MLB Trade Deadline Rumors: 5 trades Brewers should make
The Milwaukee Brewers became a contender far ahead of schedule, and to capitalize the club should be aggressive at the MLB trade deadline.
Think back to spring training, and our expectations for the season.
The National League Central featured the defending World Series champions, the Chicago Cubs, as well as the always dangerous St. Louis Cardinals, who haven’t posted a losing record since 2007 and featured in the postseason six times in the past eight years. The Pittsburgh Pirates, who like the Cardinals fell short of the playoffs in 2016, had still managed to win a Wild Card spot in each of the previous three seasons. All three were legitimate playoff contenders, and the Cubs were World Series favorites.
Then there were the rebuilders. The and Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers both showed improvement in the win column from 2015 to 2016, but carried many more unknowns – especially the Brewers.
Junior Guerra, a 32-year-old with just one big league season under his belt, was tabbed as the Opening Day starter. Eric Thames, the club’s new first baseman, hadn’t played in the majors since 2012 and retuned after a stint in Korea. New third baseman Travis Shaw was widely seen as a first baseman. And, as always, there were questions as to whether or not Ryan Braun could stay healthy.
Yet for all the unknowns, the Brewers took advantage of slow starts from the Cubs, Cardinals and Pirates to surge to the top of the division standings. Nevertheless, a poor start to the second half, combined with Chicago’s red-hot play after acquiring Jose Quintana, erased a 5.5-game lead in just over a week.
Milwaukee’s brain trust has been savvy in its rebuild, but with the MLB trade deadline less than a week away, it’s time to be aggressive to make an early playoff push. We’ve got five potential deals in mind for the Brewers to do exactly that.
5. Jerry Blevins and Asdrubal Cabrera, New York Mets
Other than starting pitching, the two biggest needs for the Brewers before the trade deadline are bullpen and infield depth. The Mets, long out of the postseason discussion because of a rash of injuries, would make a perfect trade partner.
Closer Addison Reed is one of the most popular relief pitchers on the trade market today, but the Brewers have All-Star Corey Knebel to handle the ninth inning. Though Reed also has a history as a setup man (and most of the contenders contacting the Mets about him see him as an eight inning or earlier reliever down the stretch), there’s a better option available.
Left-hander Jerry Blevins would fill a major need in Milwaukee. The rival Cubs have several left-handed hitters throughout their lineup, and the addition of Blevins to the Brewers bullpen would give the club a better chance of retiring players like Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber in high leverage situations.
Blevins, who has a 3.16 ERA and 3.21 FIP with 44 strikeouts in 31.1 innings this season, has been even tougher on lefties. The 33-year-old has held left-handed hitters to a .173/.230/.185 slash across 87 plate appearances, and Blevins has struck out 32 of them.
In addition to Blevins, the Brewers should target Asdrubal Cabrera. Jonathan Villar has struggled at the plate this season, and though Eric Sogard has provided a spark at second base, adding Cabrera to the mix would help. A switch-hitter, Cabrera has hit .257/.340/.405 with nine home runs in 74 games. Though he is traditionally a shortstop, Cabrera has played second base primarily in recent weeks and has also spent some time at third, making him a versatile option.