The Milwaukee Brewers are done waiting for Manny Parra to realize his potential, as the club announced Friday that it will not tender the left-hander a contract for 2013.
Featuring stuff that's hard to find in a lefty, Parra was given many chances by the Brewers simply due to his vast potential, but his career with the club will go down as nothing but disappointing.
Parra, 30, appeared in 62 games out of the bullpen in 2012, posting a 5.06 earned run average in 58 2/3 innings. Parra, who made $1.2 million last season, was arbitration eligible for the third and final time in 2013.
Drafted by Milwaukee in the 26th round of the 2001 draft, Parra was signed as a draft-and-follow prospect in 2002. His talent and raw stuff caused Parra to post stellar numbers in the minor leagues, including tossing a perfect game in just his second career Triple-A start in 2007, the same year he was named the Brewers minor league pitcher of the year.
2008 marked Parra's first full season in the big leagues, making 29 starts for Milwaukee with a 4.39 ERA and a 10-8 record. The Brewers tried using Parra in the rotation again in 2009, but he struggled to a 6.36 ERA in 27 starts. Moved to the bullpen in 2010, he had a 5.02 ERA in 122 innings.
An elbow injury kept Parra out for the entire 2011 season, but he was given another chance to make it with the Brewers in 2012, but yet again, he couldn't capitalize.
Over the course of five seasons with the Brewers, Parra finished with a 26-33 record in 172 games, with a 5.12 ERA and 1.65 WHIP in 513 innings. Walks played a major role in his struggles, issuing 4.6 free passes per nine innings in his career.
Parra is another causality from Milwaukee's bullpen that had a 4.66 ERA in 2012, the worst in all of baseball. Parra joins Jose Veras, Kameron Loe, Francisco Rodriguez and Livan Hernandez as bullpen members that won't return in 2013.
Without Parra, Milwaukee's 40-man roster now stands at 38.
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