Brewers decline Boxberger's option, claim pitcher off waivers
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Brewers have declined the $3 million 2023 team option on right-handed reliever Brad Boxberger and have claimed right-hander Tyson Miller off waivers from the Texas Rangers.
By declining the team option on Boxberger, the Brewers now must pay him a $750,000 buyout instead.
Boxberger, 34, went 4-3 with a 2.95 ERA, 68 strikeouts and 27 walks in 64 innings this season. He was 5-4 with a 3.34 ERA, 83 strikeouts and 25 walks in 64 2/3 innings for the Brewers in 2021.
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He made 70 appearances this season and 71 in 2021 to lead the Brewers in that category both years.
Miller, 27, went 1-2 with a 10.97 ERA in four appearances with two starts for the Rangers this season. He struck out eight and walked eight in 10 2/3 innings.
On Nov. 8, the Brewers picked up the $10 million 2023 team option on the veteran second baseman.
Wong, 32, batted .251 this season and had a career-high 15 homers to go along with 47 RBIs and 17 steals in 134 games. He had a .339 on-base percentage and .430 slugging percentage.
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But the two-time Gold Glove winner also had 17 errors to match his career high.
Wong spent his first eight seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, who declined to exercise a $12.5 million option to keep him in 2021. The Brewers then signed him to a two-year, $18 million contract that included a $10 million team option for 2023.
The Brewers would have owed him a $2 million buyout if they hadn't picked up his option.
In his first season in Milwaukee, Wong batted .272 with 14 homers, 50 RBIs and 12 steals in 116 games while helping the Brewers win the NL Central title. Wong had a .335 on-base percentage and .447 slugging percentage that year.
This represents the first major move the Brewers have made since Matt Arnold was promoted to president of baseball operations last month after David Stearns stepped down. Stearns remains with the organization in an advisory role.