Milwaukee Brewers Acquire Closer From Athletics
Fitzpatrick hurt his left elbow after throwing one warmup pitch in the seventh inning Friday against Colorado and was placed on the 15-day IL with a UCL strain, with manager Pat Murphy acknowledging the organization needs another medical opinion to determine whether Tommy John surgery is required.
Quinn Priester was simultaneously transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day IL, with left-handers DL Hall, Rob Zastryzny, Jared Koenig, and Angel Zerpa joining right-handers Brandon Woodruff and Logan Henderson on the shelf.
The A’s have traded RHP Joel Kuhnel to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for cash considerations.
— A's Communications (@AthleticsPR) June 7, 2026
Who Kuhnel Is
Kuhnel, 31, made 25 appearances with the Athletics this season, posting a 4.21 ERA with four saves before a rough outing Thursday at Wrigley Field inflated his numbers.
Without that four-run ninth-inning appearance against the Cubs, his ERA would sit at 2.88.
He was designated for assignment Friday after that Wrigley blowup, and Milwaukee moved quickly before he could reach the open waiver market.
Joel Kuhnel spent all of 2025 at the AAA level and posted 25 IP with the A's at the big league level before being traded yesterday
— Baseball Unstitched (@BaseUnstitched) June 7, 2026
He works in the zone and stays off the barrel, but gives up a lot of hits with a low K rate as a bullpen arm
I would love to see him lean more on… https://t.co/v3WqUSmCdk
This is technically a reunion of sorts for Kuhnel and the Brewers.
He was on Milwaukee's 40-man roster twice in 2024, was promoted to the big league roster on two separate occasions, but never actually appeared in a game before being claimed by the Rays.
He is 5-5 with a 5.51 ERA across 107 career games with the Reds, Astros, Rays, and Athletics.
Milwaukee's bullpen has now featured 11 different pitchers with at least ten appearances this season.
Photo Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images
