Brewers’ initially puzzling 2025 trade deadline deal starting to look much better

The Milwaukee Brewers entered the 2025 midseason trade deadline in a perfect position. Despite being one of the best teams in baseball at the time, clearly falling into the category of "buyer" while losing teams looked to turn their expiring contracts into future value, the Brewers also had a surplus of starting pitching. This surplus led many to believe that while Milwaukee would certainly make additions to their roster, they would also act as sellers, trading one of their many starters away to recoup some of the personnel losses they incurred to bolster their roster.

This "perfect position" was made better by the fact that the cost of starting pitching was high at the trade deadline. The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired three of the Texas Rangers' top 15 prospects (per MLB Pipeline) for Merrill Kelly, the Cleveland Guardians received the Toronto Blue Jays No. 5-ranked prospect for Shane Bieber, and even the oft-injured Dustin May netted the Los Angeles Dodgers the Boston Red Sox' No. 5 and No. 27-ranked prospects.

Seemingly, the Brewers were more than set up to capitalize on their surplus of starting pitchers, but as the deadline drew nearer and nearer, and Milwaukee had yet to make a deal, fans' enthusiasm started to wane. Then, just minutes before the deadline, it was reported that the Brewers had sent veteran southpaw Nestor Cortes, whom they acquired from the New York Yankees the previous offseason, to the San Diego Padres in exchange for 28-year-old outfielder Brandon Lockridge.

The deal was rather puzzling at the time; not only was a glove-first fourth-outfielder an underwhelming return for an experienced left-handed starter, but the Brewers also included talented infield prospect Jorge Quintana in the deal. Quintana, who now ranks 7th on MLB Pipeline's list of the top prospects in the Padres farm system, was the highest-ranked international free agent signing that the Brewers made in 2024 -- the same year that they signed players like Jesús Made and Luis Peña. If anything, it seemed like the Padres should be the ones adding prospects to the deal, especially given the fact that Lockridge had struggled to find success at the big-league level up to that point.

However, now seven months removed from the trade, the initially puzzling deal is starting to look much different, serving as a great reminder not to judge trades from Milwaukee's front office too quickly.

Brandon Lockridge is making Brewers fans forget about the puzzling 2025 trade deadline deal that brought him to Milwaukee

When most front offices swing a trade that doesn't seem to make much sense on the surface, fans' initial reaction is anger or confusion, but when Milwaukee's front office does it, the initial reaction is "what does the Brewers front office see in this player that no one else does?" Trading a veteran left-handed starter and a top shortstop prospect for a depth outfield piece makes little sense on paper, but when the trade is further broken down, Milwaukee's logic starts to materialize.

First, the Brewers, and the acquiring Padres for that matter, were likely aware that Cortes wasn't the same pitcher that he once was with the Yankees. While also fighting an elbow injury that ultimately led to surgery once the season was done, Cortes made just six starts for the Padres and allowed a 5.47 ERA during that span. He missed basically the entire month of September on the injured list and likely wouldn't have had a major impact on the Brewers' postseason run had they elected not to trade him.

In that regard, the trade can be thought of as Milwaukee swapping Quintana for Lockridge, which still felt like a slight overpay at the time. However, one must consider the Brewers' surplus of infield prospects when evaluating this trade. Quintana would have been competing with the likes of Made, Peña, Cooper Pratt, and now Jett Williams for a spot in Milwaukee's future middle infield, and each of those four players is more highly rated. Sure, Quintana may end up being a productive big leaguer for San Diego, but the opportunities might not have been there to do so in Milwaukee.

The most recent update to this trade saga is the incredible performance that Lockridge is putting together in Spring Training so far this year. Now a part of the Brewers' organization for over half a year, during which Milwaukee could communicate to Lockridge what they saw in his profile when they acquired him, the toolsy outfielder is off to a scorching hot start in the Cactus League. With a lack of power being the main concern in his profile, Lockridge has slugged two homers in four games in Spring Training, one of which traveled an impressive 440 feet.

It's far too early to declare that the Brewers have once again struck gold with Lockridge, but his performance this spring makes it clear that there was some untapped potential when the Brewers acquired him from San Diego last year. Lockridge is squarely in the middle of a position battle for the remaining spot in the Brewers' outfield, but should he earn an opportunity, and continue hitting like he has down in Arizona, Milwaukee's 2025 deadline deal could start to look rather favorable for a front office that has become adept at spinning gold.