Brewers Have a Quiet (But Sneaky) 2025 Trade Deadline

It’s a small sample size, but Haase was striking out at over a 40% clip this season to go with a chase rate that was over 30% and a whiff rate that was over 36%. Jansen better fits the mold of what the Brewers desire on offense, sporting a chase rate that is in the 94th percentile of all of MLB (19.6%) to go with a walk rate that is in the top 10 percent of MLB hitters at 12.7%.

Skipper Pat Murphy has made it very clear that good swing decisions are fundamental for a player to succeed in the Brewers’ lineup, and Jansen brings that to the table. Moreover, while he’s not the most prolific power bat, he does bring a little more pop to the lineup than Haase had to offer.

Jansen has 11 homers this season in 74 games (.042 HR/PA) to go with a .387 slugging percentage and a .185 isolated power. That power potential is an upgrade from Haase, who had a HR/PA of .026 this season with a slug of just .357 and ISO of .129.

The transaction won’t grab headlines, but in typical Brewers fashion, it’s a sneaky, under-the-radar move that should provide lots of value in the latter half of the season. In exchange for Jansen, the Brewers sent cash along with second base prospect Jadher Areinamo to Tampa Bay.

The Brewers need to make sure Contreras is fresh for the postseason, should they get there, and Jansen provides a bit more stability behind the plate than they were otherwise getting.

Brewers Acquire Outfield Depth in Exchange for Nestor Cortes

Parting ways with Nestor Cortes wasn’t surprising. The Brewers had so much pitching depth where it made sense to trade from their surplus of arms to enhance a different part of the roster. The return, though, was what caught some Brewers fans by surprise.

The Brewers sent southpaw Nestor Cortes to the San Diego Padres (along with cash and infield prospect Jorge Quintana) in exchange for speedy outfielder Brandon Lockridge. Lockridge, a terrific runner with elite speed, doesn’t bring much to the plate offensively but plays strong defense and is a major threat on the basepaths.

Boy, does that fit the mold of who Milwaukee likes to go after.

It was somewhat strange to see the Brewers add to an already crowded room of outfielders, until it wasn’t. In Tuesday’s matchup against the Cubs, Jackson Chourio came up limp running to third base on a triple. The club initially announced that he was dealing with hamstring cramps, but GM Matt Arnold suggested Thursday that Chourio is likely to land on the injured list for a short period of time.

Knowing that, it makes sense to see the Brewers add to their outfield depth.

The problem, though, is that Lockridge was the only bat outside of Jansen who the club added at the deadline, and offensive production is not his strong suit.

Lockridge has 59 career MLB games under his belt to this point. He is sporting a career .210/.248/.280 slash line with a .519 OPS and 50 wRC+. For what it’s worth, his numbers in Triple-A both this season and last are much more encouraging than that, but his big-league track record is suspect to this point to say the least.

As I mentioned though, speed is his calling card. In those 59 MLB games, he quickly racked up 10 steals. In 104 games between the Yankees’ and Padres’ Triple-A affiliates last season, Lockridge stole 46 bases, building upon the 40 that he stole in 92 games the season before that across Double-A and Triple-A.

Lockridge clocks in with an average sprint speed of 29.9 ft/sec, which is the sixth-highest mark in all of MLB. That number is tied with super speedster Chandler Simpson of the Tampa Bay Rays for those familiar with his game.

It is far from the sexiest move of the deadline to say the least, and the return for Cortes feels a bit light, but Lockridge will have an immediate role with Milwaukee upon his arrival.

Brewers Bolster the Bullpen, Trade for Shelby Miller

This was a sneaky great move for Milwaukee. They struck a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks in the final minutes before the deadline to bring in reliever Shelby Miller to bolster a bullpen that needed another arm in the fold.

Miller, who is currently on the 15-day injured list with a forearm strain but will soon be sent on a rehab assignment, has a 1.98 ERA in 36.1 innings pitched on the year. Other ERA estimators aren’t as encouraging, but he has a really encouraging profile with a strong arsenal.

Miller is sporting a 28% strikeout rate this season (84th percentile) thanks to his ability to induce chase at a whopping 35.8%, putting him in the top three percent of MLB. On top of his ability to fan hitters, he’s done an excellent job at minimizing hard contact and eluding barrels.

What makes this deal interesting is that all they gave up to acquire Miller was either cash considerations or a player to be named later. The Brewers did also acquire starter Jordan Montgomery, who underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this year and will be out for the remainder of the season, as a way for Arizona to offload his contract, which has just over $7 million remaining this year.

However, it was later reported by Diamondbacks insider Steve Gilbert that the Brewers are only picking up $2 million of the remaining money on Montgomery’s contract. Montgomery is set to hit free agency come season’s end. All things considering, this is a pretty savvy move by Milwaukee.

Considering how expensive relievers were in this year’s trade market, to see the Brewers walk away with a reliever who is sporting a sub-2.00 ERA while giving up no immediate asset of major value should be viewed as a big win for the ball club.

Miller is also an expiring asset who is set to hit free agency at the end of the year, but the Brewers will greatly welcome his services to help this ball club make a push in the final months of the 2025 season.

The Brewers Made Moves, but Was It Enough?

On the one hand, it would have been nice to see the first-place Brewers do a little bit more to help push this team over the top. After all, while the offense has been producing, its lack of slug creates some concern moving forward.

It’s fair to question whether or not this team has enough firepower to get past other heavy hitters in the National League, such as the Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers, or Mets, given how the lineup is currently constructed.

At the same time, the Brewers will not overpay for an asset if they don’t feel it’s an absolutely necessary addition. As was mentioned off the top, the Brewers don’t seek out monster deals but instead search for value. The big bats on the market were far too rich for Milwaukee’s blood, and it’s clear they’re comfortable with what this unit brings to the table moving forward.

In the end, the Brewers are still fourth in the National League in runs scored with 517 despite sitting 13th in the NL in ISO (.136) and 10th in the NL in homers (104) and slugging percentage (.387). But that’s the Milwaukee Brewers way of winning — do enough of the little things to construct a productive offense without being too reliant on the long ball.

It’s a formula that has clearly worked to this point. But there’s a fine line between not being reliant on the long ball and simply not having enough slugging potential to make it deep into the postseason. Perhaps the Brewers have just enough pop to make it to the mountaintop, but there’s also a chance fans look back in October and wish this team, once again, added more offensive firepower at the trade deadline.

Time will tell what the 2025 season has in store for baseball’s hottest ball club, and the Milwaukee Brewers will hope that what they did at this year’s trade deadline was enough to help get this team not just to the postseason, but all the way to the World Series.