Yes, the Brewers have talked with free agent Craig Kimbrel, but there's no indication of a possible agreement

PHOENIX – The Milwaukee Brewers have talked to the agent of free-agent reliever Craig Kimbrel, according to a report Tuesday evening by The Athletic.

There was no indication that contact between the sides was anything more than exploratory. One source indicated no agreement was close.

Kimbrel is one of two top free agents remaining on the market, along with left-hander Dallas Keuchel. There were reports at the start of the offseason Kimbrel was seeking a six-year, $100-million deal, but obviously he has not been offered something in that neighborhood. 

The Brewers already are stretched in terms of payroll for 2019, which now projects to about $125 million, highest in franchise history. They might have reached out to Kimbrel to see if he would do a one-year deal, as they did with catcher Yasmani Grandal ($18.25 million) and infielder Mike Moustakas ($10 million).

But even a one-year deal with Kimbrel would come at a high price. The current highest average contract value for a reliever is the $17.33 million that Colorado's Wade Davis is averaging over a three-year, $52 million deal signed in 2018.

Kimbrel went 5-1 with a 2.74 earned run average in 63 appearances last season for the World Series champion Boston Red Sox, with 96 strikeouts in 62⅓ innings. In nine years with Atlanta, San Diego and Boston, he is 31-19 with a 1.91 ERA in 542 games, with 333 saves and 868 strikeouts in 532⅔ innings, a remarkable ratio of 14.7 whiffs per nine innings. 

The Brewers did pick up a veteran reliever Tuesday when they signed right-hander Josh Fields, who had been released by the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier in the month. But that was a minor-league deal and Fields will be assigned to Class AAA San Antonio to begin the season. 

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BOX SCORE: Rangers 3, Brewers 2

The Brewers are missing a valuable arm in their bullpen at present. Veteran right-hander Jeremy Jeffress, whose 2018 all-star season was the best of his career, will open the season on the injured list with shoulder weakness. But general manager David Stearns said Tuesday he doesn't expect Jeffress to have an extended absence, with expectations that he could return in late April, at the latest. 

The Brewers traded a Compensation Round A draft pick to Texas for reliever Alex Claudio and forfeited their third-round pick in 2019 for signing Grandal, who rejected the Dodgers' $17.9 million qualifying offer. Kimbrel also turned down a qualifying offer from the Red Sox, so the Brewers would lose their fourth-round pick if they signed him.