Brewers Trade Deadline Grades: Modest upgrades were all that was made and needed

The Milwaukee Brewers didn't do too much at the Trade Deadline, and they might not have had to, When the Brewers completed the trade for Frankie Montas on Monday night, that was the last deal they made before the deadline passed on Tuesday afternoon.

Many fans were expecting more. There were rumors of a left handed bat the Brewers were seeking. A trade for a hitter never materialized. Many were hoping for yet another rotation addition beyond Montas that also never happened.

The final haul for the Brewers in July is Aaron Civale, Nick Mears, and Frankie Montas. They gave up Gregory Barrios, Bradley Blalock, Yujanyer Herrera, Joey Wiemer, and Jakob Junis.

Brewers trade deadline haul did help, but did it help enough?

Flashy is not something the Brewers usually are. They don't make the flashy move. They haven't done that over the last several years. Yet many are still upset and surprised when the Brewers don't do anything flashy at the Trade Deadline.

Aaron Civale was an early move and a very solid one at that. He's been decent over his first few starts, he has team control for next year, and they got him at a relatively minimal cost. Looking at the price tags for other controllable pitchers at this Deadline, Milwaukee got him for very cheap and they got a few extra starts out of him.

Nick Mears wasn't one of the high profile relievers on the trade market like Carlos Estevez or Tanner Scott, but there are a lot of good underlying metrics here and he showcased some phenomenal stuff in his first outing as a Brewer. Blalock and Herrera likely aren't prospects the Brewers are going to miss.

Montas has been underperforming this year, similar to Civale. After missing almost all of 2023 due to surgery, he's taken every turn in the rotation this year for Cincinnati and is a healthy, innings eating arm. He may not be the front of the rotation pitcher he once was, but he has that kind of upside if the Brewers can tap into it. They know it's in there. For him, they gave up an outfielder that was on the outside looking in and a rental reliever who had been solid, but there's only room for so many bulk bullpen arms.

All three of these deals make a lot of sense and were solid trades for Milwaukee. But was it enough? That is the question many Brewers fans are asking.

Many wanted a front of the rotation type arm. The Brewers seem to lack one with Freddy Peralta's struggles. Yet at the same time, this is a Brewers team that traded away a proven front of the rotation arm in Corbin Burnes before the season to get more young talent. Now, just five months later they would trade away young talent to get a front of the rotation arm? If they were going to do that, they probably would've just kept Burnes.

Not adding a bat may be the spot where the Brewers fell short at the Deadline, though. Jake Bauers is hitting in the 3rd spot in the lineup on Tuesday night and this lineup is just lacking a veteran presence in the heart of the order with Yelich out. Now Yelich is due back at some point this season, so that does help. The improvement of Garrett Mitchell post-All Star Break also does mitigate the need for a left handed hitter to be brought into the lineup.

It's true the Brewers will be relying on Montas and Civale to pitch better than they have been all season. They likely feel that those pitchers will improve due to their coaching staff and elite defense. While getting a pitcher who was already performing great does seem to be a smarter plan, acquiring starting pitchers that can still help you and at a lower acquisition cost also makes sense.

For all we know, by the time the next two months play out, Montas could have an ERA as good or better than most of the other starting pitchers who were traded at this Deadline. Civale could continue to improve as well. Mears looks to be solid leverage relief option already.

After all, the Brewers have a seven game lead in the NL Central, so it's not like they needed an overhaul.

Did they do enough to win the World Series or even just advance beyond the first round of the playoffs this year? Maybe. Maybe not. All of that comes down to the few games that you play in that series. Health can change at anytime. The Brewers had Brandon Woodruff lined up for the playoffs last year and then he got injured. Is it the fault of the front office for not foreseeing that and getting another top starter last year?

Grade: B-

The Brewers missed out on their reported top target of Erick Fedde, losing him to the Cardinals of all teams. That's when they had to pivot to Montas. They reportedly wanted a bat and didn't get one.

They got the bullpen help they were looking for, they got starting pitchers that can give them innings, and their pitching depth is much, much better.

Matt Arnold did well individually in each deal, even though overall it was an underwhelming list of names as each of the three pitchers brought in had ERAs over 5.00. Improvement is expected for each of them and, frankly, is required.

Prices were quite high on the big additions and the Brewers clearly balked at them. They made modest improvements, didn't give up much, and slightly improved their chances in the playoffs. But they're going to be relying on late season turnarounds with little time to work with these pitchers to make adjustments. It could work, but it could not.

Because of that risk, my grade for the Brewers Trade Deadline performance is a B-minus.