The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays exchanged minor league players on Tuesday, August 1 prior to the trade deadline. This move was announced on Twitter by Marc Topkin at 4:37 PM CT and may have gotten lost in the madness.
Let’s take a further look at who the Brewers and Rays each traded.
Milwaukee Brewers catcher Alex Jackson traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for starting pitcher Evan McKendry.
Alex Jackson, a former sixth overall pick by the Seattle Mariners, was enjoying quite a good season in Triple-A for the Nashville Sounds. He had a very impressive .286/.360/.554 slash line with 12 home runs and 35 RBI’s. At 27 years old he has accumulated just 66 games of big league experience that included a brief five game stint with the Crew in 2022.
Evan McKendry, a 25 year old right-handed starting pitcher, was selected in the ninth round of the 2019 draft by the Rays. He was left unprotected during this last off-season and had been throwing well in Triple-A this season. Through 96.2 innings pitched he has a 4.00 ERA with 95 strikeouts. Home runs have been an issue for him as he gave up 17 a season ago and 19 already this year.
With Alex Jackson removed from the Triple-A roster in the Brewers system, this trade may have freed up space for a potential Jeferson Quero promotion. The 20 year old has a .871 OPS in Double-A this year and is one of the best defensive catchers in minor league baseball. He is currently on the IL with a hand injury, but once healthy he could get the nod to move up in the system.
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