[ad_1]
Milwaukee Brewers fans know not to get too wrapped up in the potential of the Major League Baseball trade deadline; the team has been able to maintain its annual competitiveness without sacrificing major talents in the farm system, and that reality often precludes any blockbuster deadline deals.
But for the sake of research, here are a handful of players who have been discussed on the trade market and whether the Brewers could be a fit. The trade deadline is a week away, arriving at 5 p.m. CT July 30.
The best fits for the Brewers
Tyler Anderson, left-handed starter (Los Angeles Angels)
The all-star left-hander has a 2.91 ERA and 1.148 WHIP this season, a strong bounceback from a rough season last year and more in line with his other all-star season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022. The 34-year-old has bounced around in his career but is in the second year of a three-year, $39 million contract. The Brewers would be on the hook for another $13 million next year, which isn’t prohibitive but can’t be ignored.
Chris Bassitt, right-handed starter (Toronto Blue Jays)
The 35-year-old will be a free agent in 2026 and has a limited no-trade clause, but he has consistently delivered as a starting pitcher; he’s got a career 3.51 ERA in 10 seasons and has posted an ERA of 3.81 or below every season since 2018. The $22 million price tag is a lot to absorb next season, but he’s also matched the production to that dollar amount.
Carlos Estévez, right-handed reliever (Los Angeles Angels)
Estévez has a 2.45 ERA and a stellar 0.758 WHIP, making him legitimately one of the best relievers in baseball this season. He’s 31 and a free agent after the season, which makes the commitment a limited one.
Pete Fairbanks, right-handed reliever (Tampa Bay Rays)
Fairbanks has a 3.38 ERA and 33 strikeouts in just south of 35 innings, and it’s part of a consistent pattern of success over the past few years. He’s under team control through 2026 (owed $3.7 million in 2025 and a $7 million team option the following year) and he’s an excellent quote. He seems like the type of reliever the Brewers love to add at the deadline.
Kyle Finnegan, right-handed reliever (Washington Nationals)
He’s not a free agent until 2026 and has enjoyed an all-star season this year, with a WHIP of 0.984 and 44 strikeouts in just shy of 43 innings, plus a 2.32 ERA.
Jack Flaherty, right-handed pitcher (Detroit Tigers)
With an ERA of 3.13 and a free agent after the season, Flaherty is having a nice year and isn’t a big-time investment. The Tigers are teetering around .500 at 50-51, but that still puts them behind a crowded field for playoff spots, and it’s reasonable to assume that Flaherty will be relatively inexpensive to pry away.
Yimi García, right-handed reliever (Toronto Blue Jays)
He’s a free agent after this year, and the 33-year old has been enjoying his best season, with a 2.48 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 29 innings, with a superb 0.759 WHIP. He probably won’t cost all that much if the Blue Jays indeed go into sell mode, making him arguably one of the best bargains out there.
Yusei Kikuchi, left-handed pitcher (Toronto Blue Jays)
His numbers are just OK this season (4.54 ERA, 1.306), but he’s been consistent, and the 33-year-old is a free agent after the season. He’s probably in the same vein as Aaron Civale, a mid-rotation starter who can eat some innings and rack up strikeouts. Kikuchi has 125 punchouts this year in 111 innings.
Tanner Scott, left-handed reliever (Miami Marlins)
Scott’s numbers have been eye-popping this year (1.27 ERA, 1.008 WHIP), and he’s a rental with free agency looming; would the Brewers double down on lefties with Bryan Hudson to fortify their bullpen? He’s likely to be one of the biggest names available on the relief market.
Medium-ticket guys worth knowing, but unlikely for the Brewers
Zach Eflin, right-handed pitcher (Tampa Bay Rays)
Price tag is also the question here. Eflin, who has an ERA of 4.14 (ooh, a very Milwaukee number), will make $18 million next season, and that’s a rich price to pay for a player who probably slots into the middle of most rotations. But he doesn’t walk guys, which is a perfect fit for a team with great defense to pick up the slack.
Nathan Eovaldi, right-handed pitcher (Texas Rangers)
The reigning World Series champs have a losing record, and though they’re within reach of a playoff spot, it’s worth wondering if the team will elect to sell. Eovaldi, who has an ERA of 3.36, has been strong this year but also has a player option for 2025 worth $20 million, and that’s a massive contract that will probably keep the Brewers from exploring.
Erick Fedde, right-handed starter (Chicago White Sox)
He’s in the first of a two-year, $15 million deal after returning from Korea, and he’s a logical fit for just about any team at the trade deadline, with a 2.98 ERA and a pretty reasonable price tag for next season. The 31-year-old is probably going to get dealt, too, with the White Sox in sell mode, but the Brewers would be competing with a litany of other teams for his services.
Danny Jansen, catcher (Toronto Blue Jays)
The Appleton native is a free agent after the season and is low-key going to be one of the biggest names available on the catching market. He only has a .680 OPS this season and isn’t going to blow people away, but the Brewers do find themselves in a bit of a catching quandary. Right now, they have four catchers on the 40-man roster, and one (Jeferson Quero) is out for the year, with another (Gary Sánchez) on a rehab assignment, and his return would ostensibly require the team to designate Eric Haase for assignment and lose another.
Luis Severino, right-handed pitcher (New York Mets)
Severino is exactly the type of player the Brewers should be interested in, but the Mets have rallied from a woeful start to the season and put themselves in playoff positioning, so it seems unlikely Severino would be dealt. His strikeout rate has gone down this year, but so has his WHIP (to 1.176, with a 3.58 ERA), and the Brewers defense would be perfectly suited to keep his good season going. In his last 11 outings, he’s gone at least six innings every time but once, and even that was 5⅓.
Christian Walker, first baseman (Arizona Diamondbacks)
With 22 homers this season, Walker is fourth in the NL in that department and would instantly become the Brewers’ best power threat if Milwaukee were to swing a trade. He’s also a rental, hitting free agency after the season, and 33 years old. The Brewers, however, do have Rhys Hoskins for this year and possibly next, even though the overall production has not been elite from Hoskins since he was signed this offseason. Could Milwaukee find a way to reserve the DH spot for Hoskins and let Walker play at first? There are a handful of first baseman on the market this trade deadline, which means the Brewers could go an unconventional route and grab one, though Arizona is still within a game of a playoff spot and might not sell at all.
The big-ticket guys (don’t expect them in Milwaukee)
Jazz Chisholm, utility (Miami Marlins)
The Marlins are in a rebuild and could move just about anybody, including a multipositional 26-year-old with some pop who won’t be a free agent until 2027. Chisholm was a breakout star in 2022 but hasn’t replicated those numbers in the years since, but perhaps there’s a Willy Adames effect in play here, too; he doesn’t hit well at home. Adames similarly struggled in Tampa Bay before breaking out in 2021 with the Brewers following a late-May trade. Chisholm could play second base, which is key if the team wants to move Brice Turang to shortstop if Adames moves on this offseason.
Garrett Crochet, left-handed pitcher (Chicago White Sox)
Crochet is arbitration-eligible through 2026, he’s a star (3.02 ERA, 0.950 WHIP, league-leading 150 strikeouts) and the White Sox are one of the few teams who can be classified as safely out of the playoff race. That makes him the most tantalizing prospect on the 2024 draft board, at least among those players most likely to get traded. The Brewers aren’t likely to surrender the capital it would take to make such a splash, but it’s hard to deny what a boost he would be to the rotation this year and beyond, given that he’s only 25 years old and affordable. The Brewers, however, also have several quality in-house prospects who could fill out that rotation in the years to come, so the long-term prospects aren’t urgent.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., first baseman (Toronto Blue Jays)
He won’t be a free agent until 2026 and has bounced back this season, and Toronto has fallen to a bottom-four record in the American League. But it’s a question of whether the Blue Jays would part ways with their cornerstone.
Mason Miller, right-handed relief pitcher (Oakland Athletics)
The Brewers often add relievers at the deadline, but seldom the biggest names on the market. Miller, who’s still controllable through the year 2029, is 25 years old and a hammer for the Athletics, a team that’s got the second-worst record in the AL. It’s not a guarantee he gets dealt, but there’s a lot of uncertainty in Oakland and relievers are notoriously volatile. Still, it’s hard to ignore the 70 strikeouts in 40 innings.
Brent Rooker, utility (Oakland Athletics)
He was seemingly a hot commodity in last year’s trade deadline and then didn’t switch teams, but he’s back again. The 29-year-old isn’t a free agent until 2028 and has demonstrated his power again this season (22 homers), with a gaudy 67 RBIs and .939 OPS. But he’s almost exclusively a designated hitter, and that doesn’t profile with what the Brewers need. Celebrity Brewers fan Sam Dekker loves Rooker, though.
Max Scherzer, starting pitcher (Texas Rangers)
The free-agent after the season turns 40 this week and would just be a big-name rental, but first he has to decide to waive his no-trade clause, and it’s anybody’s guess if that would include a smaller market like Milwaukee. Scherzer has a 3.99 ERA this year and could still be a short-term difference maker.
[ad_2]
Source link
