How have the Milwaukee Brewers done in recent trades?

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Why does any team dare trade with the Milwaukee Brewers?

It's an easy sentiment to conjure given Milwaukee's track record of success in recent deals. That seems particularly evident as the Brewers head into a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, at a time when Kyle Harrison has been superb in the starting rotation and Shane Drohan has been strong out of the bullpen.

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The Brewers got David Hamilton (a key contributor, if not someone who's mashing at the plate), Drohan and Harrison for Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monsterio and Anthony Seigler in an offseason trade with the Boston Red Sox. Thus far, that looks like a robbery.

Of course, there's another offseason trade that grossly favors the team that dealt with the Brewers, so not all trades have been perfect. A look back at the offseason and other recent trades (trades involving players going both ways) impacting the Brewers:

Brewers 2026 preseason trades: Freddy Peralta, Caleb Durbin, Isaac Collins, Nick Mears, Jake Woodford

  • Tampa Bay received: K.C. Hunt, minor-league pitcher
  • Milwaukee received: Jake Woodford, relief pitcher

The late-offseason swap gave the Brewers a reliever who sees only limited action, a 4.67 ERA in 12 games. He has a 1.442 WHIP (walks and hits per inning) and hasn't really been a net negative or positive thus far.

Hunt has struggled in Class AAA Durham for his new team, with a 6.85 ERA in nine games (24 innings) and a 1.90 WHIP.

Advantage: Brewers, slightly

  • Boston received: Caleb Durbin, third baseman; Anthony Seigler, infielder; Andruw Monasterio, infielder
  • Milwaukee received: Kyle Harrison, starting pitcher; David Hamilton, infielder; Shane Drohan, pitcher

It's still too small a sample to make overriding judgments, but it's hard to dispute which side has the better end to this point. Harrison has a staggering 1.77 ERA through nine starts, with 59 strikeouts in 46 innings and a WHIP of 1.073. Hamilton's .628 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) is uninspiring but perhaps not as much of a struggle as it seemed a few days ago after a good series at Wrigley Field. He still reaches base at a .344 clip and has stolen 10 bases. Drohan has found comfort as a leverage long-reliever and has a 2.57 ERA in eight games, and it's a 1.47 ERA if you discount his rocky debut start in Boston.

Meanwhile, Durbin – the third-place finisher in the Rookie of the Year voting last year – just can't get on track. He's got a .492 OPS with one homer, although strong defense at third base has at least made him a key on one side of the ball.

Monasterio has been right as expected, with a .682 OPS in 80 at-bats. Seigler has not appeared in the big leagues this year.

Advantage: Brewers

  • Kansas City received: Isaac Collins, outfielder; Nick Mears, relief pitcher
  • Milwaukee received: Ángel Zerpa, relief pitcher

Here's the other side of the coin. It was easy to get excited about what Zerpa would bring to the table after seeing him thrive in the Venezuela bullpen during the World Baseball Classic. But he posted a 6.39 ERA in 12 games, then got shut down and needed Tommy John surgery that will keep him out for a chunk of next season, as well.

Collins started very slowly, then got hot and cooled again, so he's got a .648 OPS with three homers and three stolen bases thus far. Mears has a 3.06 ERA in 19 games, a number that only increased after he allowed three earned runs over his past three outings.

The Brewers would make this deal again, since the players they surrendered were guys they could afford to give up for a leverage reliever. It's just that injury got in the way.

Advantage: Royals

  • New York Mets received: Freddy Peralta, starting pitcher; Tobias Myers, pitcher
  • Milwaukee received: Brandon Sproat, starting pitcher; Jett Williams, minor-league infielder

Peralta's numbers have taken a step back from his excellent 2025, but not dramatically. He has a 3.31 ERA in 10 starts after sporting a 2.70 for the Brewers last year with a higher WHIP, lower strikeout rate (8.9/9 innings, lowest of his career) and elevated walk rate (4.1/9 innings, highest since his rookie year). The Mets have gone 5-5 in his starts.

Myers has been effective out of the bullpen, with a 3.41 ERA in 29 innings, almost entirely in relief. He's got a 1.034 WHIP and 23 strikeouts to just six walks.

Sproat's ERA (5.75) and WHIP (1.500) aren't great, but he does have 41 strikeouts in 40 innings and has shown flashes of contributing to a high-level rotation. Williams, meanwhile, is on the cusp of a call-up from AAA Nashville, rallying from a slow start to get his OPS to .800

Advantage: Mets, but only for now

2025 in-season trades: Brandon Lockridge, Nestor Cortes, Aaron Civale, Andrew Vaughn, Danny Jansen, Quinn Priester

  • San Diego received: Nestor Cortes, starting pitcher; Jorge Quintana, minor-league infielder
  • Milwaukee received: Brandon Lockridge, outfielder

The deadline deal sent a veteran starter who made just two appearances for Milwaukee before he was sidelined with an injury in Cortes, plus a warmly regarded prospect in Quintana for some help at the deadline.

Lockridge played in 20 games for the Brewers last year and posted a .677 OPS but he was off to a solid start this year before suffering an in-game knee laceration that has sidelined him. The reliable defender has a .710 OPS and .294 batting average in 96 plate appearances this year.

Cortes posted a 5.47 ERA in six starts for the Padres last year and hasn't pitched in the big leagues in 2026, not currently with an organization. Quintana has a .591 OPS in Class A Lake Elsinore, but the 19-year-old is regarded as the No. 5 prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline.

Both sides probably got what they wanted out of the deal.

Advantage: Push

  • Tampa Bay received: Jadher Areinamo, minor-league infielder
  • Milwaukee received: Danny Jansen, catcher

The lower-stakes deadline deal last year landed a backup catcher who gave the Brewers a solid 25 games, with a .779 OPS including three homers. He then signed with Texas as a free agent. The 22-year-old Areinamo was probably in too deep a system to have a serious big-league path with Milwaukee. This year, he has a .669 OPS while playing second base for the Rays' Double-A affiliate, though he does have seven homers.

Advantage: Brewers, probably

  • Chicago White Sox received: Aaron Civale, starting pitcher
  • Milwaukee received: Andrew Vaughn, first baseman

The midseason deal came about because Civale wanted a new opportunity as a starting pitcher once the Brewers promoted Jacob Misiorowski. The Brewers obliged and took a flyer on a former top-five draft pick who hadn't realized his potential in Chicago. And, well, it worked out for Milwaukee.

Civale posted a 5.37 ERA in 13 starts for the White Sox, then finished the year (pitching well) with the Cubs coming out of the bullpen, actually facing Milwaukee in the playoffs. He signed with the Athletics this offseason and has a 3.31 ERA in 10 games with that franchise, though his WHIP of 1.394 is still pretty elevated.

Vaughn, of course, immediately became a difference maker once the team promoted him from AAA last year, and he finished with nine homers, and .869 OPS in 64 games and two key postseason homers. After a broken bone in his hand sidelined him to start the year, he's already out to a .928 OPS in 12 games, with a homer and three doubles.

Advantage: Brewers

  • Boston received: Yophery Rodriguez, minor-league outfielder; John Holobetz, minor-league pitcher; draft pick
  • Milwaukee received: Quinn Priester, starting pitcher

This seemed like a reach at the time, giving up a decent package for a former top prospect who hadn't clicked yet in the big leagues. It turned into what looked like a coup, when Priester went on to post a 3.32 ERA in 29 games, becoming essentially the team's No. 2 pitcher for most of the 2025 season and just what Milwaukee needed.

What complicates the trade evaluation is what's happened thus far in 2026, where Priester has been sidelined by a tricky nerve injury that has kept him off the big-league mound and struggling in rehab outings.

The Red Sox also got the 33rd pick in the 2025 draft, used on pitcher Marcus Phillips, plus two prospects. Holobetz, who was identified as a player to be named later, has a 4.83 ERA in Double-A this year but has been solid with really only one bad start skewing his numbers. Rodriguez already has 10 homers this year and an .881 OPS in Class High A.

Phillips is ranked as the team's No. 8 prospect by MLB Pipeline, though draft-pick swaps are a little difficult to evaluate; it's more about the opportunity and draft-pool bonus money than the actual player selected. Holobetz is ranked No. 12. Boston fans might be fuming about the Durbin trade, but they can't be totally unhappy with this return.

Advantage: Brewers, for now

The Devin Williams trade

  • New York Yankees received: Devin Williams, relief pitcher
  • Milwaukee received: Nestor Cortes, starting pitcher; Caleb Durbin, infielder

This is a difficult trade to evaluate, since none of the players are still with the organization that acquired them.

Cortes only made two starts and then got moved at the deadline for Lockridge. Durbin, of course, put in a far better than expected rookie year, answering the team's dire need for production on the left side of the infield in 2025 and finishing third in the rookie of the year voting. Then, Durbin was moved this offseason in a trade that looks like a massive win for the Brewers.

Williams now plays across town for the Mets after signing as a free agent, and his one year with the Yankees was rocky. His 4.79 ERA over 62 innings was certainly hampered by a few blow-up outings, but he still struck out a ton of batters (90 in 62 innings). Ultimately, he wasn't the same dominant pitcher he had been in Milwaukee.

Advantage: Brewers

2024 in-season trade: Nick Mears

  • Colorado Rockies received: Bradley Blalock, starting pitcher, Yujanyer Herrera, minor-league starting pitcher
  • Milwaukee received: Nick Mears, relief pitcher

Mears is now gone, traded to Kansas City in the aforementioned deal for Zerpa. His overall body of work was fine in Milwaukee, with a 7.30 ERA in 13 outings in 2024 and then a 3.49 in 57 innings, with a WHIP under 1.00 in 2025. The Brewers probably figured the best was behind the 29-year-old when they dealt him to the Royals.

Blalock has a 4.74 ERA in AAA this year over eight starts, with 38 strikeouts in 38 innings. He hasn't had much success in his 21 big-league games (8.16 ERA) but, then again, this is Colorado.

Herrera, a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher, has a 4.21 ERA in eight appearances at High Class A, with a 1.64 WHIP; this is his second year at the level of the minors. He also strikes out a batter per inning, though.

Advantage: Brewers, by a nose

The Corbin Burnes trade

  • Baltimore received: Corbin Burnes, starting pitcher
  • Milwaukee received: DL Hall, starting pitcher; Joey Ortiz, infielder; and draft pick

Once again, the draft pick is more than just the player selected, although the 34th selection of first baseman Blake Burke, who's been mashing at AA Biloxi, makes it feel just a little bit better.

The Brewers would have probably gotten a draft pick in that neck of the woods if they had kept Burnes for the 2024 season and extended a qualifying offer (that he declined to sign elsewhere), so it's somewhat an assumption to say Milwaukee gained a pick, but the Brewers did get that pick a year earlier (since Burnes would have left after 2024 and the pick wouldn't have been until the 2025 draft). And, the Brewers got a compensatory pick in 2025 anyway because Willy Adames left in free agency after 2024.

Anyway, back to the players. Burnes gave the Orioles an amazing year. He was worth 3.9 bWAR (Baseball Reference's wins over replacement), with a 2.92 ERA in 32 starts, 181 strikeouts and a 1.096 WHIP. He delivered an excellent playoff performance, though the Orioles failed to give Burnes any run support and they were quickly ushered out of the postseason. He then signed with Arizona last offseason before suffering an arm injury and needing Tommy John surgery.

Because Joey Ortiz has been so reliable defensively, he's been worth 3.5 bWAR over the past two-plus years, with the likelihood of surpassing the total Burnes gave the Orioles. He is, unfortunately, also a player who has struggled offensively and could be replaced in the near future. Hall (1.2 bWAR over the past two-plus years) seems to have found a perfect niche in the bullpen, with a 1.54 ERA this year in 23 innings. But, of course, he's not the high-upside starter that Brewers fans thought they were getting in the trade.

Hall and Ortiz could still contribute to another deep playoff run, so the Brewers definitely got something out of this deal. Would it have been better to keep Burnes for the final year of his contract? Maybe?

Advantage: Push

Three important offseason trades after 2023 that you forgot about

  • New York Mets received: Adrian Houser, starting pitcher; Tyrone Taylor, outfielder
  • Milwaukee received: Coleman Crow, starting pitcher

The Brewers made a long-term play when they dealt a starting pitcher and outfielder to the Mets for a pitching prospect with some injury trouble.

Taylor has been a regular for the Mets the past two-plus seasons, racking up 3.0 bWAR over the past two years but starting out struggling big-time in 2026 in his age-32 season, with a .529 OPS thus far.

Houser didn't make the full season with the Mets in 2024, posting a 5.84 ERA in 23 games before New York moved on. He split time between White Sox (very good) and Rays (not so good) last year, then signed with the Giants, where he has a 5.29 ERA in nine starts this year.

Crow, 25, has made two strong spot starts for the Brewers this year and is part of the team's ridiculous pitching depth. It's too early to say the Brewers legitimately "won" this trade since Taylor gave the Mets a decent amount over the past two years, but you sure do like where the Brewers are sitting.

Advantage: Mets, for now

  • Oakland received: Abraham Toro, infielder
  • Milwaukee received: Chad Patrick, pitcher

You probably wouldn't have been able to name the player Milwaukee traded to get Chad Patrick. Toro was actually a positive player for the Athletics in 2024, the year Patrick was carving up batters for the AAA Nashville Sounds. Toro had a .643 OPS that year, then spent last year in Boston (.659 OPS in 77 games) and hasn't been back in the big leagues this year, playing in the Royals organization.

Patrick, of course, is a key contributor to the Brewers' pitching staff, with a 2.72 ERA this season in 11 games (five starts) and looking like a bullpen hammer. He had a 3.53 ERA for the Brewers last year in 27 games (23 starts) as the team won a franchise-record 97 games.

The same organization that allowed the Brewers to wind up with catcher William Contreras for the low price of Esteury Ruiz (career .637 OPS and currently with Miami) also gave the Brewers a major contributor for a bargain.

Advantage: Brewers

  • Milwaukee received: Jake Bauers, first baseman
  • New York Yankees received: Jace Avina, minor-league outfielder; Brian Sánchez, minor-league outfielder

The 22-year-old Avina is having a nice year at Class AA for the Yankees, with an .894 OPS and just getting named Eastern League player of the week. He has 12 homers. Sánchez is now in Class High A with the Pirates organization.

Bauers has been huge for the Brewers this season with seven homers and an .860 OPS after a quality finish last year (.752 OPS, homered in playoffs). The Brewers had essentially cut ties with him after the 2024 season, but his re-signing proved to be a massive boost.

Advantage: Brewers

Other trades that shape the 2026 Brewers

  • January 2018: Brewers trade minor-league outfielders Lewis Brinson and Monte Harrison, minor-league infielder Isan Díaz and minor-league pitcher Jordan Yamamoto to Miami for outfielder Christian Yelich.
  • August 2022: Brewers trade relief pitcher Josh Hader to San Diego for relief pitcher Taylor Rogers, pitcher Dinelson Lamet, minor-league pitcher Robert Gasser, and outfielder Esteury Ruiz.
  • December 2022: Brewers trade outfielder Esteury Ruiz in three-way trade to Athletics for catcher William Contreras (from Atlanta), minor-league pitcher Justin Yeager and relief pitcher Joel Payamps. The Braves received former Athletics catcher Sean Murphy in the deal.
  • April 2023: Brewers trade minor-league pitcher Taylor Floyd to Minnesota for relief pitcher Trevor Megill.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Revisiting Milwaukee Brewers trades over past three years

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