Brewers: 2020 Trade Deadline Targets The Brewers Should Consider

OF Jackie Bradley, Jr., Red Sox

After a scandal-ridden offseason with manager Alex Cora, the Red Sox are now being managed by former Brewers skipper Ron Roenicke and it hasn’t taken long for the wheels to fall off for Boston. They’re currently 6-17 with a payroll that’s in horrible shape and a roster that’s full of holes now.

They traded away superstar OF Mookie Betts in the winter because he was an upcoming free agent and they knew they couldn’t afford him. This August, perhaps they’ll trade away another star outfielder.

Jackie Bradley, Jr. was due to become a free agent at the same time as Betts, at the end of the 2020 season. Although Betts has now signed a massive extension with the Dodgers, Bradley is still scheduled to hit the open market this winter.

Since Lorenzo Cain opted out, the Brewers outfield depth has been put to the test. Ben Gamel isn’t producing like he was at the start of the season, and Ryan Braun isn’t able to play everyday. Adding Bradley would solve some of these problems.

Bradley is a Gold Glove defender in centerfield, just like Lorenzo Cain, and he would be an excellent stopgap solution while Cain is home with his family. He’s only under contract for this year, so the Brewers could pay a very small price tag for him and simply let him go in free agency this offseason.

His full season salary this year is $11MM, which means his prorated salary is at just over $4MM, and with the salary advance already paid out by MLB, he’s only getting $3,787,574 in game checks this year. Should the Brewers get him on the day of the trade deadline, they would only be on the hook for paying him for games in the month of September, which would come out to just over $1.6MM in salary added to the Brewers books.

Granted, this is a year where the Brewers are losing money no matter what, and it’s easy to say what’s another $1.6MM added to that when you aren’t the one paying for it. Still, adding Bradley to the roster at a fraction of his normal price, even just for a month, would be a big boost for the Brewers on the field.

Bradley has some power, although he doesn’t hit for a super high average and has been just under league-average when it comes to OPS+ the last few years. He won’t fully replace Lorenzo Cain’s offensive production, but he can bring the same kind of defensive skills while bringing in at least adequate offensive production that can put Avisail Garcia back in right field with Bradley in center.

OF Kevin Pillar, Red Sox

Yes, another outfielder from Boston makes this list. If the cost of acquiring Jackie Bradley, Jr. is too expensive for Stearns’ taste, whether with salary or prospect capital, then perhaps he could turn to Kevin Pillar.

Pillar has been a stud defensive centerfielder for quite a while now, and although he’s spent most of his career in Toronto, he’s now over in Boston.

He also brings a similar offensive pedigree to Bradley, Jr. but he hits for a higher average and walks less often. He has solid power, good speed, and a strong track record of consistent performance.

By going after Pillar, the Brewers would have to take on less money in salary, for a similar type of player, and the prospect capital it would cost to acquire him would be lower. Pillar was only signed to a $4.25MM deal for 2020, so if the Brewers were to acquire him mid-season, they would owe him less than a million dollars total.

This year, Pillar is having one of his best offensive campaigns to date. He’s hitting .296/.342/.479 with five doubles, a triple, and two home runs. His 118 OPS+ is the highest of his career, although it’s still early in the season. Still, a player hitting that well would be a welcome addition to the Brewers lineup which needs as many hitters in a groove at the plate as possible right now.

Pillar could man centerfield while Garcia moves back to right and Gamel returns to a part-time role. Ryan Braun can spend most of his time at DH or put back in the originally planned platoons at first base or right field.

RHP Mychal Givens, Orioles

The Orioles have made a decent run here to start the 2020 season, but odds are their luck will run out and they will sell at the trade deadline. What valuable pieces do they have for trade?

Mychal Givens might be the one that makes the most sense. He’s under team control for one more season through arbitration and then he’ll become a free agent at the end of 2021. He’s been a solid reliever for the Orioles the past few years and he can serve as a quality setup man.

Givens can pack in the strikeouts out of the bullpen and has averaged more than 12.0 K/9 since 2019.

In 2020, Givens still has a pristine 0.00 ERA through eight appearances and eight innings of work with 11 strikeouts.

Through this small sample size, Givens hasn’t been getting quite as many ground balls as he’s used to and he’s normally closer to an even split between fly balls and ground balls.

Givens has a fastball-slider-changeup combo, sitting in the mid-90s with the heater, followed by a mid-80s slider and a low-80s changeup. He’s increased his changeup usage over the past few years and decreased his high fastball usage. His slider grades out as the best of his pitches.

The cost to acquire Givens, again, should be relatively low. He’s on a cheap contract, under control for one more season, which will boost the price tag a little bit over a pure rental, and he’s not seen as a closer.

A low level prospect or two should do it, but only guys on the 60 man player pool are eligible to be dealt. A guy like Justin Topa might be someone who would be included in a deal like this.

The Brewers still have a little bit of time to determine how they will approach this trade deadline. The main need for help looks to be on offense and finding someone to replace Lorenzo Cain in the outfield. However, pitching can never be ruled out either.