2 Brewers deadline targets scratched from starts as trade momentum builds

Though it doesn't really feel like it, the trade deadline is coming into the home stretch. Roughly three days separate us from the final bell, at which point teams will only be able to add to their roster from free agency, waivers, or their own farm systems.

The lack of major trades to this point has created something of a bottleneck, with every buyer and seller seemingly waiting for someone else to set the market. Thus, the Milwaukee Brewers find themselves in a holding pattern, despite possessing clear and obvious needs.

Thankfully, it appears that the logjam is about to give. Frequently rumored Brewers target Casey Mize was scratched from his Friday night start early in the day, and the New York Mets followed suit with old friend Freddy Peralta. As two of the top rental pitchers available, their markets will likely enter overdrive over the next 24 hours.

Casey Mize, Freddy Peralta scratches should put Brewers on high alert as starting pitching market revs up

If you want to take a glass-half-empty look at this situation, it's easy enough to read these decisions as precautionary. There's no real reason for the Tigers or Mets to send Mize or Peralta out there, risking a blow-up outing or injury that torpedoes their respective trade value. Sending them out there for a final swan song has no real upside.

If you're an antsy baseball fan who is constantly refreshing social media feeds for any nuggets of information, however, this does seem like the moment where the runners have finished their stretches and lined up at the starting line. We've had a few trades already -- including one where the Mets offloaded reliever A.J. Minter for a pair of low-level prospects -- but no one has really fired the starting gun on the trade deadline. At the very least, we're all still waiting for the starting pitching dam to burst open.

Mize has been linked to the Brewers seemingly since the moment the Tigers stumbled out of the gates and for good reason; he's having a career-best campaign (2.70 ERA/2.50 FIP) on the strength of a newfound shape with his suddenly elite four-seam fastball. Even though he's a rental and would only be around for a few months, the Crew's pitching lab could do some serious damage with a pitcher with his characteristics.

Meanwhile, Peralta has not responded well to the bright lights of the Big Apple, pitching to a 4.99 ERA and 4.46 FIP while proving his five-and-dive reputation correct. There are some indicators that he's due for positive regression, like a 3.83 xERA and solid contact quality data, but his value has eroded since leaving Milwaukee. Even then, so long as the asking price is reasonable, there's no team better equipped to get Fastball Freddy back on track than the Brewers.

Despite their respective fits, Milwaukee might not end up with either of these pitchers -- that's just the nature of a sellers' market. But knowing that both are likely to soon be on the move is all the indication Matt Arnold and the front office should need to prepare for a very busy weekend.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow