Milwaukee Brewers: 3 Potential Trade Targets This July

Marcus Stroman, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays

Marcus Stroman is a guy that many people have had pegged as a Milwaukee Brewers trade target for quite some time. The Blue Jays have gone into rebuild mode, and acquiring him last season would’ve made sense, had Stroman not had a completely awful 2018 season.

In 2017, Stroman posted a 3.09 ERA after dominating in the World Baseball Classic for Team USA that spring. He looked like the next stud, up-and-coming ace in MLB. Stroman was a very hot commodity for teams that saw the Toronto rebuild coming. Instead the Jays held on, and in 2018, Stroman regressed to a 5.54 ERA after dealing with numerous injuries that season.

But in 2019, the Marcus Stroman that we’re seeing is looking a lot like the 2017 version. Through his first eight starts, Stroman has a 2.96 ERA in 45.2 innings with a 1.29 WHIP.

The starting rotation was a mess in the first month of the season. Now with Gio Gonzalez in the fold, it’s solidified a little bit. With Jimmy Nelson on the road back, Corbin Burnes re-establishing himself, as well as Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff settling it, the rotation isn’t as big of a need as it used to be.

Still, it can never hurt to add another front of the rotation type arm to the pitching staff, especially when barreling towards the postseason. If everyone’s healthy, having Stroman, Nelson, Chacin, and some combination of Burnes, Woodruff, Peralta, and Davies in the rotation and the bullpen in October will give the Brewers a more dominant pitching staff than the one they had last year.

Stroman is under control through 2020, so it would come with an increased acquisition cost as opposed to a rental pitcher, but Stroman has the competitive fire that would likely only add to this team’s chemistry and success.

The Milwaukee Brewers have several options they can try to acquire during the July trade season. These are just three potential fits, but they would make plenty of sense for David Stearns to go out and get.