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Jeremy Ross Jeffress (born September 21, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Chicago Cubs. Jeffress was an All-Star in 2018.
In 2008, Jeffress started on the Brevard County Manatees' roster on the restricted list. On August 6, the Milwaukee Brewers organization announced that he was promoted to their Double-A team, the Huntsville Stars. Jeffress began the 2009 season with Huntsville, but struggled and was sent back to Brevard County in May 2009. At the beginning of the 2010 campaign, he was sent down to the Class A affiliate, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
On July 1, 2010, Jeffress was called up to Class A-Advanced Brevard County, where he continued to throw out of the bullpen. Jeffress was later promoted to Huntsville. He was called up to the majors for the first time on September 1, 2010.McCalvy, Adam. Cain has stiff neck from highlight catch." Major League Baseball. September 1, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2010. Jeffress made his major league debut that evening, pitching one scoreless inning. On the year, Jeffress made 10 appearances, finishing with a 1–0 record with a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings with 10 strikeouts and 6 walks.
In the 2012 season, Jeffress split time between the Storm Chasers and Royals, as he was unable to find his footing in the majors posting a 6.75 ERA in just 13 appearances, allowing 19 hits, 14 runs and 14 walks to just 14 strikeouts in 13.1 innings. His play in the minors showed signs of improvement as he made 37 appearances, going 5–4 with 4.97 ERA, with 61 strikeouts to just 25 walks.
On November 2, 2012, the Royals designated Jeffress for assignment.
Jeffress opened the 2014 season on the major league roster, where he struggled mightly after showing flashes the year prior. In just 3 appearances, Jeffress posted a 10.80 ERA in 3 innings of work. Jeffress was designated for assignment after the game on April 4, 2014. On April 15, after clearing waivers, Jeffress was assigned to Buffalo; however, he chose free agency rather than report to Buffalo.
In 2015, after struggles from setup man Jonathan Broxton, Jeffress took over as the eight-inning man for Milwaukee. He continued his success from last season in his new role, posting a 2.65 ERA in 68 innings, striking out 67 batters while walking just 22 in 72 appearances.
In 2016, Jeffress was slated to be Milwaukee's setup man to closer Will Smith but before spring training could begin, Jeffress was named closer when Smith suffered a knee injury. As the closer, Jeffress made 47 appearances, posting a 2.22 ERA with 27 saves (Tied for 4th in NL at the time) in 58 innings, striking out 35 batters while walking only 11.
After a 2016 season on-par with his career statistics, Jeffress struggled with the Rangers in 2017. He posted a 5.31 ERA and a 1–2 record over 40.2 innings while with the Rangers that season.
In 2018, Jeffress returned to his former setup man role, with Corey Knebel following him. Jeffress had a 0.99 ERA in 45.1 innings in the first half of the season, with fellow bullpen arm Josh Hader posting a 1.55 ERA in 46.1 innings, creating a dominant bullpen for the contending Brewers. On July 12, 2018, Jeffress was named to his first All-Star team as a replacement for Sean Doolittle. MLB on Twitter: ".@JMontana41 has been named to the NL All-Star team to replace Sean Doolittle (left toe inflammation).… " On the season, Jeffress appeared in 73 games, posting an 8–1 record with 1.29 ERA in 76.2 innings, as well as 15 saves. However, he struggled in the postseason, allowing 16 hits and six earned runs in eight innings of work for a 6.75 ERA. In the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jeffress made five appearances; he picked up two holds and closed out another win, but gave up key home runs Game 2 and Game 7, each of which the Brewers lost as the Dodgers advanced to the World Series.
Jeffress began the 2019 season with the Brewers Triple-A affiliate, the San Antonio Missions, after suffering a shoulder injury in spring training. He made his season debut on April 17, pitching for of an inning, striking out one batter. On August 25, Jeffress was placed on the 10-day injured list after suffering a hip injury, and was later released by the Brewers on September 1.
On July 7, 2021, Jeffress signed with the Lexington Legends of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. In 23 relief appearances, Jeffress posted a 1–1 record with a 6.45 ERA and 27 strikeouts. He was released by the team on September 12.
In late June 2013 while with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, Jeffress was diagnosed with juvenile epilepsy, which gave an explanation to the high anxiety and seizures that he had experienced through most of his adult life. Before receiving a proper diagnosis, he self-medicated with marijuana.
On August 26, 2016, at 2:24 a.m. Jeffress was arrested for driving while intoxicated. In January 2018 Jeffress was sentenced to three days in jail/time served after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated.
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