Milwaukee Brewers: Finding the Perfect Trade with the Giants

The Milwaukee Brewers are reportedly taking calls on every one of their outfielders. The San Francisco Giants are in desperate need of some outfield production. They have reportedly thrown a wide net in search of some outfield power.

With the Giants needing an outfielder or two with some pop, GM Bobby Evans has rumored interest in Giancarlo Stanton, J.D. Martinez, and Lorenzo Cain. However with little prospect depth and payroll flexibility, the Giants may settle for a lower tier solution. That’s where the Milwaukee Brewers come in.

Who could the Giants have interest in?

After going through Ryan Braun’s trade market, the Giants came out as a potential suitor for Braun. However, their level of interest in the slugger is unknown. With Braun’s recent comments stating the Dodgers as the only team he’d accept a trade to, the Giants seem to be out. The Giants could turn their attention to Keon Broxton.

San Francisco hit the fewest homers in baseball last year with only 128 as a team. Broxton posted the first 20 homer/20 steal season of his young career in 2017. With his youth and years of team control, Broxton makes the perfect option for the Giants outfield.

What would a deal for Broxton look like?

If the Giants pursue this opportunity to improve, a speculative deal could look something like this.

In return, the Brewers add a left handed starter that’s close to the big leagues. The 25-year old Andrew Suarez pitched to a 3.30 ERA in 24 starts across Double-A and Triple-A in 2017. He possesses two plus pitches with his fastball and a slider that is effective against both lefties and righties. Suarez is the Giants 11th rated prospect. He will also add rotation depth for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Ghordy Santos is an 18-year old switch hitting shortstop in the Dominican Summer League. He’s basically a lottery ticket at this point. The Brewers could probably just have their pick of a player off the Giants DSL roster. But since he plays a premium position and is a switch hitter, he seems as likely as anyone to be thrown in this trade.

Why does this deal make sense for both sides?

David Stearns rarely does a one for one swap. He’ll ask for two prospects since he’s giving up a Major League ready starter and won’t get one in return. Suarez would still likely begin the season in Triple-A and for that, Stearns needs just a little bit more. The Giants would have to throw in a lottery ticket to make a deal happen.

Keon Broxton is one of the most obvious trade outfield trade candidates, but isn’t discussed very much right now. That could change as names start to get taken off the market and teams are still in search of a center fielder. If the Giants balk at the asking prices of J.D. Martinez and Lorenzo Cain and are outbid for Giancarlo Stanton, they could turn to the Milwaukee Brewers.

With the wide net that the Giants have cast over the outfield market, they no doubt have discussed pursuing Broxton internally. Given how close San Francisco is to the luxury tax and their desire to get back to contention in 2018, Broxton represents a cost effective option to fix their outfield issues. The Brewers can help if they can get a young, lefty starter in return.

Next: Can the Brewers deal for Chris Archer?

While this is yet another speculated trade involving Keon Broxton, all of these teams mentioned profile as fits for the young outfielder. They’re all looking for a young outfielder that plays great defense and has some pop, and that’s exactly what Broxton is.