Do Brewers Regret Trade With Phillies For 'Lottery Ticket'?

A trade that the Milwaukee Brewers made with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2023 hasn’t turned out well for the Brew Crew.

Milwaukee doesn’t have a lot to complain about right now. The team has overcome injuries to its pitching staff to once again emerge as rising playoff contenders in the National League.

Still, many Brewers fans (and undoubtedly many people within the organization) are thinking about how Milwaukee might be even better had their trade for Oliver Dunn reaped the expected rewards.

FanSided’s Tremayne Person recently discussed the Dunn situation.

“When the Milwaukee Brewers swung a deal to acquire Oliver Dunn in November 2023, it looked like another quiet win,” Person wrote.

“The club sent outfield prospect Hendry Mendez and shortstop Robert Moore to Philadelphia in exchange for a breakout minor league star — one who had just posted a monster season in Double-A Reading with the Phillies' affiliate. For a team always seeking under-the-radar talent, Dunn was a lottery ticket worth scratching.”

“However, less than two seasons into his major league career, the question is no longer about Dunn’s upside. It’s whether the clock is already running out on him.”

Dunn is struggling in 2025 with Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Entering Monday, he was slashing .193/.301/.329, numbers that aren’t strong enough for the Brewers -- or anyone -- to consider him for even a platoon role in the big leagues at the moment.

After earning an Opening Day spot in 2024 with the Brewers, Dunn didn’t deliver in 41 games in the majors, and his struggles were compounded by a back problem that landed him on the Injured List.

He was given another shot to start 2025 as Milwaukee’s third baseman but slashed just .167/.205/.222. As Person alluded to on Monday,  “In an unforgiving world of major league baseball, (Dunn’s) opportunities might be running out.”

The bigger question is, why can’t Dunn reclaim the rhythm he established in 2023, when he was a star of the Eastern League, convincing the Brewers to go after him, in the first place?

At the time, the Dunn trade looked wise for a Brewers team in need of infield depth, but he’s simply failed to deliver on the promise that 2023 bore witness to.

However, Dunn’s situation isn't about the Brewers experiencing regret -- more so, it's a reminder that Major League production is a difficult thing to predict. Something as simple as a change of scenery can throw a player out of whack and lead to unexpected outcomes.

Everyone associated with the Brewers must be pulling for Dunn to reclaim his mojo, but it’s difficult to know if and when that will happen.