Milwaukee Brewers fans were hopeful history would repeat itself 18 years later. In 2008, the Brewers made a stunning trade to acquire future Hall of Famer CC Sabathia from Cleveland in early July. The left-hander went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA in 17 starts to lead Milwaukee to its first postseason appearance since 1982.
The Brewers attempted to make the same kind of deal this year for Detroit Tigers lefty and two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal before the MLB trade deadline. Instead, the Tigers traded Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, two days before the deadline.
The Brewers hold a 5 ½-game lead in the National League Central and have the best record in the major leagues at 69-43 while attempting to win their fourth consecutive division title.
Brewers add pitching after being spurned by Tigers
Brewers General Manager Matt Arnold would not talk about specific trade targets while meeting with reporters on Monday evening but did say “there’s certainly some things where you come up short, and you’ve just got to pick yourself up and dust yourself off and try to do what you can to get the next thing.”
The Brewers have qualified for the postseason in seven of the last eight seasons, defying conventional wisdom that small-market franchises cannot sustain long-term success. However, they haven’t made it to the World Series during that span, and their lone appearance in the Fall Classic came in 1982.
Adding Skubal to the top of the rotation with flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski would have made the Brewers tough to beat in the short postseason series. Instead, the Brewers made two other trades on Monday that they hope will bolster their pitching staff.
The Brewers acquired right-handed starter Dustin May and left-handed reliever JoJo Romero from the St. Louis Cardinals and righty reliever Antonio Senzatela from the Colorado Rockies. All three pitchers are on expiring contracts.
May gives the Brewers a much-needed veteran starting pitcher now that Brandon Woodruff is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. Romero, who is recovering from appendicitis, and Senzatela will give manager Pat Murphy more high-leverage bullpen options.
Robert Murray’s take on the Brewers’ deadline moves
Here is how FanSided MLB Insider Robert Murray sums up the Brewers’ deadline performance:
"The Brewers insist that not landing Skubal wasn’t for a lack of effort, and sources with knowledge of the Brewers’ thinking say their offer was very competitive. They didn’t land Skubal, but they are thrilled to land Dustin May. They believe they can maximize his abilities and get him to the pitcher that many thought he would be coming up with the Dodgers. Between May and Antonio Senzatela, they are very happy with their deadline. But it’s fair to wonder if there is some sting in the clubhouse about not landing Skubal, especially with Jacob Misiorowski refusing to answer questions about it after a start against the Angels. Something to monitor in Milwaukee despite happiness in the front office about their deadline moves."
That last part might be cause for concern.
The only season the Brewers missed the playoffs over the last eight years was in 2022 when they fell one game short of reaching the NL Wild Card Game. The Brewers led the NL Central by three games on July 31 when closer Josh Hader was shockingly traded to the San Diego Padres.
The players openly expressed their anger over losing Hader, and the Brewers were promptly swept in a three-game series by the lowly Pirates in Pittsburgh. That began a spiral that ended with the Brewers seven games behind the division champion St. Louis Cardinals at the end of the season.
Will the same thing happen again this year? Probably not, but acquiring Skubal would have nipped any potential discord in the bud.
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