The Milwaukee Brewers’ Opening Day roster was announced on Saturday, and relief pitcher Tyler Cravy was not one of the 25 people to make the roster.
And Cravy was quite displeased with that, saying “I’d rather just find a 9-5 job where I get treated like a human at this point.”
Scahill will report to SkySox. Cravy will think about it. "I'd rather just find a 9-5 job where I get treated like a human at this point."
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) April 1, 2017
Hoo boy. That’s one hell of a quote. And there’s more!
More Cravy about possibly quitting: “I’m not sure I want to play for guys that treat you like this."
— Tom (@Haudricourt) April 1, 2017
“It would just be nice to have the honesty straight up front instead of, ‘Hey, you’re competing for a job,’ then literally out-compete everyone and be told, ‘Sorry, we have other plans.’
“It says a lot about the integrity, or lack thereof, of the guys running the show, but what are you going to do? All you can do is put up numbers and sometimes that’s still not enough. I don’t think they would release me. I think it would just be me deciding to quit if I chose that route. I’m just not sure I want to play for guys who treat you like this.”
So, Cravy certainly hinted at quitting, but later sent out a tweet — which was sorry, not sorry-esque — explaining that his comments were in the heat of the moment and he doesn’t intend to quit:
https://twitter.com/TylerJayCravy/status/848354106221768704
Brewers general manager David Stearns said that it’s natural for a player in Cravy’s position to be upset about getting cut, and that the organization is “sensitive to that.”
“I think it’s very natural for any player who has had a good spring and has competed well throughout spring and is in the final cuts to be disappointed and emotional about it,” Stearns said.
“Tyler, in particular, went through this last year. He made the trip with us (to play Class AA) Biloxi and was sent out at Biloxi. Dealing with this two years in a row is not a pleasant experience. We’re sensitive to that.”
After being told by the Brewers that he was competing for a job this spring, the 27-year-old Cravy put together a sterling 2.03 ERA in 13 1/3 innings pitched, with 11 strikeouts and three walks allowed. That’s after he had a 2.86 ERA — though a 4.35 FIP would say he was a bit fortunate — in 28 1/3 innings pitched for the Brewers last season. So, while Cravy’s comments were probably a bit overboard, it’s easy to see why he’s very frustrated.
The guess here is that Cravy reports to Triple-A, is very motivated and pitches well, and is one of the first call-ups to the majors when injuries and/or disappointments happen in the Milwaukee bullpen. You’d naturally wonder if the Brewers would choose to release Cravy, but Stearns’ comments would make it seem as though the organization is willing to just mark it off as frustration in the moment.
