Brewers: 5 Controllable 2021 Trade Deadline Targets

4. LHP Joely Rodriguez

If the Brewers aren’t going to look at starting pitchers from the Texas Rangers, they have a couple of relievers that might draw interest at the trade deadline. One of those relievers is Joely Rodriguez.

Rodriquez doesn’t have amazing stats this year so far. The Rangers setup man has a 1-3 record with a 5.84 ERA. But he would add another left-handed arm to the bullpen. His mostly sinker and changeup combination also leaders to a lot of ground balls and strike outs. He has 27 strikeouts over you guessed it, 27 games.

A fresh team might be able to lower his ERA just like Trevor Richards earlier this season. Rodriguez signed a two-year, $5.5MM deal with the Rangers. He has a $3MM club option next year. So if he does great, he isn’t too expensive to have next year. If not, they can release him and save the salary for a different arm in the offseason.

5. OF Joey Gallo

Now that we have listed a few other Texas Rangers already, why not make a blockbuster trade and also throw in Joey Gallo?

Gallo, like Aguilar, has another year of control going into 2022. He’s currently making $6.2MM this season. He would make the outfield pretty pricey next yeas with Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Avisail Garcia and Jackie Bradley Jr. all already making more than $10MM a year each out there.

What is appealing about Gallo is that he can also play first base and third base. You now have a power hitter who can play first base or the outfield if needed. His 24 home runs and 52 RBIs so far this season also doesn’t hurt. His slash numbers are a bit lower with .235/.394/.910, but that high OPS is nice to see. And with a Milwaukee team of lower batting averages already, why not add one more who can bring in a ton of runs?

It would obviously cost the Brewers a lot if they got Gallo from the Rangers and that might keep them out of the sweepstakes. But, if the team could get Gallo and another top reliever or starter, their odds to make the World Series would also jump quite a bit. It would also leave the team with Gallo for another year.

There are multiple players in the outfield right now with options, so the Brewers could also save some money and not have to pick up as many of those options if you know you have Gallo in one of those spots.