Milwaukee Brewers Acquire Catcher David Freitas From Mariners

The Milwaukee Brewers have made an early season trade and acquired more catching depth for the organization.

While we were all being amazed by watching Tiger Woods finish off his Masters victory, Milwaukee Brewers GM David Stearns was clearly not watching The Masters. He was on the phone with Jerry Dipoto, GM of the Seattle Mariners.

The two struck a deal involving a couple of minor leaguers.

What Was The Deal?

David Freitas has played in parts of each of the past three seasons for the Mariners, including playing in one game early this season. Through his 127 career plate appearances, Freitas has a .214/.270/.313 slash line with one home run.

Freitas will get sent to Triple-A San Antonio and he’ll join Jacob Nottingham and Tuffy Gosewisch in the catching corps.

RHP Sal Biasi gets sent to the Mariners in exchange. The 23 year old started this season with Low-A Wisconsin and has a 0.00 ERA through his first three outings in 2019. Last year, the Milwaukee Brewers acquired him from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Jon Perrin.

Was This A Good Trade?

There could be an injury to one of Nottingham or Gosewisch down in Triple-A that makes this kind of trade necessary. And just in case something happens to Yasmani Grandal or Manny Pina at the big league level, Freitas is another veteran catching option that can help fill in.

Freitas has minor league options remaining, which makes him more flexible than Gosewisch, who is not currently on the 40 man roster.

Biasi wasn’t a top pitching prospect, he wasn’t close to the big leagues, and he wasn’t going to figure into the future of this organization. For the Mariners, a team that’s in a rebuild stage, they could use another minor leaguer that could play a part in the future.

It’s a good, fair deal for both sides. Stearns and the Brewers get what they want in another veteran catcher to add to their depth, and they give from a position of strength, pitching in Low-A. The Mariners had surplus catching depth and had a need for pitching in Low-A, which makes the two perfect trade partners.

Jerry Dipoto loves making trades and so does David Stearns. The two of them have combined for a number of trades in recent years, most recently the Domingo Santana–Ben Gamel swap last December. That trade has worked out well for Seattle so far as Santana is raking. Gamel’s in a different role with the Brewers so he hasn’t shined as much, but he’s played his role well.

The Milwaukee Brewers see something in Freitas and he could bring some value to the major league team at some point this season.