The Brewers and Padres have made a big trade.
Wednesday, the Brewers acquired infielder Luís Urias and starter Eric Lauer from the Padres in exchange for starter Zach Davies and outfielder Trent Grisham.
Urias is the key to the deal for the Brewers. The 22-year-old holds a career .308/.397/.433 (.830 OPS) slash line in six minor league seasons and entered 2019 as the No. 16 prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com.
That success hasn’t translated to the big leagues yet — Urias holds a .221/.318/.331 (.649 OPS) line in 83 career games, 71 of which came in 2019. This is an incredibly small sample size, however, and moving out of pitcher-friendly Petco Park will bode well for Urias.
Urias can play shortstop and second base, but he will play the former with the Brewers. Keston Hiura — .303/.368/.570 (.938 OPS), 19 home runs in 2019 — will continue manning second for Milwaukee. If he continues to hit, and Urias hits like he did in the minor leagues, the Brewers will have one formidable middle infield combination for the foreseeable future. The Brewers are hoping Urias will be an upgrade over Orlando Arcia — .223/.283/.350 (.633 OPS), 14 errors in 2019 — both offensively and defensively.
Trading away Davies is curious. The right-hander posted a 3.55 ERA in 31 starts in 2019, leading the Brewers with 155 2/3 innings pitched. The Brewers rotation has been their biggest weakness in recent seasons, and Davies was a mainstay in that group since 2016.
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Davies is arbitration eligible through 2021, while Lauer is eligible through 2024. The latter holds a 2.93 ERA in 37 games (36 starts) across three minor league seasons. He holds a 4.40 ERA in 53 games (52 starts) in two big-league campaigns.
Grisham is infamous for making a key error in the 2019 NL Wild Card Game. He misplayed a single in right field with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, allowing three Nationals to score. Washington took a 4-3 lead — the game’s final score.
Grisham can play all three outfield spots and combined to hit 32 home runs in 2019 (six in MLB). He was the Brewers’ fourth outfielder but will have an opportunity to start with the Padres.
In other news, the Padres signed former Brewers swingman Drew Pomeranz, according to Rosenthal. The left-hander joined the Brewers from the Giants at the trade deadline and posted a 2.39 ERA in 25 games (one start). MLB Insider Robert Murray reported that the deal is four years and worth $34 million.