Reliever Phelps dealt to Phillies
Brewers get three low-level pitchers
The Brewers traded a relief pitcher before the 3 p.m. deadline Monday but it wasn't Josh Hader.
Holding on to the two-time NL reliever of the year, the Brewers instead traded veteran setup man David Phelps, who was having a very nice season at the back end of their bullpen. Phelps, 33, was dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies for three low-level, minor-league pitchers to be named later.
“This is a weird one. We can't talk about the players we just acquired,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “I'd love to be able to but I can't. They will be named within six
months.”
If players are not currently on the 60man player pool of big-league clubs, they cannot be named in trades until later. But MLB.com reported the three pitchers are 19-year-old right-handers Brandon Ramey, Israel Puello and Juan Geraldo. None have pitched above the rookie-ball level.
In that regard, the trade resembles the deal Stearns made at the 2015 winter meetings when he traded first baseman Adam Lind to Seattle for three teenaged minor-league pitchers. One of those was Freddy Peralta, who has pitched for the Brewers both as a starter and reliever.
“We do try to remain open-minded and consider various possibilities,” Stearns said. “It became very clear early on that David was an attractive player to a number of teams. We did our due diligence, as we always do, and listened. Ultimately, we found a deal that we thought was important for us to make.
“We also feel we have some depth in our bullpen, and we're dealing from an area of strength. I don't expect any one person to replace the performance that David has given us for the first month of the season but I do think we're well-positioned as a whole to have a strong bullpen.”
Brewers manager Craig Counsell said trading one of the team's better relievers did not signal a loss in faith in making the postseason in 2020. Though only 1518, the Brewers entered Monday just one game out of a playoff spot, be it second place in the NL Central or a wild-card berth.
“David's been a valuable piece of this team but David Stearns found a deal that he thought he couldn't pass up, that he felt like was important for the franchise to make,” Counsell said. “I don't think it says anything about the future of the team. We've got to go out and win a baseball game today. That's how the guys in there are going to treat it.
“You lose players at times. Guys get hurt, guys get traded. That doesn't stop you from trying to win the baseball game that day. We're sitting a game out of the playoffs right now. We know we have to play better to get there but we're not in a bad position at all.
“We feel like it's in front of us and with a good month of baseball, a good (27) games, we can put ourselves in a real good position.”
Phelps, who was signed to a one-year deal with a club option for 2021, was 2-3 with a 2.77 ERA in 12 appearances for the Brewers. In a strong bounce-back year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018, he allowed only seven hits and two walks in 13 innings while logging 20 strikeouts. He allowed two home runs and posted an excellent 0.692 WHIP.
Phelps had been traded at the deadline twice before, including last season when Toronto sent him to the Cubs, so he wasn't shocked to see it happen again.
“I'd be lying if I said I didn't think it was a possibility,” Phelps said. “You look around the clubhouse and you see multiple arms they have, especially in the bullpen. They dealt from a place of strength, for sure. It caught me offguard in the sense it was as close to the deadline as I've ever been traded. But you know it's always a possibility.
“It's a team that's looking at more than just this year. They like what they have in the bullpen currently, even minus me, and are looking for ways to improve their farm system. So, it makes sense.”
Counsell had regularly used Phelps, Devin Williams and Hader to finish off games with close leads. Now, he said it will be more of a group effort, with no one reliever taking Phelps' place.
“The games will play themselves out,” Counsell said. “Today will look different from tomorrow. We're going to use guys to get outs. I'll list our eight relievers as options. We're just trying to get 27 outs. It's going to work differently every day.
“We had gotten into more of a pattern with the guys we had. We're probably going to abandon that a little now. It will be ‘we'll see.'”
There was much speculation about teams showing interest in acquiring Hader, who has three more years of control and is a two-time NL reliever of the year. Stearns never comments on specific players in trade talks but did say he got many calls on his pitchers.
“I will say that we have a number of young pitchers who drew interest, as you would expect, so we had conversations about the vast majority of players who are on our 40-man roster,” Stearns said.