Why the Milwaukee Brewers Would be a Good Fit For A's Ace

It appears as though the Athletics are at the very least open to trading the ace of their staff, if not openly shopping him according to recent reports, and one team that could end up benefitting from that is the Milwaukee Brewers.

Luis Severino holds a 2-9 record and a 5.09 ERA this season, though his numbers on the road have still been pretty good--even after being roughed up by the two best teams in the American League last week. Overall he holds a 3.04 ERA away from Sutter Health Park, and American Family Field has been one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in baseball over the past three years, so his home stats would also likely seen a boost.

It also wouldn't hurt that Milwaukee is a pitching factory and they can turn guys into lights out arms on a routine basis. Maybe that's actually an argument against making this deal with the A's.

Still, Severino has pitched in some big spots on the biggest stages, and come the postseason, the Brewers could use someone like that in a pivotal game. Arguably their top two starters right now are Freddy Peralta (8-4, 2.90) and Jacob Misiorowski (3-0, 1.13), which is a terrific duo on paper, but neither has pitched deep into the postseason. In fact, the Brewers haven't won a postseason series in which Peralta has pitched.

Severino has over 60 innings of postseason experience, including four trips to the League Championship Series. Typically someone with that amount of experience and of his caliber would be off-limits for the Brewers due to the money needed to attract them, but they're in luck with Severino, because the A's are most likely going to have to eat a decent amount of his deal in order to move him anyway.

There is roughly $10 million left on his contract for this season, plus another $25 million owed for next year. There's also a player option attached for 2027, which is worth $22 million. An estimate for how much the A's would have to eat on this deal would be somewhere around $15 million to get back any value, which would basically work out to $10 million for Milwaukee this year and next year, plus all of his potential '27 contract.

The $10 million figure for this year could also go down a decent bit if a trade is made later in July. He's making roughly $3.3 million per month prorated, so if this is made in a few weeks, then that total would be closer to $6.6 million for 2025 instead of $10 million.

Whether or not this potential deal ends up happening could depend on the status of Robert Gasser, who underwent Tommy John surgery a year ago, and is set to begin a rehab assignment in roughy ten days. In five starts with the Brewers last season, the 26-year-old lefty held a 2.57 ERA (3.38 FIP) and walked just one of the 114 batters he faced.

Gasser is also someone the A's would presumably love to add to their pitching depth, if possible. It's unlikely, but they're always on the lookout for strike throwers. Another option would be the twice-traded Coleman Crow, a 24-year-old righty with a 4.8% walk rate in Double-A this season. He is currently on the IL with a hip injury.

In any potential deal, the A's would be after upper-level pitching with either high "stuff" grades and iffy command, or effective pitchers that can limit free passes. Another bonus, maybe as a throw-in type would be someone that can help improve the club's defense around the diamond. The A's have the bats to contend, but the pitching and defense have been lacking this season.

Other than being a pitcher with experience in big spots, Severino would fit with the Brewers because they'd be able to get the most out of him, and with the A's kicking in some cash, they'd be getting him at a bargain rate. It also wouldn't hurt to keep him away from the Cubs, who have reportedly been keeping an eye on him themselves.

Milwaukee's final series of July, right when the trade deadline is scheduled, also happens to be against the Cubs. Entering play on Tuesday, the Brewers are just two games back in the NL Central. It wouldn't hurt take a bit of a big swing to help overtake them in the final months of the season.