Crew adds Shelby Miller, outfielder Lockridge at Deadline

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers (64-44) woke up on Trade Deadline day with the best record in the Majors, intent on fortifying a hard-worked bullpen but appalled by some of the price tags being attached to available arms.

So, they got creative at the 11th hour.

In a swap with the busy D-backs, the Brewers didn’t have to give up a prospect to acquire closer Shelby Miller just as he’s readying to return from a stint on the injured list due to a right forearm strain. Instead, the Brewers agreed to take on injured starter Jordan Montgomery and at least $2 million of what remains on the left-hander’s $22.5 million salary before he reaches free agency in the fall -- including a $500,000 bonus in his contract for getting traded, sources told MLB.com.

Montgomery had Tommy John surgery in April and won’t help the Brewers, but they believe Miller will. Familiar to Brewers fans from his time with the Cardinals early in his career, and perhaps his stint in Milwaukee’s Minor League system in late 2019 and Spring Training in 2020 (Miller eventually opted out that year amid the COVID-19 pandemic), he’s now 34 years old and a high-leverage reliever.

Miller posted a 1.98 ERA and 10 saves while holding opponents to a .190 average in 37 appearances for the D-backs this season before his injury in early July.

“We're able to maintain prospect capital and access a really good player,” Brewers general manager Matt Arnold said. “So we think that's a great outcome.”

TRADE DETAILS
Brewers acquire: RHP Shelby Miller, LHP Jordan Montgomery
D-backs acquire: Player to be named or cash

TRADE DETAILS
Brewers acquire: OF Brandon Lockridge
Padres acquire: LHP Nestor Cortes, INF Jorge Quintana, cash

It was the second of two Brewers trades ahead of Thursday’s 5 p.m. CT Deadline. The Brewers also eased their starting pitching surplus by sending left-hander Nestor Cortes to the Padres along with cash to cover part of what remains on Cortes’ $7.6 million salary, plus infielder Jorge Quintana, who was at the Brewers’ Arizona Complex League, in exchange for speedy Triple-A outfielder Brandon Lockridge.

The 28-year-old Lockridge will probably join the Major League team on Friday in Washington because Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio appears headed for a stint on the 10-day injured list with what the club initially characterized as right hamstring cramping.

The Brewers’ trades were less splashy than other National League contenders, but history suggests a wait-and-see approach may be wise. Earlier trades for so-called “failed prospects” in starter Quinn Priester in April and first baseman Andrew Vaughn in June prompted a lot of head scratching at the time, but have since produced major windfalls. The jury is still out on this week’s trade for a backup catcher, Danny Jansen, from the Rays.

Left unfortified Thursday was third base, where the Brewers will proceed with rookies Caleb Durbin and Anthony Seigler for the foreseeable future, and the more general matter of power. The Brewers have the Majors’ best record at 64-44, the best team ERA, are the two-time defending team Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners and rank third in stolen bases and sixth in on-base percentage, but they don’t slug like the Cubs and Dodgers. The Brewers rank 21st with a .387 slugging percentage, ahead of only the Padres among NL contenders.

“We had that on our radar, but it was just something that didn’t come together,” Arnold said. “There are a lot of components to the game, it’s not just the bat. Our team embodies a lot of that.”

Still, the front office came away with several new pieces for manager Pat Murphy and his staff, chiefly a dependable reliever, provided Miller’s comeback from the IL goes as planned. He is on the road back from the forearm strain that landed him on the IL on July 7.

“I spoke to him earlier and he said he feels great, and that's obviously music to our ears,” Arnold said. “Everything we had heard was that he was very close, and he's already been throwing live BPs with good velocity. We're going to get him in and get him evaluated, maybe a quick rehab assignment, and then hopefully [bring him] here to help the big league team very soon.”

If that happens, Miller would pitch alongside All-Star closer Trevor Megill and often-used set-up men including Abner Uribe and Jared Koenig, who have each pitched 51 times in the Brewers’ first 108 games. Only seven pitchers in the Majors have appeared more times. The Brewers have also leaned heavily on right-handers Grant Anderson (48 games) and Nick Mears (46 games).

To make room for Miller and Lockridge on the 40-man roster, the Brewers designated Triple-A Nashville relievers Bryan Hudson and Elvis Peguero for assignment. And in one other roster move Thursday, the Brewers catcher Eric Haase cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A. Haase was DFA’d earlier this week to make room for Jansen.