Crew trades for Yankees LHP Webb, gives up 1B prospect Cooper
The Milwaukee Brewers didn’t quite match the huge move made Thursday by the Cubs, but they did add a lefthander to their bullpen by acquiring Tyler Webb from the New York Yankees.
The Brewers sent Colorado Springs first baseman Garrett Cooper to New York in the deal. Cooper, 26, was having a big year for the Sky Sox but was blocked at first base at the big-league level by Eric Thames and Jesús Aguilar.
The Brewers decided to add Webb to their relief corps rather than send him to the minors. To open a spot in the bullpen, right-hander Michael Blazek was optioned to Class AAA
Colorado Springs.
“It’s another left-handed arm in the bullpen,” manager Craig Counsell said before a voluntary workout at Miller Park. “Michael did a nice job. He pitched twice and covered two (scoreless) innings for him each time. It’s always tough sending a guy down that’s done his job, but it does give us more balance in the bullpen.
“(Webb) is a guy who had a pretty good track record in the minor leagues. He throws strikes and misses bats, and he’s left-handed. That’s something that’s appealing. You feel like he’s ready to pitch in the big leagues, and that’s hard to come by and acquire.
“We’ve changed the makeup of the bullpen a little bit. I think it will allow us some options earlier in the game.”
Webb, 26, who faced the Brewers twice last weekend in New York, pitched seven times for the Yankees this season, posting a 4.50 ERA over six innings. He made his major-league debut in late June.
The 6-foot-5, 220pound Webb was a 10th round draft pick in 2013 out of South Carolina by the Yankees. In 150 minorleague games, all but five in relief, he is 15-14 with a 3.45 ERA, 19 saves and 312 strikeouts.
Webb has spent most of this season at Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre, going 3-1 with a 3.24 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings. He was selected by Pittsburgh last December in the Rule 5 draft of unprotected minor leaguers, but the Pirates sent him back to the Yankees at the end of spring training.
“He’s a young lefthanded reliever who has thrown strikes throughout his minor-league career,” said general manager David Stearns. “He has three options remaining, which gives us flexibility over the next couple of years, and we think he has the ability to help us in the near term as well.
“We’ve been looking, in general, to improve our depth and potentially upgrade our relief pitching as a whole. Those guys, we’ve used them a lot, asked a lot out of them. That group has stabilized nicely over the last three or four weeks . ... ”
Cooper, sent to the Yankees in the deal, was leading the Pacific Coast League with a .366 batting average and ranked second with 82 runs batted in and 1.080 OPS. He was a sixth-round draft pick out of Auburn in 2013.
“Garrett did a tremendous job this year evolving into prospect status,” Stearns said. “Unfortunately for him, we have a situation here where first base is pretty well covered. He’s going to an organization where he is likely to get a little more of an opportunity.”
Earlier in the day, the Cubs gave warning that they are coming after the first-place Brewers by acquiring left-handed starter Jose Quintana from the White Sox for a package of prospects. One report indicated the Brewers also were interested in acquiring Quintana but Stearns would not confirm it.
“I’m not going to comment on any specific player, other than to say we do our work on every player who’s potentially available who could be a fit,” Stearns said.
As for what the trade does for the Cubs, Stearns said, “It doesn’t necessarily surprise me. We all figured the Cubs were going to be active. They were heavily rumored to be in the marketplace for a starting pitcher. Quintana is going to help them.”