Brewers Urged To Trade For Diamondbacks Hurler With 2.10 ERA

The Milwaukee Brewers are playing so well of late that their trade deadline strategy seems obvious at this point.

Any talk of the Brewers selling high on starting pitcher Freddy Peralta should go by the wayside after the team's red-hot June. Sure, they traded closer Josh Hader when they were in first place in 2022, but the blowback from the fans (and players) was so strong that it's doubtful to happen again.

Instead, the Brewers should be looking to boost their middling bullpen, because that's unlike the typical Milwaukee teams of the past few years. Milwaukee relievers own a 4.22 combined ERA, 21st in the league, and their 1.30 WHIP ranks 16th.

ESPN writer David Schoenfield proposed a hypothetical trade target for the Brewers on Wednesday that could be both effective and economical: Shelby Miller of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"(The Hader) move backfired when the Brewers missed the playoffs, the only year they didn't make it between 2018 and 2024. Trading Peralta might be an ever bigger on-field and PR disaster -- and we can't advocate trading your best pitcher," Schoenfield wrote.

"Instead, we have the Brewers adding. Given their budget, it probably won't be a big move for a big contract, so Miller and his $1 million salary is the logical help for a bullpen that ranks in the bottom third of the majors in ERA."

Miller, 34, has had quite the up-and-down career as both a starter and reliever. He seems to have found his groove in Arizona, though, pitching to a 2.10 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings pitched so far this season.

Any trade for a reliever at the deadline could either be a shot in the arm or a total nothing-burger. But for a team like the Brewers, it's always an ego boost to know the front office believes enough in the team to make an investment, even if it's an uber-cheap one like Miller.