Brewers quietly lose promising young infield prospect at 2025 trade deadline

The Milwaukee Brewers did their usual dance at the 2025 MLB trade deadline, making smart, under-the-radar moves where the value was right, but stopping short of going all-in so as not to preclude future postseason pushes.

However, one trade that came in as a bit of shock was the Nestor Cortes deal, where the team included fast-rising prospect Jorge Quintana in order to bring Brandon Lockridge to Milwaukee. The deal got somewhat lost in the shuffle of the San Diego Padres' non-stop flurry of action, though it may have ranked as one of their better deals of the day, thanks to the inclusion of Quintana.

Jorge Quintana's inclusion in Nestor Cortes trade could come back to bite Brewers

Cortes hasn't pitched for the Brewers since making his second start of the season on April 3, though he was performing exceptionally well on his rehab assignment, allowing just two earned runs in 18 innings.

Still, as a rental without a spot in the current rotation thanks to the breakouts of Jacob Misiorowski and Quinn Priester, it made sense to cash in on his remaining half-year of team control, even if the player Milwaukee got back in return (Lockridge) has a career .528 OPS in the majors and is also crowded out of the roster.

However, the decision to part with Quintana, the team's most expensive international signing in a 2024 class that included Jesús Made and Luis Peña, in the deal doesn't make much sense, especially when considering that Cortes should have been able to fetch Lockridge on his own in this seller-friendly market.

Quintana (no relation to José) is an 18-year-old in the Arizona Complex League (rookie-ball) who has posted a .264/.349/.403 slash line in just over 200 at-bats. He's considered more of a "jack of all trades, master of none." Though just because he isn't a true five-tool star doesn't mean his future isn't bright.

The expectation is that he'll stick at shortstop or third base in the long term, two valuable defensive positions where his bat would have profiled as at least average. Considering the success Milwaukee has had with very young, very talented international prospects in recent years (Jackson Chourio, Luis Lara), it's somewhat surprising to see the team punt on Quintana now, when his value is far below what it could have been at its peak.

Of course, none of this is to say Quintana is guaranteed to become the next Leo De Vries in the Padres' system. He's an 18-year-old lottery ticket, plain and simple.

But, for a franchise that has been so excellent at retaining and developing similar players, his inclusion in an underwhelming deadline trade is as frustrating as it is out of character for the Brewers. Hopefully, Lockridge can utilize his elite defense and speed to make this deal worth it, regardless of how Quintana pans out.