Inside the Clubhouse: Willy Adames trade fixes one of Brewers’ biggest mistakes

This week, Inside the Clubhouse breaks down the reasons for the Willy Adames trade, the rising trade chatter around Joey Gallo and more.

Despite what Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns says, they would not have traded for Willy Adames had Luis Urias taken hold of the starting shortstop job.

Urias, 23, was acquired in 2019 along with pitcher Eric Lauer for outfielder Trent Grisham and pitcher Zach Davies. The Brewers projected Urias as their long-term answer at shortstop, viewing him as above-average both offensively and defensively.

The trade has turned out to be one of Stearns’ biggest mistakes. It took the organization 43 games to determine that Urias wasn’t the answer at shortstop, watching him commit nine errors and hit a mediocre .211/.322/.390 in 123 at-bats. Grisham, meanwhile, is a budding star for the Padres while Davies was a key piece in general manager A.J. Preller’s deal to acquire Yu Darvish from the Chicago Cubs.

To make up for it, Stearns traded two key bullpen pieces in J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen to acquire Adames. Feyereisen has shown elite ability this season, not allowing a run in his first 16 innings, while some scouts view Rasmussen as a future closer despite already undergoing two Tommy John surgeries.

Adames, 25, should be an immediate upgrade at shortstop, but also comes with question marks. He ranked 11th among shortstops in outs above average in 2019, but ranks 36th in that category since 2020. He is hitting .200/.260/.270 in 135 at-bats this season, though he has been better of late and should benefit from getting out of the pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field.

The Brewers are hopeful that moving into a utility role will help Urias in the long haul. But it’s a significant step back for a player they paid a premium to acquire only 19 months ago and there are some in the organization who feel he would benefit from an extended trip with Triple-A Nashville to get consistent at-bats.

More on the Willy Adames, Brewers-Rays trade

Think there is paranoia in trading with the Rays? One rival executive said “you always worry if the Rays know something you don’t know,” especially when dealing them two potential high-leverage relievers.

Indeed, both relievers fit what the Rays like. As Eno Sarris of The Athletic pointed out, both Feyereisen and Rasmussen get great vertical break and extension and have three above-average pitches in their arsenal. But Feyereisen’s changeup has emerged as a dominant weapon in his breakout season, generating 26 misses on 45 swings against it this season, according to Sports Info Solutions.

Two rival executives, meanwhile, shared the exact same sentiment about the Brewers: “They had to address shortstop.”

Joey Gallo trade rumors are starting to heat up

Before the Adames trade, rival executives said that trade discussions recently started to pick up, with New York Mets general manager Zack Scott telling MLB Network Radio that there has already been “plenty of dialogue” with rival teams.

Among the players teams are targeting, according to sources: Texas Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo.

Gallo, 27, is making $6.2 million in 2021 and has one more year of salary arbitration eligibility before becoming a free agent in 2023. It is unclear just how available Gallo is, or if the Rangers will even entertain trading their slugger, but some rival teams believe that he can be had for the right price.

And there may not be a more perfect fit than the New York Yankees, who are looking for outfielders and in desperate need of another left-handed bat in the lineup.

The Yankees may have to get creative when exploring Gallo or any other veteran bat, considering their instance on staying under the luxury tax. But Gallo, who hit at least 40 home runs in each season from 2017-2018, would fill a need for a left-handed power bat alongside right-handers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Gallo, however, has regressed in recent seasons, hitting .181/.301/.378 in 193 at-bats last year. He has not fared much better this season, slashing .205/.358/.359 with 67 strikeouts and 34 walks in 156 at-bats.

The Rangers would not be maximizing Gallo’s value via trade, which might give them pause on pulling the trigger on any deal. But the Yankees figure to be one of many teams interested in Gallo, with another potential fit being the New York Mets, who continue to look for outfielders after acquiring Cameron Maybin.

Cleveland’s bullpen is among the best in baseball

Cleveland’s bullpen, headlined by the trio of James Karinchak, Emmanuel Clase and Bryan Shaw, is perhaps the biggest reason the team has started 24-20 and 1.5 games back in the American League Central.

“You hear a lot about (Josh) Hader and (Devin) Williams in Milwaukee,” a rival scout said, “but these guys are just as good.”

Karinchak, 25, ranks in the 99th percentile in strikeout percentage (49.4) and near the top in many other statistics among relievers. He’s sharing the ninth inning with Clase, getting most of his action when left-handed hitters are up in the order, and has generated a whiff rate that ranks best in baseball on his fastball that team officials believe plays faster than his 95.9 mph average.

Clase, 23, has consistently featured a 100-101 mph cutter that has overpowered hitters since being acquired from the Rangers for Corey Kluber in 2019. He has a below league-average strikeout rate, but ranks in the 99th percentile in barrel percentage (1.6) while his groundball rate (72.2 percent) ranks second among qualified relievers.

But the biggest surprise has been Shaw, who was almost out of baseball after two mediocre seasons with the Colorado Rockies and a brief stint at the Seattle Mariners’ alternate site last season. He has allowed only four hits in 17 innings and his hard-hit rate has dropped to 23.5 percent after being at 40.7 percent last season, something a team official attributed to throwing his cutter 77.9 percent of the time.

The trio entered the weekend with a combined 0.99 ERA while allowing only seven hits in 35.1 innings. That number increased to 1.46 after a three-run appearance from Karinchak against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. But with Karinchak and Clase looking like future stars, and Shaw resembling his previous All-Star form, Cleveland has arguably the best bullpen in baseball.

Around the Horn:

• After trading Adames, the Tampa Bay Rays called up infielder Taylor Walls rather than star prospect Wander Franco. The Rays already gained an additional year of club control by delaying his major-league call-up past the first 16 games of the regular season. But the team is likely to delay his promotion until mid-June so they can prevent him from becoming a Super Two player and gain a fourth year of arbitration eligibility, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported.
• Jesse Winker became the first Cincinnati Reds player to hit five home runs in a three-game series since Willie Greene in 1996, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Winker, 27, ranks first in National League batting average (.356) and OPS (1.081) while leading the league in slugging percentage (.664).
• Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. has more home runs (13) than any other shortstop in baseball despite missing 17 games due to two separate stints on the injured list. In his last six games, he is 15 for 23 (.652) with five home runs, four doubles, nine runs scored and 14 RBI. Pretty good.