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Brewers hires pitcher who hasn’t seen action since 2019

The Milwaukee Brewers announced this Thursday that they signed the veteran left-handed pitcher Blaine Hardy with a minor league contract and invited to the major league spring training. He is represented by Only Baseball Players. Hardy, 33, was with the Detroit Tigers from 2014-19 before signing a minor league contract with the Twins last winter.

However, he suffered an ulnar collateral ligament tear early in camp with Minnesota and underwent surgery on Tommy John in March. As such, he’s unlikely to be ready to pitch in camp with the Brewers, though he will report to his spring facility and continue his rehab there.

In 289 2/3 innings at the major league level, most of it as a reliever, Hardy has a solid 3.73 ERA with a less optimistic 4.31 SIERA. The Tigers gave him the opportunity to extend as a starter in 2018, and while he had some success in that role in both Major League Baseball and Triple-A, he was eventually moved back to a bullpen environment after 13 starts.

Hardy has struck out 18.6 percent of the batters he faced in the majors against a walk rate of 8.3 percent. Lefties have hit him with a .232 / .298 / .412 clip, while right-handers have a .271 / .328 / .407 clip against him.

Hardy, at 1.88m and 88kg, could give the Brewers some experience in the rotation or in the bullpen, possibly as a multi-inning option if the club is encouraged by his limited work over longer periods. If he returns to the major league roster, Hardy may be controlled through the 2022 season through arbitration.

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