Brewers quietly trying their voodoo on former Padres pitcher feels irritatingly believable

If the Brewers are able to work their magic on a former San Diego Padre once again, it might be time to reconsider who the club releases into the wild.

Milwaukee has already turned Brandon Lockridge into an every day outfielder after failing to develop with the Padres. He was a below average hitter with San Diego, but now he can hack it in the .260s with his new team. That's enough production to call for instant regret by the Padres' front office.

And while we watch Lockridge elevate his game, the Brewers are now trying to strike gold twice from the Padres' minor leagues. The club signed Reiss Knehr, who has not pitched in an MLB game since 2023, this past weekend to a minor league deal. Who knows, judging by the way the Brewers made Lockridge legitimate, they might have Knehr up and ready as their setup man in the bullpen by the end of May.

Brewers sign former Padre reliever Reiss Knehr

Knehr has dealt with elbow injuries for the last few years. He underwent Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss all of the 2024 season. He then only appeared in 18 games with Triple-A El Paso in 2025 before running into more health problems. For what it's worth, he was pretty good last year before he got hurt again. At 29 years old, that track record of injuries is difficult to overcome. MLB teams aren't necessarily knocking the door down for these players, but the Brewers clearly see something in him.

Padres fans obviously want to see Knehr do well, but if he is turns into a reliable MLB reliever this season with Milwaukee, the frustration will understandably grow. Why couldn't San Diego figure out what was wrong with Lockridge? He isn't an All-Star, but he is far better now than he was with the Padres. Knehr could very well follow that same path, leaving Padres fans confused why their team couldn't properly develop some of these forgotten prospects.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow