Article: Brewers Farm System X-Factors: Potential Trade Targets, Part One - Pitchers

[Harold Hutchison]

The farm system will see some changes no matter how the Brewers do early in the 2023 season. If the Brewers do well, the team will likely be looking at what assets can be dealt to bolster the team for a playoff run.

Image courtesy of Brock Beauchamp

If the results are disappointing – and that could be decided in as few as 20 games – then the farm system could see additions. Who might the Brewers be targeting for players like Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Eric Lauer, and Willy Adames if things get to that point?

As was the case when potential Burnes deals were outlined, the Brewers will try to craft a deal that minimizes the risk of them facing Burnes and Woodruff in the regular season but also could provide a superb return. So, as a rule, we will avoid a deal with division rivals or potential contenders, but an outside contender looking in will be an option.

Let’s look around.

RHP Grayson Rodriguez and LHP DL Hall, Baltimore Orioles
As many have discussed, Baltimore may be the best opportunity for an excellent return for the Brewers in a Burnes deal. Rodriguez and Hall are two of the biggest reasons why – Rodriguez is a potential ace, offering a one-for-one replacement for Burnes, while Hall could be a solid asset. Any deal involving Burnes and Woodruff will have to involve pitching prospects.

LHP Ky Bush and Eric Torres, Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have been willing to take some high-priced assets off Milwaukee’s hands and send a solid return. Hunter Renfroe got the Brewers three pitchers. If the Angels are to acquire Burnes or Woodruff, then Bush may well be someone to insist on as the centerpiece of any deal. Torres would also be a nice addition, giving the Brewers another shutdown relief option to join Can Robinson, Abner Uribe, and James Meeker.

RHPs Gavin Williams, Daniel Espino, Tanner Bibee, and LHP Logan Allen, Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians have a wealth of options should they and the Brewers end up talking pitchers. Espino has the highest ceiling but will start 2023 on the disabled list, something the Brewers are already sweating with their #3 starter, Freddy Peralta. However, Williams, Bibee, and Allen look excellent as starters. The Brewers could go for a quantity approach – say, Bibee and Allen – to bolster their rotation after a Burnes/Woodruff trade.

LHP Kyle Harrison and RHP Landen Roupp , San Francisco Giants
If the Brewers choose to risk dealing Burnes or Woodruff to an NL team, the Giants will make sense in the crowded NL West, and Harrison makes sense as the centerpiece of a deal. Harrison would make an excellent complement to Robert Gasser and Ethan Small in what would be a lefty-heavy rotation in the future in the event this shakes out. Roupp is a righty who gets a lot of strikeouts and made a huge leap in 2022.

RHP Misael Tamarez, Houston Astros
The Brewers may want to think outside the box when it comes to their requests for Burnes or Woodruff, and when it comes to those, Tamarez may be one of those guys who is a sneaky good acquisition, like Manny Pina was in the K-Rod deal back in 2015. His stuff has blossomed since he was a 19-year-old international free agent signing.

RHP Sem Robberse and LHP Ricky Tiedemann, Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays, like the Orioles, are in a tough division and could use Burnes or Woodruff to bolster their chances against the Rays or Yankees. The return would, naturally, be high, especially if a bidding war were to erupt (see what happened with the #1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft for the Bears). Tiedemann is perhaps Toronto’s top pitching prospect and arguably a mandatory part of any deal back. Robberse is intriguing as a mostly self-taught pitcher who could be a prime candidate for the pitching lab.

RHPs Jose Butto and Dominic Hamel, New York Mets
Butto and Hamel are interesting contrasts. Butto may be a right-handed Brent Suter, a solid multi-inning relief option who could start in a pinch. While his ceiling is arguably low, Butto would still be a valuable component of the bullpen, which isn’t a bad thing. On the other hand, Hamel is known for a superb spin rate, which Burnes also brings to the table.

Overview
The Brewers have a lot of potential options when it comes to deals, and doing so in a way that avoids strengthening the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, or other potential post-season opponents – and could weaken some of them if a trade becomes necessary or at least force them to work a lot harder amid a pennant race.

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