On the Intriguing Brewers-Padres Multi-Man Trade

Funny, I was just talking about the Brewers and Padres' new uniforms, and now they're doing business together.

The interesting part of this deal is that it comes on the heels of an initial move between these teams- Drew Pomeranz, who finished the season in relief for Milwaukee, signs with San Diego. And then this swap happens, and it just looks like Pomeranz was just involved in the trade. It was just cleanly executed.

The actual deal is, on paper, kind of a simple one- mid-tier starters traded for each other, Zach Davies for Eric Lauer. And rookie-level position players that don't have a spot in the 2020 picture traded for each other, Trent Grisham for Luis Urias. Both teams are kinda even at the end of the day, and no team feels like they're fleecing the other.

Honestly, the biggest piece of this deal, at least to me, is Zach Davies. Dude's been a solid starter for Milwaukee since before the come-up, and had a pretty good season in 2019, with a 3.55 ERA and 10 wins. I definitely foresee Davies becoming a big SD pitching asset, right there with Chris Paddack. Lauer will probably be a lower-key rotation guy for Milwaukee, and I'm guessing they're gonna make a major free agent move in that department.

The intriguing stuff is in the other two guys. Luis Urias is a high-caliber defensive performer, and can definitely be an upgrade from Orlando Arcia, who...might be finding his way to a bench spot. Urias does concern me in that he hasn't been hitting extremely well of late, but his fielding numbers are a lot better, and he had a 1.0 WAR in 71 games, which is...something.

And then there's Lewis Grisham, who was a great replacement for Yelich towards the end of the season, despite a defensive blooper costing the Brewers a crucial game. Grisham could factor into the Padres' outfield, despite a chance for Taylor Trammell to get in on the chase. It's looking like Wil Myers, Manny Margot and Hunter Renfroe are the main players for that outfield, but seeing as none hit over .250 last year, a shuffle may be in the mix. So having Grisham as a steady young option could definitely help.

I'm kinda surprised as to how well all of this fit together, and am very impressed at both GMs who pulled this off. Padres might have gotten the best pitcher, but Brewers got the best lineup piece.