Brewers deal from positions of strength in win-win trade with Royals

Earlier this week, while the Winter Meetings were ongoing in Orlando, a rumor surfaced that the Milwaukee Brewers were receiving interest in their talented, right-handed reliever Nick Mears. With the eye-popping cost of free agent relievers this winter, Mears and his projected arbitration salary under $2 million offered a cheaper alternative for teams searching for right-handed relievers. From the Brewers’ point of view, a deal made sense because of the team’s lack of optionable relief pitchers and their knack to seemingly create elite high-leverage relievers out of thin air.

Then, just after the Winter Meetings concluded, the Brewers made their first major league free agent signing of the offseason, adding former Detroit Tigers breakout star Akil Baddoo to their 40-man roster. The deal, while it doesn't guarantee Baddoo a spot on Milwaukee's 2026 Opening Day roster because of a minor league option that could be utilized at the beginning of the year, crowded the Brewers’ outfield group, opening up the possibility of a trade with a team searching to add an outfielder.

With the Brewers having a surplus of outfielders and a motivation to add roster flexibility to their bullpen group, Matt Arnold and Milwaukee's front office decided to package an outfielder and an option-less reliever, who both enjoyed strong 2025 seasons, for a high-upside controllable, left-handed reliever. As initially reported by FanSided's own Robert Murray, Isaac Collins and Nick Mears have been traded to the Kansas City Royals for reliever Ángel Zerpa.

Brewers trade OF Isaac Collins and RHP Nick Mears to Kansas City Royals for LHP Ángel Zerpa

At first glance, it might seem like a slight overpay on Milwaukee's end. Collins was a Rookie of the Year candidate last year, and Mears was one of the best relievers in baseball through the first two months of the season. That, especially in a thin outfield market and an expensive reliever market, appears to be too big of a trade package for a lone reliever with a career 3.97 ERA. However, there are several reasons to believe that the Brewers are moving on from both Collins and Mears while their value is at its highest.

Collins' underlying metrics, particularly his power metrics, tell a story of a player who is bound for some negative regression in 2026. Despite showing impressive plate discipline and a knack for getting on base, a hard-hit rate, barrel rate, average exit velocity, and expected slugging percentage in the 31st percentile or lower don't bode well for Collins' ability to maintain the serviceable .411 slugging percentage he posted last season.

Mears, meanwhile, despite curtailing his home run issues in 2025, concerningly took a step back when it comes to many underlying metrics. His whiff and strikeout rates were way down in 2025, and Mears' 3.49 ERA was nearly a run better than his expected 4.37 ERA, suggesting Mears' success on paper didn't accurately capture how well he was truly pitching.

It was wise, therefore, of Arnold and company to deal both Collins and Mears at this point in their careers, and bringing in a left-handed reliever with as much upside as Zerpa should be an exciting development for Brewers fans.

Zerpa not only has three years of team control left, including a minor league option year should the Brewers need it. However, it's far more likely that Zerpa is a mainstay in the team's bullpen, and his optionability won't matter in the slightest. Despite a career ERA that is nothing to write home about, there are several reasons to believe Zerpa is on the cusp of a breakout.

For one, he's a left-handed reliever who can run it up to 97-98 mph; that's rare even in the velocity-saturated game that baseball has become. Additionally, he has one of the best sinker-slider combos of any reliever in baseball, regardless of their handedness. With Stuff+ scores of 125 on his sinker and 126 on his slider, Zerpa has a two-pitch mix that should intimidate any opposing hitter. That combo has led to one of the best ground-ball rates in all of baseball over the last two seasons. He's thrown a changeup far more frequently in seasons past, but essentially ditched it in 2025, which did decrease his effectiveness against right-handed hitters. With a few tweaks, Zerpa should not only be able to improve his effectiveness in that regard, but also improve on a 16.4% whiff rate that ranked in the 2nd percentile in 2025.

Overall, it's a solid deal for both sides. Kansas City needed an outfielder, and the Brewers needed to both solve their logjam of outfielders on their 40-man roster and increase their flexibility in the bullpen. Arnold achieved both of those needs while also adding an intriguing left-handed arm to his bullpen in 2026. Skeptics should give Zerpa a chance and closely monitor Collins and Mears' performances in 2026 before deeming this trade an overpay on Milwaukee's end.