Trevor Megill Trade Rumors Swirl: Why Brewers Should Be Open to Dealing Him

[Jack Stern]

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Freddy Peralta has been the most popular Brewer in trade speculation this offseason, but the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reported on Monday evening that Milwaukee has also received calls about reliever Trevor Megill, including from the New York Mets and New York Yankees. It’s best to take most rumors with a grain of salt during hot stove season, but if Megill is indeed drawing interest from multiple contenders, the Brewers should strongly consider selling high on him.

Generally speaking, relievers are baseball’s most volatile players and often have short shelf lives. What worked for three to six outs at a time one season could be less effective the next. Even if their performance quality remains similar from one year to the next, their results can fluctuate more in smaller sample sizes than those of starting pitchers or position players.

Given the fickle nature of the position, consistently cycling through relievers each year is typically the shrewdest way to build bullpens. Acquire them when their value is low, roster them for a few seasons when they’re at their best, and trade them away before they regress or become free agents.

The Brewers have adhered to that pattern during their sustained run of competitiveness. They traded away All-Star closers Josh Hader and Devin Williams for controllable talent as they neared free agency, backfilling them with in-house arms and breakout scrap-heap pickups like Joel Payamps, Jared Koenig, Grant Anderson, and Megill himself three years ago. (To further illustrate the point, Payamps crashed and burned in 2025, after the Brewers transformed him into a reliable high-leverage arm for two seasons.)

This situation is slightly different. Unlike Hader and Williams, Megill has two full seasons of club control remaining before he’ll reach free agency. The Brewers have not reached the crossroads with the 32-year-old that they did with their previous two closers. Even so, they should be motivated to move him for the right return. No one can dispute the quality of Megill’s performance with Milwaukee—a 2.88 ERA, 2.99 SIERA, 85 DRA-, and 31% strikeout rate in 128 innings are sparkling numbers—but it is fair to question whether his best work is behind him.

Megill’s stuff dominates when things are clicking, but he lacks the shapes and angles to miss enough barrels when he’s not at his best. When he’s properly sequencing his 99-mph backspin fastball and hard knuckle curve, they rack up whiffs and chases. When he isn’t, that straight fastball yields plenty of hard-hit fly balls. Since 2023, batted balls against it have had an average exit velocity of 92.3 mph and an average launch angle of 18°.

Even though Megill threw harder than ever in 2025, his fastball whiff rate declined for the second consecutive season. While he successfully adapted by leaning more on his curveball as the year progressed, things could get dicier if his fastball loses another bit of effectiveness for any reason.

Season	FB Run Value	FB xwOBA	FB Whiff%
2023	1	0.309	22.00%
2024	9	0.282	25.40%
2025	1	0.336	20.50%

 

Those concerns are particularly relevant after a late-season elbow scare. A flexor strain limited Megill to 47 frames in 2025 and sidelined him for nearly all of September. He was noticeably diminished when he returned for the postseason, and while his velocity was trending in the right direction throughout October, it never quite returned to its pre-injury level.

The Brewers deemed Megill fully recovered after their season ended in the NLCS. Even if his elbow is entirely healthy, though, it’s worth noting that he enters his mid-30s without having reached 50 innings in a big-league season.

None of this is to say that the front office must prioritize selling Megill for any return. Given his contractual situation, they should aim higher than the two-player package they received for Williams last year. However, Megill’s star is likelier to dim than to continue brightening next season, and Abner Uribe is poised to anchor the bullpen after closing games in his absence. If a fair deal for Megill is available, the Brewers should take it.

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[SF70]

I think the flexor-injury he experienced late-season, along with his injury history, is going to hold down the trade-return for Megill. He’s also not a historically great closer/HL arm like Williams was when he was traded.

Injury concern is why I’m trading him, with the $4M in $ savings a bonus that can give the team more financial-flexibility to make moves during the season if deemed necessary, after-all, they currently have the largest payroll in team history.

[rafa79]

I'm motivated to trade Megill this off-season because we have a deep bullpen and of course, Uribe as a closer.  My bigger concern is trading him straight up and getting an "ok" player as opposed to having him as part of a package deal and getting a very good player. 

[Brian]

2 hours ago, SF70 said:

I think the flexor-injury he experienced late-season, along with his injury history, is going to hold down the trade-return for Megill. He’s also not a historically great closer/HL arm like Williams was when he was traded.

Injury concern is why I’m trading him, with the $4M in $ savings a bonus that can give the team more financial-flexibility to make moves during the season if deemed necessary, after-all, they currently have the largest payroll in team history.

I think we traded Devin Williams at a good time.  Seems a good, 'Brewers Closer' shelf life is only about 4-5 years now days but its obviously not "one size fits all."   If the Brewers scored more runs we wouldn't need all-star caliber closers to pitch in every game. 

[jay87shot]

I am ok with trading Megill for a good price based on a couple factors.

1)Uribe and the pen. Uribe is going to be a great closer for a while and with the depth of starters Ashby can be the 8th inning man or we have Koenig and good depth. I still think Craig Yoho will be an important piece come the end of the season as well.

2) Only 93 innings past 2 years. This generally points to the fact that closers just don't throw that many innings. However if we can get 2 quality pieces or even 1 mlb ready longer controlled player there is a lot more value to be gained in trading Megill. Also injuries for someone his size and velo are always present.

3)Regression. I think Megill will be a solid closer for a while however optics are easy to change on a closer. Say Trevor gave up 2 more 2 run bombs his ERA jumps to 3.25 which isn't elite. On top of that if he loses a couple mph on his heater he becomes way less effective (I don't see happening in the next 2 years, but there is a little risk. 

[Lathund]

I'm perfectly fine with trading just about any reliever for the right return. At least ones with 1-2 years remaining who are starting to get expensive. Hader got us Gasser and indirectly Contreras and Payamps. Williams got us Durbin. If Megill gets us anything even half as useful, and the $4m can be put to other uses, I'd go for it. Wouldn't do it just for the sake of trading him though. When he's on his game, Megill is absolutely unhittable. If he can find that reliability, he can be truly elite. 

[Brian]

Would anyone on BF trade 32 year old Trevor Megill for

31 year old Toronto starting pitcher Chris Bassitt? 

[sveumrules]

1 hour ago, Brian said:

Would anyone on BF trade 32 year old Trevor Megill for

31 year old Toronto starting pitcher Chris Bassitt? 

Chris Bassitt is a free agent.

[Jason Wang]

9 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Chris Bassitt is a free agent.

also 36 years old now but he was quite a dashing fella at 31 years old.

[wallus]

The monetary savings are near the bottom of the list as to why I want to trade Trevor.

I think the Mets would be a great fit and they have near MLB pieces if that is something we want. Getting another starting pitcher or a power hitting outfielder is on my list of priorities. Trevor may have enough value to get one of those pieces in a trade.

[PBTank]

On my wish list from the Mets would be Carson Benge.

[CheezWizHed]

I've been a huge Megill fan over the last couple of years, but he is also the type of player that you trade away at a high point.  Not saying he will go all Devon Williams next year, but when someone tips over the 30 yo mark and you have a good pipeline of players behind him, you need to leverage him into improvement elsewhere. 

No reason to give him away for peanuts, but if someone gives a good return, why wouldn't we listen? 

[wiguy94]

6 hours ago, PBTank said:

On my wish list from the Mets would be Carson Benge.

I can pretty certainly say the Brewers will not be getting a Top 20 prospect in baseball for 2 years of Trevor Megill.

[Branyanisthegoat]

The only thing that makes me nervous is how hard they leaned on Abner last year, and how that could affect his durability in 26. Still think they should take the right deal for Megill, just getting ready to be irrationally nervous if he is moved.

[PBTank]

10 hours ago, wiguy94 said:

I can pretty certainly say the Brewers will not be getting a Top 20 prospect in baseball for 2 years of Trevor Megill.

That's why it's a wish list 😊

If you can't get someone of that caliber, my view is you keep the player.

[Turning2]

The only thing MIL needs is more offensive pop. They are on the doorstep of a WS berth. Now is not the time to continue building for the future, parlaying proven talent for (multiple) pieces of potential talent or nominal contributors.  For as much as this team leans on its BP I'd keep Megill. I don't care who is the 8th inning setup and who handles the 9th. And I'd keep Peralta too unless a trade brings back a real, proven power bat (with no asterisks like coming off an injury, or a former "name" but now declining, or a reclamation etc.) 

[BrewerFan]

On 12/9/2025 at 9:35 AM, jay87shot said:

I think Megill will be a solid closer for a while however optics are easy to change on a closer. Say Trevor gave up 2 more 2 run bombs his ERA jumps to 3.25 which isn't elite.

And say he doesn't give up the 3ER in 1/3rd of an inning early last year, he has a 1.93 ERA. 

This is silly to me(the whole idea of trading him). He throws 100, he's got a 2nd plus pitch. He can close games, Uribe throws more innings. 

He won't be valued as highly as Williams or Hader, but we'll make our bullpen much weaker and we're going to count on Yoho and... just trust someone else becomes dominant as we run it back and try and win a WS?

On 12/9/2025 at 5:43 PM, CheezWizHed said:

I've been a huge Megill fan over the last couple of years, but he is also the type of player that you trade away at a high point.  Not saying he will go all Devon Williams next year, but when someone tips over the 30 yo mark and you have a good pipeline of players behind him, you need to leverage him into improvement elsewhere. 

No reason to give him away for peanuts, but if someone gives a good return, why wouldn't we listen? 

I think this 30-year-old obsession on Brewrefan is over the top. You're not signing him to a long term extension, you're keeping him at ~4.5M to continue to be your closer. 

You get rid of Megill, you're just going to be looking to trade for BP help come the deadline. We had a very good pen last year and we still tried to make a trade for a high leverage arm. In fact, we do it pretty much every year. 

Also... people talk about how volatile relievers are. Yeah... sure. Generally now the power arms who throw triple digits. And even if their ERA's may be volatile as a couple of bad outings can skew the overall results, they're still generally pretty reliable. 

I'm not saying we have to go all in and make AJ Preller type trades and give up a Made type prospect for a closer, but... c'mon! What are we going to get back? I wouldn't take a package like the Yankees gave up unless the controllable position player had better advanced analytics than Durbin(bottom 4-6^% of the league in bat speed, exit velo). 

 

I know everyone lives the "bites at the Apple" metaphor, but... maybe heading into the seemingly inevitable 2027 strike, we could take a bigger bite at this Apple?

 

[CheezWizHed]

23 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

And say he doesn't give up the 3ER in 1/3rd of an inning early last year, he has a 1.93 ERA. 

This is silly to me(the whole idea of trading him). He throws 100, he's got a 2nd plus pitch. He can close games, Uribe throws more innings. 

He won't be valued as highly as Williams or Hader, but we'll make our bullpen much weaker and we're going to count on Yoho and... just trust someone else becomes dominant as we run it back and try and win a WS?

I think this 30-year-old obsession on Brewrefan is over the top. You're not signing him to a long term extension, you're keeping him at ~4.5M to continue to be your closer. 

You get rid of Megill, you're just going to be looking to trade for BP help come the deadline. We had a very good pen last year and we still tried to make a trade for a high leverage arm. In fact, we do it pretty much every year. 

Also... people talk about how volatile relievers are. Yeah... sure. Generally now the power arms who throw triple digits. And even if their ERA's may be volatile as a couple of bad outings can skew the overall results, they're still generally pretty reliable. 

I'm not saying we have to go all in and make AJ Preller type trades and give up a Made type prospect for a closer, but... c'mon! What are we going to get back? I wouldn't take a package like the Yankees gave up unless the controllable position player had better advanced analytics than Durbin(bottom 4-6^% of the league in bat speed, exit velo). 

 

I know everyone lives the "bites at the Apple" metaphor, but... maybe heading into the seemingly inevitable 2027 strike, we could take a bigger bite at this Apple?

 

It is more than just going over 30.  He just has the type of profile that doesn't age well.  Triple digits (which is becoming less rare) is nice but he throws it very straight.  Everything rests on landing the hammer curve.  I just see his peak being pretty short.  

Then you have the pipeline of pitchers coming in (as well as the reclaims of other teams' pitchers).

Plus, I don't mean trading him off for peanuts... you still need a meaningful return.    With Abner able to step in as closer, he is a good resource to upgrade elsewhere. 

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, CheezWizHed said:

It is more than just going over 30.  He just has the type of profile that doesn't age well.  Triple digits (which is becoming less rare) is nice but he throws it very straight.  Everything rests on landing the hammer curve.  I just see his peak being pretty short.  

Then you have the pipeline of pitchers coming in (as well as the reclaims of other teams' pitchers).

Plus, I don't mean trading him off for peanuts... you still need a meaningful return.    With Abner able to step in as closer, he is a good resource to upgrade elsewhere. 

I think we're exaggerating how easily we are able to turn out high leverage pitchers.

And while throwing 100 has become... more common, it's not real common to have two of the hardest throwing relievers in your pen. He was 9th, Uribe was 3rd. I don't know why we want to take away from a strength. 

I also don't think his profile ages poorly, but I don't need him to last 5 more years. Just another year. And there's no indication he's slowing down. 

We already traded Mears. We traded Collins. We got what looks to be a... decent reliever back. I don't understand that trade unless Ashby moves to the rotation or Zerpa will, but it's hard for me to see how we're a better team next year without Megill. 

 

Unless we're getting a top ~60 prospect for Megill, he's cheap and he's effective... and you have 2 years left of him. I'd like to us just push a FEW more chips in just once. 

[CheezWizHed]

On 12/13/2025 at 7:43 PM, BrewerFan said:

I also don't think his profile ages poorly, but I don't need him to last 5 more years. Just another year. And there's no indication he's slowing down. 

Unless we're getting a top ~60 prospect for Megill, he's cheap and he's effective... and you have 2 years left of him. I'd like to us just push a FEW more chips in just once. 

He did show some signs (maybe injury related though?) of losing a bit of control.  Maybe I'm channeling Turnbow/Axford vibes with Megill?  But all it would take is for him to lose the curve control and he is a has-been. 

And as I said... you need to get something back meaningful.  I'm fully expecting we are shoring up a position of weakness (i.e. SS) from a position of strength (BP).  I just see Megill's value at a high point right now... but again we aren't just giving him away.