Brewers could really use this reliever they traded away right about now

With Jared Koenig, Craig Yoho, and Rob Zastryzny all taking up space on the injured list, the Milwaukee Brewers are down a trio of bullpen stalwarts early in the season. Factor in Ángel Zerpa's recent struggles after a fiery start to his tenure with the team, and it's clear that the Brewers are hurting a bit for some reliable relief help.

Someone like old friend Nick Mears -- who was surrendered alongside Isaac Collins this past offseason for Zerpa -- would be a boon to have. The Brewers are heavily relying on Aaron Ashby (again) to eat innings, which is something Mears (who made 63 appearances last year) was particularly adept at.

He's also dominating as a high-leverage member of the Kansas City Royals' bullpen this year; across his first seven appearances, the 29-year-old right-hander has allowed runs, in just one of his appearances, while striking out 22.2% of the hitters he's faced. The one blip on Mears' Royals resume came last night, when he surrendered two runs in the final frame and blew a save to the Detroit Tigers. However, even with the recency bias accounted for, Mears' 2.70 ERA would be second only to DL Hall on the Brewers' roster among relievers who have tossed more than three innings.

Knowing how good Zerpa can be, it's unfair to say the Brewers are feeling buyer's remorse about the trade. But it's also fair to suggest that they'd probably like to have Mears back in tow if they could.

Brewers shouldn't regret Mears-Zerpa trade just yet

The fact that Mears' underlying data is so impressive -- two-thirds of the contact he's generated has been on the ground, which is absurd -- isn't too surprising after he flashed some big upside in Milwaukee, but him putting it all together right now while the Crew labor through an injury-plagued start to the campaign has been frustrating.

For what it's worth, Zerpa was cruising this year as well until he was tasked with locking down his first save against the Red Sox on April 6; he allowed a solo homer in the outing and has since given up five earned runs over his past three appearances.

Reliever stats are always volatile, especially this early in the season. Remove his four-run disaster against the Nationals from the equation, and Zerpa would be boasting a much better ERA. There's still time for him to right the ship and re-earn the trust of manager Pat Murphy.

For what it's worth, Collins is struggling at the dish, posting an 87 wRC+ and 30.6% strikeout rate that's doing more harm than good for a middling Royals lineup. It's not as if that trade truly begets serious regret at the moment.

In fact, if there's any reliever the Brewers should be missing right now, perhaps it's Tobias Myers, who is off to a confounding start with the Mets.

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