The Milwaukee Brewers took care of business on Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds in unlikely fashion.
Milwaukee entered the contest after losing its last two games against the Chicago Cubs and five of its last 10 games. The Brewers clearly weren’t happy, to the point that manager Pat Murphy talked about how the club was “pretty pissed” before the game, despite already winning 50 games. Plus, Murphy shared that he had a “get-together” with the position players before the game to go over recent struggles.
Things worked out on Monday. Milwaukee took down the Reds, 5-3, thanks to an eighth-inning two-run homer from Joey Ortiz. At the time, the score was knotted at three runs apiece. Ortiz’s homer put Milwaukee over the top and it didn’t look back.
Now, the Brewers are 51-31 on the season and have a 5 1/2-game lead over the second-place Chicago Cubs. While the team may not be happy with their play of late, this is a club that is very good and can do something special this season, especially if they use the upcoming trade deadline to add. Milwaukee’s biggest need is a big bat. A high-leverage reliever wouldn’t hurt, or a veteran starter. But a slugger should be the priority. With that being said, here are three potential trade chips the Brewers should pursue and one the club should avoid.
Pursue
Isaac Paredes, Houston Astros
The Houston Astros don’t seem likely to hold a major sell-off, but if they are willing to listen on Paredes, like they did this past offseason, he would be a dream target. He can play all over the infield and is under team control for one more season. He’s the power bat to go try to get.
Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox
Chapman has been among the best closers in baseball for a very long time. This season, he has a 2.19 ERA in 26 appearances. If the Brewers could get an arm like that, their bullpen would be unstoppable.
Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
The Tigers have been bad all season and despite Skubal’s return, they have not turned their season around. Skubal is going to be a free agent after the season and is worth a call. He’s good enough to take the best rotation in baseball to an even higher level.
Avoid
Freddy Peralta, New York Mets
Peralta was amazing in Milwaukee, but he isn’t having a great season in New York with a 4.53 ERA in 17 starts. The Brewers got a good return for him in Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams. Giving talent back to New York for a few months of Peralta before he heads to free agency in a down year just doesn’t make sense.
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