Brewers Rumors: Crew Reportedly Interested in Yankees OF Joey Gallo

We are now just two days away from the 2022 MLB trade deadline and rumors continue to heat up. The Milwaukee Brewers continue to be involved in a number of them as they haven’t made a pre-deadline trade of their own yet.

The Crew have been linked to Oakland A’s outfielder Ramon Laureano as well as Washington Nationals first baseman Josh Bell. The most recent rumor has the team apparently looking into a struggling outfielder from an American League powerhouse.

The Brewers are rumored to have interest in Yankees outfielder Joey Gallo at the MLB trade deadline.

This most recent MLB trade deadline rumor comes by way of national baseball insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today. He states in his latest article ($$) that the Brewers are one of a few teams checking in on the Yankees outfielder.

This is the second straight MLB trade deadline in which Joey Gallo is finding his name floating around. Last year, as the long time Texas Ranger was slugging to the tune of a .869 OPS with 25 homers and 55 RBIs, he would end up being traded to the Yankees at the deadline.

It was a trade that would not end up working out very well for Gallo or the Yankees. He would finish the season by seeing his OPS plummet to .707 and his batting average drop from .223 in Texas to .160 in New York. He would, at least, win his second straight Gold Glove award as a consolation.

Somehow in 2022, things have gotten even worse for the Yankees slugger. In 82 games played this season, Gallo is hitting .159 with a .621 OPS. His average, OBP (.282), and slugging percentage would all be the lowest marks of his career in a season in which he’s played more than 17 games.

Gallo has always had the question of what could happen if his potential were to be unlocked. He has had three seasons with 38 or more homers, but his seasons generally come with high strikeout numbers and low averages and OBPs.

He was on the verge of one of those possible seasons in 2019 when he was hitting .253 with a .986 OPS and 22 homers through 70 games. Unfortunately, a wrist injury that would require surgery would end up prematurely ending his All-Star season.

One might worry how Gallo would actually help the Brewers. Though Milwaukee has been hot out of the All-Star break, their offense has been inconsistent at times earlier this season. Adding a player who has struggled to get on base and strikes out a lot – the Brewers already have MLB’s 10th highest strikeout rate at 23.4% – would be an odd way to address that.

But Gallo has always had breakout potential since being selected as a first rounder by Texas in 2012 and his trade value is at a low point. That combined with the fact that he would be a rental could mean he can be gotten for cheap. If the Brewers think a change of scenery could unlock a breakout, it would explain why they’re exploring a deadline trade.

Want your voice heard? Join the Reviewing The Brew team!

Write for us!

A Gallo trade would be less about addressing a need and more about buying low on someone with potential. You never know what types of moves can happen around the MLB trade deadline.