA over 217 appearances. He was a second-round draft pick in 2004 by the Twins out of high school in Davie, Fla.

Asked why Swarzak has been so much better this season, Stearns said, "The biggest thing, that probably anyone can see, is he is throwing harder. He has increased his velocity and also fastball life. He's generating more swing and miss on the fastball, and more swing and miss in general than he has in his career.

"You couple that with a quality major-league slider and you have a pretty good relief pitcher. That's what he has been this year. Sometimes guys find it at different stages of their careers. He wouldn't be the first reliever that had it click at a little bit later stage. We think what he has done for the first three months of the season is real, and we expect it to continue."

As for where Swarzak might fit in the Brewers' bullpen, Stearns said, "He's going to fit into that high-leverage mix later in games. I think Craig has done a good job of keeping these guys fluid. Outside of Corey (Knebel's) role (as closer), I don't think we have defined, set roles in our bullpen. Guys realize they have to be ready when called upon, and Anthony is going to be the same way." 

Reached later in the day, Swarzak said he would arrive here Wednesday evening and be activated for the Brewers' series finale Thursday afternoon against the Nationals. 

"I'm excited to go play for a first-place, contending Brewers team," he said. "I look forward to getting in there and meeting everybody, and contributing to winning some ball games."

Swarzak said he has not been as surprised by his resurgence this season as others might be. 

"I never doubted myself," he said. "I knew I had it in me. It's just nice to see the results are starting to show up to go with the hard work over the last few years. 

"There's a lot that goes into it but when you look at it, it's very simple. My (velocity) is up, my breaking ball is a little tighter, a little later in the zone. And I'm locating a little bit better this year. All of that stuff just goes with hard work. I've dedicated my life in every aspect to getting stronger and being in better shape, and it's really showing. I've thrown a lot this year but I still feel strong."

Cordell, 25, was acquired from Texas on Aug. 1 of last season as one of three minor-league prospects in exchange for catcher Jonathan Lucroy and reliever Jeremy Jeffress. Outfielder Lewis Brinson, considered the Brewers’ No. 1 prospect, and right-hander Luis Ortiz also came to the Brewers in that deal.

Playing mostly outfield but also some third base, Cordell was batting .284 in 68 games for the Sky Sox with 18 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs and 45 runs batted in. He has a .855 OPS but is expected to be out a few more weeks with the back issue.

"Moving Cordell is not easy," Stearns said. "We think he has a chance to be a good player. But, in order to make moves and bring in guys we think are going to help our major-league team, sometimes it takes trading a player like that. Fortunately, we have outfield depth, both at the major-league level and throughout our system."