Milwaukee Brewers potential trade target: Joey Gallo

There have been multiple rumors that teams are checking in on the availability of two-time All-Star Joey Gallo, right fielder for the New York Yankees, this offseason.

An unconfirmed rumor mentioned the Milwaukee Brewers as a team that called the Yankees. Could David Stearns and company be in a position to trade for Joey Gallo?

There are plenty of reasons to think Joey Gallo would be a good fit with the Milwaukee Brewers, first and foremost, the departure of Avisail Garcia. Avi signed with the Miami Marlins last week leaving the Brewers without their starting right fielder, with the only likely option currently being Tyrone Taylor, who filled in for several other outfielders on the injured list in 2021.

With the departure of Garcia, the Brewers will be left looking to replace his 29 home runs and 86 RBI. Grabbing Joey Gallo would be a great fit, in 2021 combined on the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees Gallo hit 38 home runs and drove in 77 runs.

However, if the Milwaukee Brewers could find a way to acquire Joey Gallo there are other reasons Gallo would be a good fit, in 2021 Joey Gallo won his second Gold Glove award. Craig Counsell has made it a priority to add players with good defensive skills when talking before the 2021 campaign. Joey Gallo had an impressive 14 outfield assists in 2021

Why would the Yankees trade Joey Gallo after trading for him in 2021? Gallo struggled offensively in the 58 games he played with the Yankees. Gallo slashed .160/.351/.458 combining for an .808 OPS. This may put some hesitancy in the mind of Milwaukee Brewers fans who watched Jackie Bradley Jr. play great defense but struggle at the plate in 2021.

However, the difference with Joey Gallo is he did hit 13 home runs in those 58 games and led the AL in walks in 2021, so he still gets on base despite his low batting average. Joey Gallo finished 2021 with a 4.7 WAR also.

Finally, the last reason Joey Gallo may be available to the Milwaukee Brewers is because he is a free agent in 2023 and the Yankees may be willing to move him before the season or during the 2022 campaign if they aren’t competing in a tough AL East.

What would a potential Milwaukee Brewers-New York Yankees trade look like? Here’s my proposal:

Milwaukee Brewers receive: RF Joey Gallo, #17 prospect LHP Brock Selvidge, #22 prospect Beck Way

New York Yankees receive: SP Adrian Houser, #14 prospect C/INF Zavier Warren

Why would each team make this trade? As mentioned previously there are a few reasons the Yankees may move on from Joey Gallo, grabbing a reliable rotation piece in Adrian Houser who is under team control until 2025 could be appealing to the Yankees who had a good team ERA in 2021 but gave up 16 runs in two games to the Tampa Bay Rays in the playoffs. Adding in the Brewers #14 prospect (according to MLB.com) gives the Yankees a future position player.

On the flipside in addition to Gallo, the Milwaukee Brewers could receive a pair of future pitching prospects from the Yankees surplus of arms in their farm system. Brock Selvidge and Beck Way, #17 and #22 in the Yankees prospect ratings according to MLB.com would give the Brewers two young controllable arms to aid in rebuilding their farm system in addition to Joey Gallo.

Parting with Houser would be sad as he has contributed to the Brewers success in recent years, it would also clear a rotation spot potentially for Aaron Ashby, who made spot starts and relief appearances in 2021 should Craig Counsell want another lefty in the rotation.