Brewers, Twins swing trade for starting pitcher

The Twins have traded right-hander Trevor Megill to Milwaukee, according to a team announcement by the Brewers, who will be sending a player to be named later and cash to Minnesota in exchange for Megill’s services. Megill has been assigned to Triple-A by Milwaukee, and that the club transferred outfielder Garrett Mitchell to the 60-day injured list to make room for Megill on the 40-man roster.

A third round pick by the Cardinals in the 2014 draft, Megill made his MLB debut in 2021 as a member of the Cubs. He struggled badly in 23 2/3 innings, however, posting an 8.37 ERA and 5.61 FIP before being designated for assignment by Chicago at the end of the season. He was claimed off waivers by the Twins and has remained in the organization ever since. In 2022, he posted much better numbers than he had on the north side. His 4.80 ERA in 45 innings of work was still below average by measure of ERA+ (81), but he struck out 25% of batters faced while walking 8.7%, leading to a solid 3.29 FIP.

Megill figures to be bullpen depth for a Brewers club that has gone without Aaron Ashby this season and recently put right-handers Matt Bush and Gus Varland on the 15-day IL. Even in spite of those injuries, however, the Brewers’ bullpen is top 5 in the majors by measure of ERA so far this season, meaning Megill may need to wait until an injury makes a spot available for his first opportunity in Milwaukee.