Brewers bolster right-handed position player depth with trade for Giants' outfielder

The Milwaukee Brewers have lost both Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn -- two key right-handed batters in their lineup -- to left-hand injuries over the last week. Chourio's is a hairline fracture that he suffered back on March 4, which is expected to keep him out of the Brewers' lineup for the next 2-4 weeks. Vaughn, on the other hand, suffered a more severe hamate fracture and underwent surgery today, which is expected to have a recovery time of 4-6 weeks.

Losing those two right-handed bats prompted the Brewers' front office to trade for former top prospect Luis Matos, who was designated for assignment by the San Francisco Giants prior to Opening Day last week. Milwaukee is simply sending cash to the Giants in exchange for Matos, who has the ability to play all three outfield positions.

Brewers acquire right-handed outfielder Luis Matos from San Francisco Giants, designate left-hander Sammy Peralta for assignment

Matos was a member of the Giants' 40-man roster and since he was traded to the Brewers rather than released and claimed by Milwaukee, he is owed a spot on his new team's 40-man roster. As a result, the Brewers have designated left-hander Sammy Peralta for assignment, whom they claimed off waivers at the beginning of the offseason. Additionally, Matos is out of minor league options, meaning he will need to be added to the Brewers' active 26-man roster. However, much like Jake Woodford last week, Matos will have 72 hours to report to Milwaukee, so he may not be on the roster tonight, or even tomorrow night.

When he does join the Brewers' roster, Milwaukee will be adding a former Top 100 prospect to their ranks. Back in 2022, Matos was named the No. 63-ranked prospect in the sport, and was one spot ahead of Kyle Harrison on MLB Pipeline's rankings of the Top 30 prospects in the Giants' system. Though he had five-tool potential in the Giants' system, Matos' skillset has yet to translate at the big-league level.

The now-24-year-old outfielder debuted back in 2023 and played 76 games for the Giants during that campaign. He struggled to find his footing in the big leagues that year, and what's followed since has been much of the same. Over the last three seasons combined, Matos has played 178 total games, posted a mediocre slashline of .231/.281/.369, and fell out of favor in San Francisco to the point that the club DFAd him prior to Opening Day this year.

Matos has shown decent plate discipline throughout his career, with strong strikeout and chase rates to prove it, and he did crush eight homers in 57 games last year, but outside of that, much of the promise he once showed has been zapped. His defense hasn't been impressive at the big-league level, he's not necessarily a threat on the basepaths, and his once-elite bat-to-ball skills have produced a career batting average of .231 through his first three seasons in MLB.

Even still, one would be silly to count out the Brewers trade acquisition, especially after the breakouts of Vaughn and Brandon Lockridge in the last year. Whether Matos is just a stopgap until Chourio returns or Milwaukee truly sees something special in the former top prospect, the fact that the Brewers gave up only cash to acquire someone with as much potential as Matos is intriguing nonetheless. More to come.