The Milwaukee Brewers and left-handed pitcher Hoby Milner have successfully avoided arbitration, according to a report by Robert Murray of FanSided. Milner is set to earn a salary of $2.05 million for the upcoming season.
As of Friday, teams and arbitration-eligible players had a deadline to submit salary figures, with hearings scheduled for late January. Many such cases are typically settled as the deadline approaches.
Milner, who will turn 33 in January, entered arbitration eligibility last year and received a salary of $1.025 million. While MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected him to earn $1.7 million in 2024, Milner’s actual salary of $2.05 million exceeds that estimate. He is slated for one more arbitration raise in 2025 before becoming eligible for free agency.
The southpaw had an impressive season in terms of run prevention, concluding the year with a 1.82 earned run average over 73 appearances out of the Milwaukee bullpen. Although he may have benefited from a .254 batting average on balls in play and an 84.2% strand rate, both of which are slightly above average, Milner displayed strong underlying metrics. These include a 23.4% strikeout rate, a 5.2% walk rate, and a 50.9% ground ball rate. While advanced metrics like his 3.13 FIP and 3.43 SIERA suggest he might not have been as dominant as his ERA indicates, they still indicate a solid performance.
Milner is expected to serve as the primary left-handed option in the Brewers’ bullpen for the 2024 season, with additional depth options like Ethan Small, Clayton Andrews, and Bryan Hudson also on the 40-man roster.