Milwaukee Brewers: Why Trade For Orioles Jonathan Schoop?

The Milwaukee Brewers GM David Stearns traded for Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop just before the 2018 trade deadline expired. The acquisition makes little sense for this season, but sets up the Brewers nicely for 2019.

Full trade:

Schoop will strengthen the Milwaukee Brewers defense for the rest of 2018. The team seems to have an overload on the infield after recently adding Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas. The Brewers did send INF Jonathan Villar in the trade for Schoop.

This season, Schoop is hitting .244/.273/.447 with 17 homers. His batting average and on base percentage don’t inspire much, but Schoop has been hot lately. He’s on a 12 game hitting streak and is hitting .360 in the month of July. Schoop has nine homers and 19 RBIs on the month and recently won AL Player of the Week. His new teammate Christian Yelich just won NL Player of the Week.

Also, Schoop has suffered from a .262 BAbip this season, which helps explain his low batting average.

However, Brewers manager Craig Counsell was trying out third basemen Moustakas and Travis Shaw at second base. Now, Counsell can pencil in a natural second baseman in that position.

Schoop might see some time at shortstop if Counsell wants to load his lineup with Shaw or Moose at third and second and try Schoop at shortstop.

Brewers Trade Deadline Move For Schoop Helps 2019

The Brewers infield looks overfilled right now, but the team will look much more balanced in 2019 with Schoop in it.

Moose will become an unrestricted free agent after the 2018 season. His departure will thin out the Brewers’ infield. Shaw will move back to his comfortable third base position, Orlando Arcia‘s magical glove gets another shot at shortstop, Schoop will be a good second baseman, and Jesus Aguilar stays at first base with Braun filling in at first base and outfield.

That will be a strong lineup and a defense with deep options. Villar left in the trade, but the Brewers still have Perez who can back up all over the infield.

Stearns made this trade deadline deal for Schoop with great vision. His goal is to make the Brewers contenders on an annual basis.

Why Didn’t the Milwaukee Brewers Trade For a Starting Pitcher?

Adding Schoop and not giving up the farm for any pitcher could be the right move for the Brewers in the long-run. Milwaukee probably wasn’t going to win a World Series this season. Even if they traded for a pitcher such as Chris Archer, 2018 would have been a long-shot.

The Milwaukee Brewers could still make a move for a pitcher during August. July 31 is just the non-waiver trade deadline.

However, Stearns did not trade any key prospects. So the Brewers organization is still stocked with talent, including pitching talent.

Milwaukee will go into the 2019 season with these potential rotation options: Jimmy Nelson, Chase Anderson, Jhoulys Chacin, Junior Guerra, Brandon Woodruff, Zach Davies, Freddy Peralta, and Corbin Burnes. The Brewers won with less during this 2018 season. All these names plus whatever could happen between now and then puts the Brewers in a good position for 2019.

Milwaukee could still use a dominant ace for the playoffs, but the addition of Schoop might allow the 2019 team to out-hit teams and lock them down late with a great bullpen.