What the Brewers Gave Up in the Aaron Civale Trade, and Their Remaining Depth

What are the Rays getting in Gregory Barrios?
Signed in the same international free-agent class as Jackson Chourio, Barrios received the second-highest bonus ($1 million) in that class, behind only Chourio. Known for his glovework, he’s in the midst of an offensive breakout in 2024. After a slow start in the Dominican Summer League his first season, he stepped it up in 2022 and was a league-average hitter in the Arizona Complex League. Unfortunately, he followed that up with a 69 wRC+ in Low-A Carolina last season.

While the results in Carolina were poor, Barrios did flash some of the tools you hope to see from young hitters. Despite a low walk rate, Barrios showed solid plate discipline and a good approach at the plate. He also demonstrated very strong bat-to-ball abilities, striking out at only a 13.5% clip. On top of that, he stole 32 bases. The approach is likely the reason the Brewers chose to be aggressive with his assignment in 2024, moving him up to High-A despite the lackluster results in 2023.

Still only 20 years old this season, Barrios has proved that he was worthy of that assignment. At the time of the trade, Barrios was slashing .325/.367/.429 for a 125 wRC+. He has flashed some gap-to-gap power, with 17 doubles and two triples, while only striking out 9.4% of the time.

Barrios does this with a short, compact swing that allows him to get the bat to inside pitches extremely consistently. Last year, he had some issues covering the outer third of the plate, for that same reason. 

In 2024, he’s shown a better ability to get to those outside pitches, while improving the batted-ball profile for a player with limited power as well. He has taken his 42% fly-ball rate and cut it to 31%. He’s improved his line drive rate from 20% to 26% as well. With his limited game power and athleticism, line drives and hard-hit ground balls will do him a lot better than fly balls, and that’s shown in the results.

Barrios’ improved bat is important, because his defensive abilities are truly impressive. There is zero doubt that he is a shortstop moving forward. He can make some extraordinary plays that not many 20-year-olds would make, while also handling the routine plays with ease. The bat is going to need to continue to get better, but if it does, the Rays could have a solid prospect on their hands.

Ripple Effect?s
Barrios’ exit has opened up a spot on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers roster--one that could be filled by 19-year-old prospect Cooper Pratt. Pratt has recently been named a Top 100 prospect by MLB Pipeline, as well as being named the lone Brewers representative at the Futures Game next weekend. His 144 wRC+ and strong defensive performance point to a player who is ready for the next challenge, and this trade clears the way for that to happen if the Brewers choose to go that route.

Pratt is the player who could benefit the most directly, but the reason the Brewers were willing to part with a prospect like Barrios (outside of the obvious need for a starting pitcher and a chance to buy low on Civale), is the overall depth they have in the middle infield throughout their system. 

At the lower levels of full-season ball, alone, the Brewers have Pratt, Daniel Guilarte (in Low-A, ranked the team's #19 Prospect by MLB Pipeline), Jadher Areinamo (High-A, #21), and Filippo Di Turi (Low-A, #29), all of whom have spent a good amount of time at shortstop this season. 

If you look even further down the chain, the Brewers have three prospects generating a lot of hype in the Dominican Summer League as well. Jorge Quintana (#18 prospect), Luis Pena and Jesus Made are all playing a lot of shortstop thus far, and all three have a chance to stick at the position. Josh Adamczewski has also fared well in his first month of pro ball at the Arizona Complex level, posting a 146 wRC+.

The depth is a bit less exciting at the upper levels, as Eric Brown Jr has struggled mightily at the plate in his first season at the Double-A level. Ethan Murray’s play has taken a step back in 2024 as well, and Freddy Zamora appears to be more organizational depth than a true prospect at this point. Still, all three of those players have prospect pedigree, and still have time to turn things around--especially in Brown’s case.

Beyond all the players already in the organization, the Brewers also tend to draft at least one shortstop in every draft class, so there’s a good chance there will be another name added to this pool in a couple of weeks.

More to Come?
Does this change anything in regard to the Brewers potentially making more moves in the coming weeks?

Outside of the fact that Barrios is no longer an available trade chip, this should not impact the Brewers' ability to continue to add to their major-league roster. As discussed above, the Brewers could afford to trade even more middle infield prospects, if that is what it takes.

The organization likely won’t rank as highly in the upcoming prospect rankings, due to the graduations of players like Jackson Chourio and Joey Ortiz, but their depth stands out in comparison to a lot of other organizations at pretty much every position outside of catcher. 

Barrios could turn out to be a good player, but the Brewers have a lot of guys in a similar spot to him in terms of age and ability, and all at the same position. It’s unlikely that they were openly shopping Barrios, or any of the other names listed above, but the depth likely helped put the organization at ease when they did agree to the deal, and that same logic could be applied to most potential trades moving forward in July.

What are your thoughts on Barrios? Are there any other names that stand out as potential movers in a deal this month?

Interested in learning more about the Milwaukee Brewers' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!