Brandon Kintzler

Brandon Kintzler
Kintzler with the Milwaukee Brewers
Chicago Cubs – No. 20
Relief pitcher
Born: (1984-08-01) August 1, 1984
Las Vegas, Nevada
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 10, 2010, for the Milwaukee Brewers
MLB statistics
(through September 26, 2018)
Win–loss record 17–17
Earned run average 3.47
Strikeouts 249
Saves 48
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Brandon Lee Kintzler (born August 1, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals.

Career

San Diego Padres

Kintzler with the Fort Wayne Wizards

Kintzler was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 40th round of the 2004 amateur entry draft. In 2004, he played for their Rookie Arizona League Padres and Class A (Short Season) Eugene Emeralds. In addition to playing for those teams again in 2005, he also pitched for the Class A Fort Wayne Wizards.

Independent Leagues

After sitting out the 2006 season, he returned to play for the independent Northern League's Winnipeg Goldeyes in 2007 and 2008. He began the 2009 season with the independent American Association's St. Paul Saints.

Milwaukee Brewers

During the 2009 season, Kintzler was signed to a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers and assigned to the Double-A Huntsville Stars. Kintzler started the 2010 season with Huntsville, but was promoted to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds that June. After the conclusion of the 2010 Pacific Coast League season on September 6, Kintzler was promoted to Milwaukee.[1] He made his major league debut on September 10.

During the 2011 season, Kintzler had an ERA of 4.25 over 14.2 innings before injuring his pitching arm.[2]

On June 28, 2012, Kintzler was designated for assignment by the Brewers, removing him from the 40-man roster.

2013

In 2013, Kintzler had a breakout season, establishing himself as a setup man to Brewers closer Jim Henderson. He finished the season with a 2.69 ERA.

2014

Kintzler lost his setup role to Will Smith when he went on the 15-Day DL with a right rotator cuff strain. Despite this, Kintzler retained his effectiveness, pitching in 64 games with a 3.24 ERA for the Brewers.

2015

Kintzler's 2015 season was cut short due to injury. He only appeared in seven games the whole season.

Minnesota Twins

Kintzler signed a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins in December 2015. Kintzler began the season in the Twins' AAA affiliate. The Twins began the season with Glen Perkins as the closer but after two appearances, he was shut down and Kintzler got the call up to be the setup man to incumbent closer Kevin Jepsen. After numerous blown saves, Jepsen was removed from the closer role and given to Kintzler. He finished the season with 17 saves in 54 games.

2017

Kintzler began the 2017 season as the Twins closer with Glen Perkins still recovering from injury. For the first half of the season, he recorded 24 saves with a 2.29 ERA. He was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career.

Washington Nationals

On July 31, 2017, Kintzler was traded to the Washington Nationals for minor league pitcher Tyler Watson.[3] On August 6, 2017, he recorded his first win with the Nationals in a 9-4 victory against the Chicago Cubs.

Kintzler signed a two-year contract with the Nationals on December 21, 2017.[4]

Chicago Cubs

On July 31, 2018, Kintzler was traded to the Chicago Cubs, in exchange for Jhon Romero.[5][6]

Personal life

Kintzler is married to Melissa Elgert.[7] Melissa gave birth to the couple's first child, a son, in late 2015.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Haurdicourt, Tom. "Cruz, Kintzler called up from Nashville." Archived September 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Brewers Blog. Journal Sentinel. 6 September 2010. Retrieved on 6 September 2010.
  2. ↑ "Brandon Kintzler Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  3. ↑ "Nationals Acquire Brandon Kintzler From Twins". MLB Trade Rumors.
  4. ↑ Collier, Jamal (December 21, 2017). "Kintzler's two-year deal with Nats official". MLB.com. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Nationals trade reliever Brandon Kintzler to Cubs". ESPN.com. August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  6. ↑ Park, Do-hyoung (August 1, 2018). "Nats land Minors RHP Romero for Kintzler". MLB.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Reliever Brandon Kintzler had a wedding to remember". Journal Centennial. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  8. ↑ "A decade later, Twins closer Brandon Kintzler is living his dream". StarTribune. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
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