Milwaukee Brewers Trade Lucroy and Jeffress to the Texas Rangers

Well, what a crazy few days it’s been for the Milwaukee Brewers and their fans! We first thought Jonathan Lucroy was traded to the Cleveland Indians, but that trade was voided when Lucroy exercised his no-trade clause.

Now, with no trade clause to exercise, Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress have been traded to the Texas Rangers for Luis Ortiz, Lewis Brinson, and a PTBNL. Both prospects are ranked in the top 100 of prospects in all of baseball; Brinson is ranked 21 by MLBPipeline.com and Ortiz is ranked 63, also by MLBPipeline.com

I’ve heard rumblings that people are underwhelmed with this return, especially given the haul the Brewers got for Will Smith, alone. However, I’m looking at it this way: The Brewers got a top 20 prospect for Lucroy and a top 60 prospect for Jeffress. I think in that light, the return the Brewers received is more than fair.

I’m not going to lie, I was getting pretty excited about the possibility of Joey Gallo in a Brewers lineup, but the Brewers got the Rangers’ 2nd and 3rd ranked prospects, in a deep system, and Gallo certainly had his warts.

With this trade and Smith’s trade, the Milwaukee Brewers have added to their revamped farm system:

That’s pretty impressive! Here’s what other baseball people are saying about the deal:

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And here’s what Jonathan Lucroy had to say:

Ultimately, the players in Brewers trade that never officially happened with the Indians will be compared with the players they received today from the Rangers. I liked both deals and especially liked the catcher the Brewers had received in return.

But in this deal, the Brewers add a pitching prospect that MLBPipeline.com says, “…already has enough stuff to profile as a possible No. 2 starter provided that he can stay healthy,” and an outfielder in Brinson that MLBPipeline.com says, “[f]ew players in the Minors can match Brinson’s combination of power and speed, and he could be a 30-30 player if he continues to refine his skills and can avoid the leg injuries that slowed him at times the past two years.”

Let’s not also sleep on the PTBNL, remember; Michael Brantley was the PTBNL in the CC Sabathia trade, and he worked out pretty well.

The light at the end of the tunnel, for Brewers fans, grew a lot today. We should be happy and excited for what’s to come.