Every year for the past several seasons, the Milwaukee Brewers have been one of the most active teams ahead of the MLB trade deadline. Many of these deals, such as the Josh Hader trade in 2022 or the acquisition of Carlos Santana in 2023, were headline deals that had baseball fans in all markets talking about Milwaukee.
Others, though, went under the radar and were not very notable.
But their first trade ahead of the 2025 MLB trade deadline (that was not the acquisition of Andrew Vaughn for Aaron Civale) had many fans scratching their heads.
The Milwaukee Brewers Acquired Catcher Danny Jansen from the Tampa Bay Rays
In a move that absolutely no one expected, the Brewers sent their 24th overall prospect, Jadher Areinamo, to the Tampa Bay Rays for journeyman catcher Danny Jansen.
Areinamo was hitting .297/.355/.463 with 11 home runs, 51 RBI, and 15 stolen bases for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Jansen, meanwhile, is hitting .204/.314/.389 with 11 home runs and 29 RBI for the Rays this year.
Trading Areinamo was not a popular decision among Brewers fans, as he leads the team’s minor league affiliates in hits. However, he also plays the same positions has Jesus Made and Luis Pena, who are both MLB Top-100 prospects. Additionally, Cooper Pratt and current Milwaukee infielders Brice Turang and Caleb Durbin (and perhaps Joey Ortiz) could be viewed as blocking his path to the Bigs.
But the real headscratcher in this trade is what it might mean for current Brewers catcher William Contreras.
William Contreras Continues to Play Through a Fractured Finger for the Milwaukee Brewers
In his first two seasons in Milwaukee, Contreras won two Silver Sluggers and made a NL All-Star team while hitting .285/.366/.462 and averaging 20 home runs and 85 RBI a year.
This year, though, he has been playing most of the year with a fracture finger that has severely limited his production at plate. Contreras is currently hitting .242/.342/.340 with six home runs and 42 RBI this season.
Backup catcher Eric Haase is hitting .229/.289/.357 with two home runs and nine RBI in just 30 games.
The thing is, though, Jansen, like Contreras and Haase, does not have any minor league options left and is a right-handed hitter.
This means that Milwaukee currently will have three right-handed hitting catchers on their roster, and none of them can be sent to Triple-A Nashville.
So, could Contreras be headed to the IL with his fractured finger?
If so, it would be just as surprising as he is in the lineup for Milwaukee’s first game against the Chicago Cubs on Monday. It also would spell the end of his season:
William Contreras is starting at catcher tonight. Club has said that if they were to place him on the IL it would be for season-ending surgery. https://t.co/mwgp56t7ZI
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) July 28, 2025
It does not seem, then, that Contreras is not headed for the IL. So why acquire Jansen?
It is possible that the Brewers plan to designate Haase for assignment, as they did last year. Should he clear waivers, they would send him to Nashville to replace Jeferson Quero, who reinjured his shoulder and will be out for 3-4 weeks.
More Milwaukee Brewers News from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
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- Brewers Outfielder Jackson Chourio Joins Elite Company with 20-Game Hit Streak
- Brewers Right Fielder Sal Frelick Returns from IL; .300 Hitter Sent Down
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