Brewers Veteran Right-Hander Becoming Valuable Part Of Rotation

The victory over Tampa Bay took on added significance for Rea. It was his most pitches thrown in a single game since having Tommy John surgery in November 2016 as a member of the San Diego Padres organization.  “I felt like I could have kept going,” said Rea, in a post-game interview. “I definitely had some chances to put them away earlier. We got ahead and then I kind of wasted some pitches.”

Rea utilizes six pitches including a split-finger fastball, curveball, sweeper, four-seam fastball, cutter, and a sinker, ranging in speed from 81.7 to 92.5 MPH according to Baseball Savant.

Rea Leading By Example

The veteran right-hander is in his second stint with the Brewers, and following a successful 2023 he signed a one-year $3.5 million contract. Rea, 33, is a seven-year MLB veteran who was originally drafted by San Diego in the 12th round in 2011. Last season with the Brewers, he logged a career-high 124 2/3 innings, yielding 65 runs on 110 hits with 110 strikeouts and 4.55 ERA.

Rea and Peralta stand out among the long list of starting pitchers for the Brewers this season. Joe Ross, DL Hall, Aaron Ashby, Wade Miley, Jakob Junis, Tobias Myers, Bryse Wilson , and recently called-up Robert Gasser have also started. The left-handed Gasser sparkled in his highly anticipated MLB debut, throwing six strong innings as the Brewers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 11-2 Friday night.

Gasser became the fifth player to make his debut with the Brewers this season, joining Myers, Jackson Chourio, Oliver Dunn, and Tyler Black. He became the second player in franchise history to pitch six scoreless innings in his first outing, joining Brandon Woodruff who did it in 2017.

With the continued leadership of battle-tested veterans such as Rea and Peralta to help guide a group of promising new talent, stability in the rotation could be on the horizon for the first-place Brewers.