Brewers Shake Up Bullpen, Option Craig Yoho for 6-Year Veteran

The Milwaukee Brewers are sending Craig Yoho back down to the minors and promoting Joel Kuhnel in his place.

Sep 7, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Craig Yoho (48) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers wasted no time making another change for the bullpen.

The bullpen has been a bit of a revolving door for Milwaukee lately, with injuries, promotions, and options. That's not all. Milwaukee acquired veteran hurler Joel Kuhnel from the Athletics in exchange for cash. On Monday, the Brewers announced that Kuhnel has been promoted to the big league club and that, in response, 26-year-old righty Craig Yoho has been optioned down to Triple-A.

Today's transactions pic.twitter.com/RnW50HWOpx

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 8, 2026

The Brewers Sent Craig Yoho Down

Feb 20, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Craig Yoho poses for a portrait during photo day at American Family Fields of Phoenix. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Yoho was promoted last week and made his big league season debut on Friday against the Colorado Rockies. In his first big league outing of the season, Yoho pitched two scoreless innings against the Rockies and struck out three without allowing a base hit. On Sunday, Yoho pitched another inning against the Rockies and allowed one earned run on a solo homer and struck out two batters. He looked good in the small sample size, but is now heading back to Triple-A Nashville.

Before his promotion, he had pitched in 16 games down in Triple-A and logged a 1.00 ERA and a 24-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 18 innings pitched.

Now, Kuhnel will get his shot in the majors out of the Brewers' bullpen. He's a six-year big league veteran with 25 appearances under his belt this season as a member of the Athletics before the trade. Over that stretch, he logged a 4.21 ERA and a 14-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 25 2/3 innings pitched. Overall, he has a 5.51 career ERA in 107 total appearances in the majors. It's a bit surprising to see Yoho sent down after just two appearances because of the massive upside that he has, but the Brewers just acquired Kuhnel, so it's also good to see him in action.

Arguably, the Brewers should've sent someone else down, but that's what's going to happen when you're towards the bottom of the pecking order on a big league club's bullpen. It's a revolving door and pieces are moving all the time. Hopefully, Kuhnel is able to impress in the majors with Milwaukee and hopefully, Yoho is back up with the big league club soon. It's been a tough go for the Brewers' bullpen recently, but the club has continued to find a way through. Like the rest of the season, they'll continue to do so now. Somehow Milwaukee is one of the top contenders in baseball right now, no matter what they do.