Brewers make "buzzer beater" trade with Arizona Diamondbacks for two injured pitchers

Just as everyone hoped, the Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks have completed a deal at the trade deadline. However, that deal was not for slugging third baseman Eugenio Saúrez as most Brewers fans were wishing for, but rather was for two injured pitchers: right-handed reliever Shelby Miller and left-handed starter Jordan Montgomery.

The Brewers were known to be exploring the relief pitching market, but after the prospect prices for some of the top-end talent came back, Matt Arnold and company had to get creative with how they were going to add another shut-down arm to their bullpen.

Brewers acquire reliever Shelby Miller and injured starter Jordan Montgomery from the Arizona Diamondbacks

Let's start with Miller. Despite a rocky track record, Miller is in the best season of his career. A converted starter, he now relies heavily on two pitches, a four-seam fastball and a splitter, to get batters out and he does so at an impressive clip. Through 37 appearances this season, Miller has a 1.98 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 36.1 innings pitched. His underlying metrics tell a story of a pitcher who should be able to replicate his early-season success down the stretch.

The catch is that Miller is recovering from a flexor tendon strain in his pitching arm, which is generally a precursor to Tommy John surgery. Miller avoided surgery and though he remains on the injured list, he is nearing a return. It's certainly a risk, taking on a pitcher who is dealing with forearm issues, but when Miller is healthy, he is a shut-down arm who could certainly pitch in high-leverage situations for the Crew during their playoff push.

Meanwhile, Jordan Montgomery had Tommy John surgery in March and is set to miss the rest of the season. He is owed roughly $7.5 million over the rest of the season and is a free agent at the end of the year, meaning the Brewers will pay $2 million of that to Montgomery without him making a single start for them.

Here's the logic: high-end relief pitchers like Shelby Miller were going for large prospect packages. Rather than give up several top prospects, the Brewers agreed to take on some of Montgomery's remaining contract, and in exchange, they get Miller's services. So, in the end, the Brewers chose to spend money rather than prospect capital in order to acquire a very good reliever.

It's certainly a creative move from Matt Arnold and the Brewers' front office and one that adds an intriguing arm to the team's bullpen for the stretch run.