MILWAUKEE -- With less than a week before pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, the Brewers reportedly added depth on Thursday in former Indians right-hander Josh Tomlin. According to The Athletic, Tomlin and the Brewers agreed to a Minor League contract that includes an invitation to Major League camp.
The Brewers had yet to make the agreement official, but MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal reported that Tomlin would get a $1.25 million salary in the Majors with incentives that could add up to $2.25 million if he tops 150 innings.
Tomlin, 34, appeared out of the bullpen for 23 of his 32 appearances with Cleveland in 2018, when he logged a career-worst 6.14 ERA and was limited to 70 1/3 innings because of a hamstring injury and trouble with the long ball. Tomlin yielded 25 homers, two more than the season before when he pitched more than twice as many innings.
But he was a regular member of the starting rotation in the two years prior to that, including going 13-9 with a 4.40 ERA in 174 regular-season innings in 2016 for an Indians team that reached the World Series.
Tomlin was in his third Major League season in 2012, the year current Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns worked in Cleveland's front office.