Brewers: A Look At The 3 Worst Deadline Deals in Franchise History

MILWAUKEE, WI - AUGUST 05: Jonathan Schoop #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers at bat during a game against the Colorado Rockies at Miller Park on August 5, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Rockies defeated the Brewers 5-4 in eleven innings. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - AUGUST 05: Jonathan Schoop #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers at bat during a game against the Colorado Rockies at Miller Park on August 5, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Rockies defeated the Brewers 5-4 in eleven innings. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 5: Carlos Lee #45 of the Milwaukee Brewers smiles during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 5, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers defeated the Brewers 10-6. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 5: Carlos Lee #45 of the Milwaukee Brewers smiles during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 5, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers defeated the Brewers 10-6. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /

With just over a week from the MLB Trade Deadline, rumors are flying and the buyers have the sellers’ phone number on speed dial. A deadline acquisition can propel a team to heights they wouldn’t have reached before. So with the Crew sitting comfortably in 1st place for the time being, they’ll more than likely look to improve their squad.

But sometimes those trades before the deadline can backfire for one of the sides.

The Brewers haven’t had too many cases of bad deals around July 31, but they have had a few. Here’s a look at the three worst MLB Trade Deadline deals in club history.

#1 Brewers Send Away Cruz and Lee

Rangers received: OF Carlos Lee, OF Nelson Cruz

Brewers received: RHP Francisco Cordero, OF Kevin Mench, OF Laynce Nix, LHP Julian Cordero

In what was probably the worst one out of the three we’ll go over, Milwaukee shipped away two phenomenal slugging outfielders for not much in return.

Carlos Lee played in all 162 games in his first year as a Brewer in 2005 and was an All-Star twice in the year and a half that he was in Milwaukee. Lee ended up leaving one Texas team and going to another after his 59 game stint in 2006 when he was shipped from Arlington to Houston. Some of his best years came in Houston where he slashed .286/.338/.479 with 133 home runs and 533 runs batted in.

In 2005, Nelson Cruz played in eight games for the Milwaukee Brewers. Fast forward to today and ‘The Boomstick’ has logged 1,827 games with 436 home runs and 1202 runs batted in. The seven-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger has established himself as one of the best power hitting players of this generation and he has shown little to no signs of slowing down as he continues to climb up the all-time ranks in the home run department.

In return, the highlight of the deal for the Crew was Francisco Cordero. Cordero had a sensational 2007 season in Milwaukee where he was selected to the All-Star Game and he had 44 saves, but the year after that he decided to test free agency and signed with the Cincinnati Reds for four year and $46MM (the highest paid relief pitcher ever at the time).

Laynce Nix and Kevin Mench never really amounted to much in a Brewers uniform, both fighting to find themselves in the lineup. Julian Cordero never made the big league club in Milwaukee.

The Brewers could’ve had one of the best sluggers of this generation, on the same team as Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. That dynamic duo could’ve been a terrific trio, and Brewers history from 2008-2011 could’ve looked a lot different.

MILWAUKEE, WI – MAY 20: Greg Vaughn#23 of the Milwaukee Brewers bats during a baseball game on May 20, 1994 at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI – MAY 20: Greg Vaughn#23 of the Milwaukee Brewers bats during a baseball game on May 20, 1994 at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

#2 Brewers Part Ways With Vaughn

Padres received: OF Greg Vaughn, RHP Jerry Parent

Brewers received: RHP Bryce Florie, LHP Ron Villone, OF Marc Newfield

On the morning of July 31, 1996, the Milwaukee Brewers were 52-54 and losing ground in the American League Central. Arguably the best hitter in their lineup, Greg Vaughn, was just coming off an All-Star Game appearance, but was going to be a free agent in the fall. So general manager Sal Bando decided to make the move to trade Vaughn to the San Diego Padres.

The centerpiece in the deal was the eventual four-time All Star in Vaughn. In Milwaukee, where he began his big league career, Vaughn launched 169 home runs and drove in 566 runs while being a staple of the middle of the batting order in the early to mid 1990s. After heading west, Vaughn ended up having a HUGE season in 1998 where he popped 50 home runs and won the Silver Slugger award. Jerry Parent never made it above Single A in the Padres farm system.

While the Brewers figured they weren’t going to be able to afford to pay Vaughn in the offseason, they wished they’d gotten more in return. Bryce Florie and Ron Villone were both pretty average relievers for Milwaukee and both left after the 1997 season.

The part of the deal that really hurts is with Marc Newfield. Newfield had a very solid end to the 1996 season with the Brewers, hitting .307 with seven home runs and 15 doubles, so things looked promising. But all that promise went out the window when he showed up to camp the following year out of shape and with a considerably slower bat. He was later cut by the team on December 18, 1998 due to being a non-factor the two seasons after he came to Milwaukee.

MILWAUKEE, WI – OCTOBER 04: Jonathan Schoop #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers at bat during Game One of the National League Division Series against the Colorado Rockies at Miller Park on October 4, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI – OCTOBER 04: Jonathan Schoop #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers at bat during Game One of the National League Division Series against the Colorado Rockies at Miller Park on October 4, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

#3 Milwaukee Pulls Trigger on Schoop

Orioles received: IF Jonathan Villar, RHP Luis Ortiz, IF Jean Carmona

Brewers received: IF Jonathan Schoop

In what was supposed to be a jolt for the offense, Jonathan Schoop couldn’t be what the Brewers needed him to be, in fact, he was the opposite.

In a trade of Jonathans, Villar was the only active major league player that Baltimore would get. He had a solid couple years in Milwaukee hovering around a .250 average with some quality defense. In Baltimore, he did have some nice seasons including 2019, where he played all 162 games and hit .274 with 24 home runs and 73 runs batted in. Luis Ortiz only played in three MLB games with the Orioles and had a 12.71 ERA and a 10.96 FIP. Jean Carmona is currently 21 years old and in Single A ball in the Orioles system.

The Crew believed they were getting a guy that could propel them to new heights. They’d recently acquired Mike Moustakas from the Royals and the infield was coming together…but one guy couldn’t get going, Schoop.

In 46 games in a Brewers uniform, he slashed .202/.246/.331 with only four long balls and a strikeout percentage of 30.6%. He had a terrible September, when the Brewers needed him most in the hopes of catching the Cubs in the NL Central and found himself behind the likes of Hernan Perez and Tyler Saladino. Unlike the first two examples where the Crew were sellers, this was one of the very few times the Brewers were buyers at the deadline and made the wrong call.

The plan was to have Schoop produce at second base for a year and a half, which would reduce the need to rush their top prospect, second baseman Keston Hiura, to the big leagues. Instead, Schoop was non-tendered in the winter of 2018 and the Brewers ended up having to bring Hiura to the big leagues early on in 2019. He found success there, but given his struggles in 2020 and 2021, perhaps rushing him made things worse in the long run.

Next. David Stearns' Batting Average As GM. dark

Obviously, not all deals work out. But the word around the MLB is that the Brewers are ready to make an addition or two this season before the deadline passes. Will that transaction find itself on a future list like this? I can’t wait to find out.

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