Isaac Collins' recent performance pouring salt in Brewers' wounds

Back in December, the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals struck a trade that surprised many Brewers fans. Heading to the Royals was reliever Nick Mears and outfielder Isaac Collins, who was coming off an impressive rookie season where he filled in admirably when Garrett Mitchell, Blake Perkins, and Jackson Chourio all missed time due to injury.

In exchange, Milwaukee received left-handed reliever Ángel Zerpa, who had a career 3.97 ERA across five seasons with the Royals. However, Brewers fans have learned not to question the front office's process; that belief was further solidified when they saw Zerpa thrive in the World Baseball Classic where he played a pivotal high-leverage role for the eventual champions from Venezuela.

Unfortunately, Zerpa has since been dealt devastating news in regard to his pitching elbow as he is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery on Monday, May 11, with Dr. Keith Meister. This puts his anticipated return date sometime in late spring or early summer of 2027, in the best case scenario. A longer rehab process could certainly cause Zerpa to miss the entire 2027 campaign.

Meanwhile, Zerpa’s trade counterpart, Collins, has begun heating up at the plate and emerging as a spark plug in the Royals' lineup.

Former Brewer Isaac Collins' recent hot streak makes Ángel Zerpa's season-ending injury even more difficult to stomach

Per reports, Zerpa was given the option to either rehab his elbow or undergo surgery. He ultimately chose the surgical route, a decision that now clouds his future with the Brewers as he now becomes a difficult decision at this November's nontender deadline

On the other hand, Collins has been scorching hot at the plate since the calendar turned to May. After posting just a .635 OPS in April, he exploded for a ridiculous 1.393 OPS through the first five games of May. Much of that production has come from his sneaky power, with four of his seven hits during the stretch going for extra bases, including a recent performance in which he finished just a triple shy of the cycle.

While Zerpa now faces an uncertain road back following surgery, the early returns on Collins are starting to look increasingly encouraging for the Royals. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Brewers missed on the trade, as Zerpa still possesses the skills to be a high-end reliever and could very well factor into the club’s plans again in 2027.

Still, for the remainder of 2026, that conversation will likely be put on hold as Milwaukee is left watching the healthy player they dealt away thrive while the one they acquired rehabs from a major procedure.

About the only thing that could make the situation more frustrating in the short term for the Brewers would be additional outfield injuries. The club already navigated the first month of the season without Chourio, a role Collins realistically could have helped fill. Instead, Milwaukee turned to Luis Matos and Greg Jones to provide depth behind Brandon Lockridge. With both Matos and Jones since designated for assignment, it's fair to say that experiment didn't go well.

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