TRADE: Brewers Acquire Pitcher Taylor Clarke from the Royals

[Jason Wang]

In their latest move, Milwaukee added another piece for the bullpen in exchange for two minor-league prospects.

Image courtesy of © Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

In a move not dissimilar to the small ones that brought Oliver Dunn and Jake Bauers to the organization earlier this offseason, Matt Arnold has swapped two more fringe prospects to Kansas City for right-handed hurler Taylor Clarke.

Trade news:

Brewers receive: right-handed reliever Taylor Clarke.

Royals receive: infielder Cam Devanney and right-handed reliever Ryan Brady.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 14, 2023

After making his major-league debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019, Taylor Clarke saw his role gradually reduce from a potential starter to a full-time reliever. He was traded to the Kansas City Royals in 2022, where he posted a 4.04 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 49 innings pitched. This season was a bit of a down year and he saw his stats regress to a 5.95 ERA and 1.61 WHIP over 59 innings pitched, so there's definitely room for improvement.

The Royals were primarily driven by the need to clear roster space for their newly-acquired starting pitcher, Seth Lugo, which explains why they asked for minor leaguers not on the 40-man roster in return. For their part of the bargain, the Brewers will be shipping right-handed reliever Ryan Brady and utility infielder Cam Devanney over to Kansas City. Brady split time between High A and Double A in 2023, posting a 2.76 ERA over 49 innings with the Timber Rattlers and a 2.57 ERA over 28 innings pitched with the Biloxi Shuckers. Devanney spent all of 2023 in Triple A and slashed a respectable .271/.363/.461 over 390 plate appearances. 

Clarke, 30, is under contract for $1.25 million for 2024, and is under team control through 2025. He also has a minor-league option year remaining, which will increase his value to the Brewers. They always want to be able to shuttle relievers on the edges of the roster between Triple A and the big leagues, and Clarke will provide that flexibility to their depth chart.

What do you make of this deal? Is this kind of consolidation the right way for the Brewers to make use of their organizational depth? Leave a comment and discuss.

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[Trax]

OK deal.  Understandable and may indeed pay off to some extent.

We've seen a number of small underwhelming moves so far and that was to be expected.  We are nearing the time where we will make a few bigger moves.  The fanbase awaits...

[BrewerFan]

I don't love trading Devanney, I thought he could be a nice utility option who could play SS/3B at a high level. 

But, as always, I will trust the Brewers, their scouting and development as it pertains to acquiring pithing. 

[Jason Wang]

Bryse Wilson arc incoming.

[jay87shot]

Way to many relievers. I feel a Devin Williams trade coming.

Williams, Payamps, Uribe, Megill, Milner, Wilson, Peguero, Vieira, Ross, Clarke, Small, Andrews, maybe Ashby or Junk and a few other decent options. That's at least 12-13 good options for 7-8 spots and there are still a few months to add. Could be a lot of trades.

[CheeseheadInQC]

2 hours ago, jay87shot said:

Way to many relievers. I feel a Devin Williams trade coming.

Williams, Payamps, Uribe, Megill, Milner, Wilson, Peguero, Vieira, Ross, Clarke, Small, Andrews, maybe Ashby or Junk and a few other decent options. That's at least 12-13 good options for 7-8 spots and there are still a few months to add. Could be a lot of trades.

Having too many pitchers unfortunately usually finds a way of working itself out without trades.

[Rick Daltons Flamethrower]

9 minutes ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

Having too many pitchers unfortunately usually finds a way of working itself out without trades.

Well said. Plethora of relievers is a relieving feeling to me :)