The Milwaukee Brewers traded for Rays catcher Danny Jansen on July 28, released incumbent backup Eric Haase, and spent the rest of the deadline festivities sitting firmly on their hands – or so it seemed, until a few last-minute updates.
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports that the team is acquiring outfielder Brandon Lockridge from San Diego in exchange for Nestor Cortes. The Brewers are also sending minor league infielder Jorge Quintana. Lockridge is hitting .216/.258/.261 in 88 at bats this year.
Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Brewers are also getting reliever Jordan Montgomery and reliever Shelby Miller from Arizona. Montgomery has missed the whole year injured. Miller on the other hand has a 1.98 ERA in 36.1 innings with 40 strikeouts. Details are forthcoming on Milwaukee’s outgoing package.
Curt Hogg of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Haase has cleared waivers and been optioned to Triple-A Nashville.
Did the Brewers do enough to keep hold of the National League’s top spot?
Milwaukee Brewers supplement, rivals take some bigger swings
Miller will certainly help secure a bullpen long on depth but short on dominance. Montgomery won’t return until next season. Lockridge isn’t much if any better than a Triple-A depth piece like Daz Cameron. But hey, Milwaukee got Miller and moved Nestor Cortes after all. They didn’t do nothing.
In exchange for Jansen, the Brewers sent Tampa minor league catcher Jadher Areinamo, then Quintana in the Lockridge deal. Fans will have to see who goes to Arizona.
Right now, though, it seems they avoided giving up much from their second-ranked farm system, which inches closer to Seattle’s top-ranked group after the Mariners dealt three decent, if unremarkable prospects to Arizona for deadline prize Eugenio Suarez.
While the Brewers finally stirred the pot, for the most part, they spent more time watching fellow NL contenders scoop up some help before the clock struck a figurative midnight.
The Cubs acquired a starter in Michael Soroka, two relievers in Andrew Kittredge and Taylor Rogers, and Twins utility man Willi Castro. Hardly blockbuster moves but clearly they add immediate value to the roster.
The Mets stocked up on late-inning arms (Gregory Soto, Ryan Helsey, and Tyler Rogers, Taylor’s twin).
The Phillies, battling New York atop the NL East, splashed for Minnesota closer Jhoan Duran and outfielder Harrison Bader.
Among the Padres’ acquisitions were Oakland’s Mason Miller, a gem in the closer market, and starter JP Sears. From Baltimore, they brought in outfielder Ramon Laureano, who’s having a career year, and first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, previously linked to the Brewers.
How do Milwaukee’s adds measure up? While the Brewers have fewer holes than most teams as well as MLB’s record, it’s hard to imagine that they didn’t lose a bit of ground.
Will underwhelming deadline come back to bite them?
While the Cubs are their most direct competition, the Brewers could end up battling the others for wild card position if Chicago captures the NL Central.
After taking two of three from the Cubs this week, they hold a one-game division lead.
Obviously, that they have been doing well with the guys they have is a massive understatement. For over two months now, Milwaukee has been the best team in baseball by record. They have overcome both pitching injuries and Rhys Hoskins’ absence at first base, where earlier trade pickup Andrew Vaughn continues to pulverize the pill.
They didn’t need to do anything big, but it’s possible they did a smidge too little. Leading up to the deadline, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio suggested that the team was prepared for an atypically aggressive trade season. Surprise, surprise, that didn’t happen.
The bullpen does have another weapon, though, and Jansen is an upgrade on the bench.
As the dust settles, how the Brewers fare down the stretch and in the playoffs will do much to determine how fans look back at their deadline decisions, or lack thereof.
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