Brewers trade deadline addition wins battle over pitcher many fans wanted instead

One of the surest bets one could've made at this year's MLB trade deadline was that the Milwaukee Brewers were going to be buyers in the starting pitching market. The closer it got to that deadline, the more Brewers fans started finalizing their wish lists.

Frankie Montas of the Cincinnati Reds wasn't the first name on most Milwaukee Brewers fans' wish lists at this year's deadline. In fact, he probably wasn't second, third, or fourth either.

Erick Fedde of the Chicago White Sox, on the other hand, was the first name on plenty of those lists. And the longer it went without him being traded, the more fans held out hope that he could be the one helping the Crew down the stretch.

But that's not how things played out. Fedde wound up going to the rival Cardinals of all teams at which point Milwaukee pivoted to Montas. It was a scenario that did not please most Brewers fans....at least until Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, the pitcher Brewers fans wanted faced the pitcher Brewers fans got, with the latter coming out victorious.

You can't blame Brewers fans for wanting one pitcher over the other. Fedde had a 7-4 record and a 3.11 ERA in 21 starts with the White Sox and even came with a year of control in 2025. Meanwhile, Montas was just 4-8 with a 5.01 ERA in his 19 starts with the Reds.

But things shook out the way they shook out and both players have moved forward doing their job for their respective teams. And on Tuesday night, that job entailed facing each other as the Brewers hit the road to begin a series against the Cardinals.

Fedde didn't look far off from what Brewers fans envisioned he might have looked like in a Milwaukee uniform. He put forth a solid effort in giving up two earned runs over 5.2 innings, though the Crew did well to get on base plenty of times with six hits and four walks against him.

Montas, though, wasn't just good, he was stellar for the Brewers. He ended up going seven innings, tying his longest outing of the season, and gave up just a hit and a walk with three strikeouts in a scoreless outing. He earned the win as the Crew were victorious by a score of 3-2.

The Brewers brought Montas in to help him win games and that is exactly what he has done. They've won all four of his starts and he is now 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA and just a .210 batting average against in 21 innings.

So, no, the starting pitcher the Brewers ended up with at the deadline might not have been who most fans originally wanted. But it's a guy who's helping the team win games, which is all that matters in the end.