As of today, the Milwaukee Brewers have the best record in baseball at 61-41. They also have one of the best farm systems in baseball per Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, Bleacher Report, and pretty much every other site. Milwaukee is in a prime position to make a splash, whether for a power bat like Eugenio Suarez, a utility infielder like Willi Castro, or another reliever to add to an already stacked bullpen.
If the Brewers decide to trade for an impact player at the deadline, they’ll have to dip into their impressive organizational depth. Hard decisions will have to be made. Which players would it make the most sense to trade?
Pitchers:
LHPs Jose Quintana/Nestor Cortes:
The thought process behind moving one (not both) of these guys is relatively simple. Milwaukee has younger left-handed pitching options with years of control remaining. Robert Gasser is currently rehabbing with High-A Wisconsin. DL Hall is currently working out of the bullpen, but could start in a pinch. Add in whichever one of Cortes and Quintana stays in Milwaukee, plus Aaron Ashby as a “high-leverage long reliever,” and the Brewers should have enough lefty depth in October.
The problem with moving Quintana is that he’s been good for the Brewers all season. The veteran lefty sports a 3.49 ERA through fourteen starts, although his 4.52 FIP is significantly higher. I’d argue that his ERA is sustainable regardless of his FIP, as Quintana induces a lot of grounders — a trait that plays well with the stellar infield defense of Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang.
The problem with moving Cortes is the opposite — he hasn’t been successful in his (extremely limited) time with Milwaukee. He’s a former All-Star, but has spent most of his time with the Brewers on the IL. Obviously, this significantly limits his trade value.
In addition, both pitchers would be rentals for whatever team acquires them (although Quintana does have a mutual option for the ‘26 season). Trading Quintana to rely on Cortes would be a gamble, and trading Cortes probably wouldn’t net the Brewers much.
RHP Chad Patrick:
Patrick is a perfect Brewer and was a key factor in keeping the rotation afloat for much of the season. He’s posted a 3.52 ERA (3.54 FIP) in eighteen starts with the Brewers. However, Milwaukee’s biggest organizational strength right now is their starting pitching depth.
The problem with identifying a candidate to be moved is that a lot of Milwaukee’s pitchers are either too valuable to move for a rental like Suarez/Castro or not valuable enough to net a significant return.
Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff are veteran mainstays who aren’t going anywhere this year. Jacob Misiorowski is untouchable, and it would take a lot more than a rental bat to pry away Logan Henderson. Jose Quintana and Nestor Cortes are candidates to be moved, but would be significantly less appealing to a team like the Diamondbacks compared to a young, controllable starter.
Patrick, Quinn Priester, and Tobias Myers seem like the most realistic trade candidates. Myers has spent most of the year in the minors, so his trade value isn’t what it was last year. Priester has a 2.25 ERA over his last ten starts; Patrick has comparable season-long numbers, but Priester has been pitching too well recently for the Brewers to trade him — leaving Patrick as the odd man out.
RHP Logan Henderson:
This almost definitely won’t happen, but — to reiterate — Milwaukee has right-handed pitching depth to spare right now. Henderson is currently down in Triple-A because there’s no room for him in the big-league rotation.
In addition to the guys mentioned above — like Misiorowski (MLB No. 18), Patrick, and Priester — Milwaukee also has a ton of talent in the farm system. Guys like Bishop Letson (Milwaukee’s No. 7 prospect), Carlos Rodriguez (No. 23), Tyson Hardin (No. 20), and Coleman Crow could all conceivably be ready for the show in the next couple years.
It would no doubt take a lot to move Henderson (MLB’s No. 81 prospect), who was incredibly effective (1.71 ERA) in four starts with Milwaukee earlier in the season. The return would have to be a young, talented, and controllable position player. It wouldn’t make any sense to move him for a rental, even one of Eugenio Suarez’s caliber. With that being said, Milwaukee has already proven (with the Yophery Rodriguez trade) that they’re willing to move a top-7 organizational prospect for the right package. If a perfect offer comes along, the Brewers could be willing to part with Henderson.
Position Players:
1B/3Bs Mike Boeve/Eric Bitonti/Brock Wilken:
These three corner infield prospects are all ranked between 10-20 on MLB Pipeline’s list of the top 30 Brewers prospects. The Yankees, who have a significantly weaker farm system than the Brewers, just traded their No. 8 and No. 21 prospects for 3B Ryan McMahon. McMahon’s having a down year at the plate but offers above-average defense at the hot corner, has some pop (sixteen home runs), and is signed through 2027.
It might not even take that much to get a rental like Castro, who has a 112 OPS+ this season and can play pretty much anywhere on the diamond. He’d be a valuable depth piece as the Brewers gear up for a playoff run.
Just like dealing a pitcher, trading one of these guys would be dealing from a position of strength. Milwaukee also has 1B/3B Luke Adams (No. 8), 1B Blake Burke (No. 27), 1B/3B Tyler Black (No. 21), and 2025 first round pick Andrew Fischer in the farm system. The Brewers could survive the loss of one of — or even two of — Boeve, Bitonti, or Wilken, especially if it gets them closer to the World Series.
1B Rhys Hoskins:
This one feels weird to me, but it makes more sense the more that you think about it. Hoskins has a one year mutual option for $18,000,000 next year. He’s contributed a total of 0.8 WAR in his season-and-a-half with Milwaukee. Andrew Vaughn’s sample size is tiny (38 PAs), but he has a .943 OPS as a Brewer.
This proposal assumes that the Brewers front office sees Vaughn’s improvement as sustainable, and that the Brewers could still get something of value for Hoskins — two big assumptions. However, if Milwaukee is comfortable riding with Vaughn/Black/Bauers for the rest of the year, why not see what you can get for Hoskins? A contender in need of a power bat might see him as a appealing solution, given that he’d obviously come cheaper than a guy like Suarez.
SS Jadher Areinamo:
Areinamo, the Brewers’ No. 24 prospect, has hit .299 or better in three straight seasons in A-ball. He’s only twenty-one years old and has the highest OPS (.826) of his career. Oh, and MLB Pipeline gives him a 55-grade in the field. So, why would he be a trade candidate?
For one, Milwaukee has three shortstop prospects in their organizational top four — Jesus Made (No. 1), Luis Peña (No. 3), and Cooper Pratt (No. 4). The other reason is that the Brewers themselves don’t seem to be all that high on Areinamo He has yet to be promoted to Double-A despite his stellar numbers over the last two years in High-A Wisconsin. It’s possible that Milwaukee hasn’t promoted him because they want to showcase him against weaker competition, keeping his stats up to sell teams on a productive young shortstop prospect.
1B Tyler Black:
Like Areinamo, the Brewers organization doesn’t seem to be super high on Black, who was a top-50 prospect in all of baseball as recently as last year. He hit .204 (.561 OPS) in an eighteen-game stint with Milwaukee last year and failed to beat out Jake Bauers for a roster spot in Spring Training.
Bauers went on the IL on July 20th, so Black was called back up a few days ago. He’s gone 2-for-5 over two games in the majors, showing that the upside is still there. If Black can play well over the next week, he could be an intriguing option for a rebuilding team willing to take a flyer on a former top prospect who is still only twenty-four years old.
