Brewers: 2 Trade Targets From the Arizona Diamondbacks

Trade rumors around MLB are starting to intensify. The Brewers could look to add to any part of the roster due to dealing with injuries in multiple areas.

Oftentimes contending teams will look to strike deals with teams who are out of playoff contention. Earlier, we looked at a few trade targets from the Colorado Rockies. Today, we will look at two players who may be on the trading block from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Brewers Trade Deadline Target from the Diamondbacks #1: OF David Peralta

The soon to be 35 year old left handed hitting and throwing Peralta is having a good year at the plate. Through 75 games, Peralta has a .241/.309/.449/.758 slash line with 11 home runs and 37 RBI. His wRC+ is just barely above league average at 105, but this has decreased significantly recently due to him having a tough offensive month of June. He could easily get back on track post All-Star break and finish the year strong.

Defensively, he has only played left field this year, but has played right field in years prior. If acquired, this would likely mean that Andrew McCutchen would have to play more centerfield.  That would ensure that Christian Yelich, Andrew McCutchen, Hunter Renfroe, and David Peralta could all see consistent at bats. It would also make Tyrone Taylor yet again the odd man out and may mean a demotion for Jonathan Davis.

Contract wise, Peralta is due just $4MM this season and he will be a free agent at the end of the year.  The Diamondbacks have an influx of MLB ready outfielders, so it is very likely that Peralta gets traded. Perhaps a proposal involving at least one near MLB ready prospect and one younger player with a high ceiling is enough to get a deal done.

Brewers Trade Deadline Target from the Diamondbacks #2: RP Ian Kennedy

Ian Kennedy, a former starting pitcher across several seasons, has found success and perhaps has extended his career by switching to the bullpen. He made the switch in 2019 with the Kansas City Royals, where he picked up 30 saves in his first year as the closer. In 2021 he picked up 26 more saves between both the Phillies and the Rangers.

At age 37, he returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022 and has been working primarily as the setup man. He owns a respectable 3.58 ERA on the season and has done a good job at not allowing base runners to score. His strikeout numbers are down this year and his walks are higher, but his composure and ability to pitch in pressure situations has allowed him to work out of a lot of jams.

On the mound, Kennedy does not possess a lot of overpowering stuff. He relies almost solely on his fastball (82%) that sits in the low 90s, but he is one of the best in terms of fastball spin rate.  He also would bring a lot of experience with him. Brad Boxberger, another veteran, has had a lot of success with the Crew so what’s to say that Kennedy wouldn’t thrive as well?

The trade deadline this year is August 2nd. Perhaps they could add someone from the Diamondbacks like they did last year with Eduardo Escobar.