Article: Brewers Trade Prospect Antoine Kelly to Rangers for Reliever Matt Bush

[TL Schwerz]

After dealing Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres for Taylor Rogers earlier today, the Milwaukee Brewers continued to make moves prior to the trade deadline. Infielder Mark Mathias and prospect Antoine Kelly have been sent to the Texas Rangers in exchange for reliever Matt Bush.

 

This season Mark Mathias has played just six games for Milwaukee while serving as minor league infield depth. A former 3rd round pick by the Guardians in 2015, Mathias has played 50 games at Triple-A Nashville this season. He has slashed .318/.421/.518 with eight doubles, a triple, and eight homers.

Mathias last played with Milwaukee on June 19 and has just two hits in 16 big league at bats this season.

Joining Mathias is Milwaukee's 16th best prospect per MLB Pipeline, Antoine Kelly. Kelly was a 2nd round pick by the Brewers in 2019 and represented the club in the Futures Game during the 2022 All Star Break. He's 22-years-old and pitching at High-A Wisconsin this season. Kelly owns a 3.86 ERA across 19 starts with an 11.8 K/9. His 5.1 BB/9 suggests command, as expected, is still an issue. 

Matt Bush’s story is well documented as the former 2004 1st overall pick by the Tampa Bay Rays. He made his Major League debut in 2016 with the Texas Rangers and posted a strong 2.48 ERA that season. He’s now 36-years-old and has seen a nice rebound with a clean bill of health in 2021.

For the Rangers this season, Bush owns a 2.95 ERA across 36 2/3 innings. He has an 11.0 K/9 and just a 2.5 BB/9. His average velocity is back up in the 97 mph range after being down around 95 mph each of the past two seasons.

It’s hard not to see Milwaukee netting so much value for Hader, then acquiring another solid arm later in the day, as a nice way to retool the bullpen for a stretch run. The Brewers have needed to shuffle the deck substantially on the mound due to injuries this season, but they're now trending towards health and have a few new arms to factor into the equation.

 

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[Brock Beauchamp]

Yeesh. I've warmed up to the Hader trade a bit but I'm struggling to see how Kelly is worth Matt Bush.

[Seth Stohs]

9 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Yeesh. I've warmed up to the Hader trade a bit but I'm struggling to see how Kelly is worth Matt Bush.

Matt Bush... That... Matt... Bush!! 

Wow! Brewers got fleeced in this deal. Bush is a bit of an enigma, and Kelly has immense upside. Is that really the cost for a solid MLB reliever? 

[Caswell]

This trade is awesome at first glance, which makes my opinion a little different than most I've seen. I think this will end up being an amazing trade, not only now, but in the future too.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

15 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

Matt Bush... That... Matt... Bush!! 

Wow! Brewers got fleeced in this deal. Bush is a bit of an enigma, and Kelly has immense upside. Is that really the cost for a solid MLB reliever? 

Looking at what others are going for ... yes. I mean, a couple solid but not spectacular guys from the Marlins just netted a top SS/3B prospect (and MLB Top 100 guy) from the Jays.