Ranking every Brewers trade deadline move under Matt Arnold

The upcoming MLB Trade Deadline has Milwaukee Brewers' fans in a tizzy. From well-known MLB insiders literally pleading for the Brewers' ownership group to "go all in" to folks saying that the Brewers will part with their key pieces to get a power bat, the Brewers have become the darlings of the national media, for better or for worse.

However, Brewers fans should be comfortable knowing that their team is in the hands of their savvy President of Baseball Operations, Matt Arnold. Arnold took over as the head of the Brewers' front office after David Stearns stepped down from the post on October 27, 2022. While he has swung some impressive blockbusters during the offseason, highlighted by the ever-impressive William Contreras trade back in December of 2022, Arnold has also expertly navigated the trade deadline in each of the last two seasons.

When ranking the deadline deals that Arnold has pulled off in his two years of having the final say, it really becomes a matter of which deals were "less good" than the others, as the team has yet to be "fleeced" by an opposing front office at the deadline during his tenure. Sure, there were a couple of trades that didn't pan out as Arnold and company had hoped, but in no instance has the Brewers' front office given up far more value than they've received. At worst, it's been an even swap.

Here's how each of Arnold's seven deadline deals of the last two years stacks up to one another.

1. Brewers acquire RHP Nick Mears from Rockies for RHP Bradley Blalock and RHP Yujanyer Herrera (7/27/24)

The best deadline deal of Arnold's two seasons at the head of the Brewers' front office wasn't a blockbuster trade for a power bat or a frontline starter, but rather it was an under-the-radar deal for a little-known relief pitcher who had a 5.56 ERA when Milwaukee acquired him. The Brewers traded for Nick Mears a few days ahead of last year’s trade deadline, and many fans were confused as to why the Brewers would give up anything, much less their No. 17-ranked prospect in Bradley Blalock, for the Rockies reliever. However, what Milwaukee's front office saw was a controllable pitcher with plenty of upside who needed a little bit of tinkering to turn into a shut-down relief arm — and that's exactly what Mears has become.

After an electric display in the playoffs last season, in which Mears made two scoreless appearances, the 28-year-old right-hander has been nothing short of excellent in his first full season with the Brewers. He's made 44 appearances and posted a 2.34 ERA; under the guidance of the Brewers' pitching coaches, Mears is finally living up to his underlying metrics. The cherry on top is that Mears is under team control for two more seasons, so he will be a fixture at the back-end of the Brewers' bullpen through the 2027 season.

Meanwhile, Bradley Blalock (who makes another appearance on this list later on) posted a 6.07 ERA in six starts for the Rockies in 2024 and currently holds an 8.67 ERA in seven appearances this season. It's no easy task pitching in Colorado, but even still, those numbers are hard for the Rockies' front office to justify. Yujanyer Herrera, who did have a strong season in the Brewers farm system in 2024, has unfortunately missed all of 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery last October.

2. Brewers acquire OF Mark Canha from Mets for RHP Justin Jarvis (7/31/23)

The Brewers were desperate for offensive production at the 2023 trade deadline. With the failed Jesse Winker experiment in full force and Joey Wiemer and Tyrone Taylor each starting a majority of the games in the outfield, the Crew needed someone who could man a corner outfield position while getting on base at a consistent clip (both Wiemer and Taylor had an OBP below .300 in 2023). Arnold found exactly what he needed from the New York Mets in nine-year veteran Mark Canha.

Canha was excellent during his time with the Brewers, posting a slash line of .287/.373/.427 with 5 HR and 33 RBI in 50 games. He stabilized a lineup that was in desperate need of consistency and even ended up hitting cleanup in each of the Brewers' two playoff games in 2023. With an 119 OPS+ during his time in Milwaukee, Canha proved to be the perfect addition to the 2023 Brewers squad.

For 50 games of Canha's services, the Brewers sent right-handed pitching prospect Justin Jarvis to the Mets, who held a 3.33 ERA in 14 starts for the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers at the time of the deal. However, since the trade, it's been a rocky road for Jarvis, who is no longer in the Mets organization and holds a 6.38 ERA in 10 starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate this season.

3. Brewers acquire 1B Carlos Santana from Pirates for SS Jhonny Severino (7/27/23)

Not only did the Brewers need help in the corner outfield at the 2023 deadline, but they were also in need of some more production at first base with Rowdy Tellez in the midst of a down year. Arnold and company turned to a division rival, the Pittsburgh Pirates, to find a solution.

Carlos Santana was a seasoned veteran to say the least when the Brewers acquired him at the 2023 trade deadline. In the middle of his 14th year in MLB, it was clear what the Brewers were adding to their roster in Santana: a strong glove at first base and plenty of power at the dish. Santana lived up to the expectations, posting a .459 slugging percentage with 11 HR in 52 games for the Crew, all while playing excellent defense at the cold corner.

The only reason that the Santana trade ranks below the Canha deal is what the Brewers gave up to acquire the Pirates' first baseman. The Brewers sent 18-year-old shortstop prospect Jhonny Severino to Pittsburgh in the deal. While Severino has posted poor numbers in Low-A this season, he posted strong stat lines in Rookie Ball, and with him being just 20 years old, there's still a chance he turns into a productive big leaguer one day.

4. Brewers acquire RHP Frankie Montas from Reds for OF Joey Wiemer, RHP Jakob Junis and cash (7/29/24)

Opposite to this year's deadline, the Brewers were in desperate need of a starting pitcher a season ago. With a 40-man roster crunch also at play, Arnold expertly turned two players that were taking up a roster spot into a proven veteran starter, who ended up starting a playoff game for the Crew last year.

Frankie Montas has a track record of injuries getting in the way of his true potential. However, when healthy, with three fastball shapes and a nasty splitter, Montas has showed that he is capable of being a frontline starter. While the Brewers did get a healthy version of Montas, his numbers in Milwaukee don't jump off the page. He made 11 starts for the Crew and posted a 4.55 ERA. That said, as previously mentioned, Montas did make a playoff start for the Brewers, and he tossed 3.2 scoreless innings in the teams’ lone 2024 postseason win.

Junis, like Montas, was on an expiring contract, and while he was solid in his brief stint with  Cincinnati, posting a 2.85 ERA in 41 IP, the Reds still missed the playoffs by nine games, and the Brewers' bullpen didn't skip a beat without Junis. The Brewers also cut ties with Joey Wiemer in the deal, who struggled in the Reds' farm system during the second half of 2024, before being traded to the Kansas City Royals alongside Jonathan India this past offseason in exchange for Brady Singer. Wiemer currently holds an underwhelming slash line of .185/.296/.324 while playing for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate.

5. Brewers acquire RHP Bradley Blalock from Red Sox for INF Luis Urías (8/1/23)

The Brewers made a minor trade right at the end of the 2023 deadline, sending infielder Luis Urías to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitching prospect Bradley Blalock. Both Urías and Blalock were traded once again less than a year after this trade, with neither making a big impact on their respective teams before the subsequent deals. Therefore, to evaluate who won this trade, let's take a look at who the Brewers got in return for Blalock and who the Red Sox got in return for Urías.

The Brewers flipped Blalock for Mears at the 2024 deadline, as previously mentioned, and given the fact that the Mears deal ranks number one on this list, the Blalock deal that set up the trade looks pretty good for Arnold and company.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox acquired Isaiah Campbell in exchange for Urías in November 2023. Campbell has made nine total appearances for the Red Sox across the last two seasons and allowed 14 earned runs in just 8.2 innings. To say the least, the Brewers’ return for Blalock has been much better than what the Red Sox turned Urías into.

6. Brewers acquire RHP Evan McKendry from Rays for C Alex Jackson (8/1/23)

This certainly won't go down as one of the most significant deadline deals of all time, but it was a deadline trade nonetheless. Alex Jackson joined the Brewers organization very early in the 2022 season after the Brewers' expected backup catcher, Pedro Severino, was suspended for PED use. Jackson appeared in five games for the Crew in 2022 and remained in the organization until this trade at the 2023 deadline. Jackson didn't play a large role for the Tampa Bay Rays either, appearing in a total of 58 games and posting a .122/.201/.237 slash line. He elected free agency after the 2024 season and now plays for the Baltimore Orioles.

Meanwhile, McKendry looked like a promising arm when he joined the Brewers' organization in 2023, but after a rough 2024 season and a similar start to the 2025 season, the Brewers traded him to the Chicago White Sox on May 5 of this year.

Neither player impacted their acquiring teams much following this trade and neither player was traded to a new squad for a different player, thus making this trade a wash. But a wash is still better than a loss, especially at the deadline when "fleeces" are more common.

7. Brewers acquire LHP Andrew Chafin from D-backs for RHP Peter Strzelecki (8/1/23)

In addition to needing bats at the 2023 deadline, the Brewers were also on the lookout for a left-handed reliever that they could add to their bullpen. At the time, it appeared as if they found the perfect match, with long-time big leaguer Andrew Chafin. Chafin was coming off back-to-back seasons of 60 or more appearances with a sub-3.00 ERAs.

However, when he joined the Brewers, things just didn't click for the veteran southpaw. He posted a 5.82 ERA in 20 appearances with Milwaukee, collecting just two holds and blowing his lone save opportunity. When the Brewers announced their 2023 postseason roster, Chafin was notably left off.

Meanwhile, Strzelecki hasn't done anything crazy since leaving the Brewers; he's made just 11 big league appearances while bouncing around to three different teams. However, the reason this one is tough to swallow is that Strzelecki looked like a promising young pitcher when the Brewers traded him, and had he stayed in Milwaukee, who knows what his career would look like now. In the end, since Strzelecki made just one appearance for the Diamondbacks before they designated him for assignment, the trade doesn't go down as a big loss for the Brewers, but rather just one that didn't need to be made — which is easy for me to say now after I've stashed away my Andrew Chafin Brewers jersey.