Brewers Should Acquire Orioles All-Star At Trade Deadline, Insider Says

It's becoming a season to remember for the Milwaukee Brewers.

After a mediocre first two months, the Brewers have been scalding hot of late. They trimmed their deficit behind the Chicago Cubs to only a game and a half in the National League Central by sweeping another NL power, the Los Angeles Dodgers, on Wednesday.

The best news of all is that for all the early-season talks about potential Freddy Peralta trades, the Brewers now look like surefire trade deadline buyers. It's time to start focusing on what Milwaukee needs to make a playoff push and win their first series in October since 2018.

ESPN's Jeff Passan thinks the Brewers could be one big bat away from making some serious noise in the NL.

On Thursday, Passan named the "best match" for each contender at the trade deadline, and he paired the Brewers with Baltimore Orioles slugger Ryan O'Hearn, the starting designated hitter for the American League in next week's All-Star Game.

"With 88 home runs, the Brewers rank just 21st in MLB. And while that hasn't impeded their production -- they're eighth in runs scored -- another big bat could do their offense wonders," Passan wrote.

"Nobody will mistake the soon-to-be-32-year-old O'Hearn for Aaron Judge, but he punishes right-handed pitching, and in a lineup without any boppers, O'Hearn also could serve as the strong side of a first-base platoon and pick up outfield and DH at-bats."

With an .840 OPS and 1.7 bWAR this season, O'Hearn has seen his star rise more than most could have ever predicted. Yet he's still somewhat limited as a much better hitter against righties than lefties, which makes him a strong fit for a Brewers team with a ton of platoon capabilities.

The 40-50 Orioles would be wise to wave the white flag, especially if they lose a couple more series before the trade deadline, which would mean the impending free agent O'Hearn is there for the taking if the Brewers want him.