Notes: Brewers designate veteran reliever Boone Logan for assignment to activate Peralta

PITTSBURGH - Veteran reliever Boone Logan, who never got on track after beginning the season with a lengthy stay on the disabled list, was designated for assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.

The Brewers hoped to get Logan squared away but it just got to the point where a contending team couldn't wait any longer for it to happen.

"It's unfortunate," manager Craig Counsell said. "It was a spot we could have used some innings, but it just hadn't worked so far. So, we decided to make a change."

The Brewers have seven days to trade Logan. Otherwise, he would be placed on waivers, and if he clears, they can assign him to the minors. But he has the right of refusal and likely would do so.

The Brewers made the move to open a roster spot for right-hander Freddy Peralta, who was recalled from Class AAA Colorado Springs to start the game Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Logan, 33, suffered a strained triceps near the end of spring training and opened the season on the 10-day disabled list. He was not activated until May 9 and never was able to make up for lost time.

In 16 outings covering only 10 2/3 innings, Logan allowed 15 hits, including three home runs and 10 walks, resulting in a horrendous 2.344 WHIP and 5.91 earned run average. Opponents were batting .326 against him, and he allowed five of seven inherited runners to score. 

Logan was acquired in large part because of his long track record of getting left-handed hitters out but he failed to continue that trend with the Brewers. Left-handed hitters batted .409 against him, compared to .250 for right-handers.

Logan's latest outing Saturday against Philadelphia didn't go well at all. Taking over with one runner on in the sixth inning and one out, with the Brewers trailing, 2-1, Logan allowed two more runs to score before getting the third out. 

"Sometimes, you get to a spot where you need results," Counsell said. "We just weren't getting any good results. Then, you look for spots where you try to get him back on track and where you can use him, and it just didn't look like a fit."

Though Logan missed the second half of the 2017 season with Cleveland with a torn latissimus dorsi muscle behind his pitching shoulder, the Brewers took a shot on him by signing him to a free-agent contract in January. He received a $1.875 million salary this season with a club option for $4.125 million in 2019, with a $625,000 buyout.

That deal guaranteed Logan $2.5 million, which the Brewers will owe him if no other club claims him off waivers. 

The move dropped the Brewers to seven relievers, and with just one scheduled off-day before the all-star break, Counsell said another would be added at some point.

Change with Burnes: Prospect Corbin Burnes pitched in relief instead of starting Monday night at Colorado Springs but it wasn't because of a need there.

The Brewers want to see if Burnes might be able to help them out of the bullpen in the second half of the season, much as Josh Hader did in 2017. Hader performed so well in that role, he was kept in the bullpen this season.

"It is something we may consider at the big-league level this year," Counsell said. "This is about 2018. We view Corbin as a starter; he will be a starter for this organization. But the move is thinking about possibilities in 2018."

Burnes fared well in his first relief outing, allowing one hit over two scoreless innings with a walk and three strikeouts. In 13 starts, he was 3-4 with a 4.96 ERA, his numbers inflated by a 6.30 ERA at home in the tough pitching environment there.

"It's not something that's set in stone that it'll continue for the rest of the year," Counsell said. "But it's a possibility that we could see coming, and we want to make sure if that's the direction we go, he's prepared for it."

Contacted Tuesday, Burnes said his fastball registered 95-97 mph in that relief outing, a bit better than usual.

"The main goal is to just get some experience relieving and see how it goes," he said. "It wasn’t that weird. I think the biggest adjustment is just getting warmed up a little bit quicker. But once I got out there on the mound, I was just pitching and doing my thing.

"It was a good night. I threw a lot of strikes, threw the ball well, so it was definitely a good first experience."

Todd Rosiak of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this story.