In a Confused Early Trade Market, Where Can Brewers Find Good Moves at the Margins?

[Jake McKibbin]

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Brewers' trade of Aaron Civale was a blessing, in some ways, for both parties. Civale gets a virtually guaranteed starting rotation spot for the next six weeks (before a likely trade, again, at the MLB trade deadline), a nice gesture from the Brewers at the cost of some of his trade value. In return, Andrew Vaughn escapes the White Sox organization and (hopefully) the downtrodden mental state in which he found himself.

Rumors continued apace that the Brewers were listening to offers on a first baseman, but not the one everyone's been talking about. Jake Bauers has migrated toward a three-true-outcome first baseman's profile this season, bordering on passive at the plate. That's facilitated a good walk rate, and he's done damage on mistake pitches. He's crushing his pitch when he gets it, marrying great launch angles with good exit velocities and producing a .762 OPS—all while showing he can cover left field and provide above-average defensive chops at first base, too.

Bauers is making $1.4 million in 2025 and has significantly outperformed expectations thus far. His left-handed bat has provided a good platoon at first base, but with Christian Yelich occupying the DH spot indefinitely and a large cohort of left-handers already on the team, the reps for Bauers may begin to dry up somewhat, despite his being the best bench bat the Brewers have.

It makes sense to trade from a surplus at this point, with the Brewers stuck in some roster limbo. Will they continue to keep touch in the wild card race with the dominant NL West, or will they fall away? Are the Cubs catchable in the Central? It's too early to tell, and as such, reinforcements around the margins make a lot of sense.

With vast depth in the pitching staff, there may be more pressure for Civale-like moves to come. Brandon Woodruff reported an uptick in raw stuff after recovering from his most recent snafu, and that the rest actually helped him feel his best again. Nestor Cortes threw another bullpen and could be back just after the All-Star break, while Jacob Misiorowski is here to stay. Then you have Logan Henderson in Nashville, on restricted innings for the time being, and Robert Gasser returning in September. The Brewers' rotational depth is the envy of the league, and that's without counting on the fact that DL Hall or Aaron Ashby are almost stretched out enough to start games. Chad Patrick and Quinn Priester are performing too well to demote. It's an impending roster crunch when Woodruff returns, and Cortes after that. Teams like the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Blue Jays all have visions of competing but bottom-third starting rotations right now.

On top of that, the Brewers bullpen looks effective in recent months. Ignoring some early season blow-ups from Connor Thomas, the performances of late by Nick Mears, Jared Koenig and Abner Uribe have been lights-out. Trevor Megill has bent, but not broken, with reduced fastball swing-and-miss, and with three years of team control remaining, he could be a hot commodity and a sell-high candidate. Again, the Dodgers, Phillies, Diamondbacks and even perhaps the Mariners may see an opportunity here. Let me postulate one particular trade at this point in time:

Jose Quintana to the LA Dodgers for Christian Zazueta
Quintana has struggled to get the feel for his changeup in recent starts, but it would be folly to expect that to last. The wily veteran has shown that he's more than capable of getting several times through the order and keeping the ball on the ground this season, a strong back-end arm for any playoff contender. He can eat more innings as required when he's got his feel back, and some teams are crying out for that dependability. 

The Dodgers are in flux in the rotation as things stand, with injuries just about everywhere you look. Only the Nationals, Rockies, Diamondbacks and Marlins have conceded more runs than the Dodgers this year, and they rank 22nd in starter ERA with a mark of 4.37. Ohtani likely won't be pitching deep into games any time before the All-Star break, on top of requiring a six-man rotation with him slotted in. They need help.

In return, the Brewers aren't likely to get what they really need. Hyeseong Kim would be amazing in this Brewers team, a genuine spark plug capable all over the infield, but their chance to get him was as a free agent this winter. The Dodgers won't give him up for someone like Quintana. Nor will the Crew get anything close to top prospects like Alex Freeland. Instead, the Brewers may want to take a flyer on a high-upside arm like Christian Zazueta, a low-arm slot pitcher with plus fastball characteristics, a plus changeup and a solid slider, who has a 2.59 ERA this season with 59 strikeouts and 14 walks in 55 2/3 innings. That would be the right way to take advantage of the free-agent coup the team did manage, back in March.

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With the Brewers' depth finally on full display, and more yet to return from injury, who would you be willing to trade around the margins? And what would you expect in return? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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[endaround]

Quintanta is not brining back  Zazueta.  Maybe Wrobleski given his age and need to be on a 40 man roster. Going for a younger guy and you are looking at a Linan.

[Wicki]

I’d be willing to trade Quintana, Meyer’s, Hoskins (if the price was good), Bauers, Mitchell,  some of the AAA 1st baseman (need to make room for the AA guys). I’d honestly listen to trades on most people right now. Wouldn’t be shocked to sell high on Patrick either 

[Brock Beauchamp]

49 minutes ago, Wicki said:

I’d be willing to trade Quintana, Meyer’s, Hoskins (if the price was good), Bauers, Mitchell,  some of the AAA 1st baseman (need to make room for the AA guys). I’d honestly listen to trades on most people right now. Wouldn’t be shocked to sell high on Patrick either 

Welcome to Brewer Fanatic!

[Trax]

If we are in a buy position in a month we'll both sell and buy.  If not we'll just be selling, and often. 

[Wicki]

16 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Welcome to Brewer Fanatic!

Thank you! Happy to be here