Brewers Lose Veteran Pitcher to Giants After 3 Months

The Milwaukee Brewers lost a veteran hurler to the San Francisco Giants on waivers.

Jun 18, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Joel Kuhnel (59) throws a pitch in the sixth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Milwaukee Brewers lost a veteran hurler on Friday.

Milwaukee designated righty Joel Kuhnel for assignment earlier in the week. If Kuhnel had gone unclaimed on waivers, the Brewers could've attempted to keep him in the organization by outrighting him down to the minors. In that scenario, Kuhnel would've had the power to opt for free agency instead because he has enough big league service time under his belt. It's a moot point, though. Kuhnel was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco Giants, per MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.

"The Brewers announced that RHP Joel Kuhnel was claimed off waivers by San Francisco," McCalvy wrote.

The Brewers announced that RHP Joel Kuhnel was claimed off waivers by San Francisco.

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) September 4, 2026

The Brewers Lost A Veteran Reliever On Friday

Jun 24, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Joel Kuhnel (59) throws against the Cincinnati Reds in the ninth inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Kuhnel ended his brief stint in the Brewers' organization with just 10 appearances in the majors for Milwaukee and 11 appearances in Triple-A with the Nashville Sounds. Milwaukee acquired Kuhnel in a trade with the Athletics back in June.

In the majors, Kuhnel had a 6.52 ERA in 10 appearances, to go along with an 8-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 9 2/3 innings pitched. Kuhnel was much better in Triple-A, where he had a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings pitched across 11 outings.

For the Brewers, losing Kuhnel doesn't hurt the big league club. This is a team that has the third-best bullpen ERA in baseball at 3.31 and just got JoJo Romero and Abner Uribe in the mix after being activated from the Injured List. The Brewers are loaded and set in the bullpen heading into the final push of the regular season. A bullpen with Trevor Megill (2.19 ERA), Chad Patrick (3.36 ERA), Aaron Ashby (3.16 ERA), Grant Anderson (3.42 ERA), Abner Uribe (1.97 ERA), DL Hall (2.25 ERA) and JoJo Romero (3.22 ERA) is enough to be a juggernaut.

The Giants, on the other hand, have the 20th-ranked bullpen ERA in baseball right now at 4.23. Kuhnel is someone with six years of big league experience under his belt. The season is winding down and the Giants aren't going to be in the playoffs. This is the time of the year to try to add pieces to just get to the finish line for clubs that have struggled.

Kuhnel is another veteran arm who can at least help the Giants down the stretch. He's 31 years old and pitched in 25 games with the Athletics earlier in the season before coming to the Brewers. With the Athletics, he had a 4.21 ERA in 25 2/3 innings pitched. That would be enough to help the Giants.