Michael Brosseau traded to the Brewers: My Thoughts

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On Saturday the 13th, the Tampa Bay Rays made a deal to ship Michael Brosseau to the Brewers. In return, they acquired minor league RHP Evan Reifert. This seems like a very minor transaction but I think there is a chance it could end up being a fairly major one.

Reifert was an undrafted player signed by the Brewers after the 2020 draft, and in his first minor league season with the Brewers this year, he had some ups and downs but was a pretty effective reliever. He had an ERA just over 2.00 in the minors, however had a pretty high walk rate. One would say he is a relief pitcher prospect so this is a minor return, but let’s remember, this is the Rays. They will find a way to turn him into a spectacular reliever. Until they trade him.

Brosseau, however, is a pretty solid utility man. He only hit .187 this year, but in the two years before this season he hit .284 and can play all over the infield. He is a valuable utility man for a Brewers team that needs bats. He also could make a former top prospect like Keston Hiura, now a possible trade bait to land the bigger bat that they desperately need.

This trade also screams of a similar trade to me and for the Brewers sake, I am hoping it can be like a similar trade they did with the Rays earlier this year. Yes, the Willy Adames trade back in May. The Rays sent Willy Adames and Trevor Richards to the Brewers for relievers Drew Rasmussen and JP Feyereisen.

For the Rays, Drew Rasmussen was a guy that they had used a 1st round draft pick on in 2017, but he did not sign with them. He was then drafted by the Brewers in the 6th round in 2018, so the Rays clearly wanted him all along. For what it’s worth, he put up a 1.6 WAR over the 2021 season and pitched to a 2.84 ERA over 76 IP. He was a solid reliever and he is still playing for the minimum salary. Just the type of guy the Rays covet. Feyereisen also is a pre-arbitration reliever who put up great numbers in 2021. He had a 0.9 WAR, pitching to a 2.73 ERA over 56 IP.

On the other side of the deal, the Brewers got Trevor Richards, another reliever who had a good 2021 season, however he has 2 years less team control than Feyereisen and 3 years less than Rasmussen. Richards pitched to a 3.50 ERA over 65.1 IP this season. However, the real treasure of the trade was Willy Adames. Adames put up a great season in 2021, with a 4.2 WAR, hitting .262 with 25 HR and 73 RBIs. He was hitting .197 with Tampa before the trade, and then hit .285 for the Brewers after the trade, completely turning around his season and being a key bat for the Brewers. He is also only 26 and entering his first arbitration season this year, so he will be around for the Brewers for a few years.

Now, back to the Brosseau trade. Brosseau is pre-arb this year and enters his first arbitration season next year. He is under team control until 2026 which makes him a very valuable utility man if he also does well with the change of scenery like Adames did. This trade could certainly end up being minor, but I would not be surprised if the Brewers just got another great deal from the Rays, due to the Rays wanting to free up 40-man roster slots ahead of the Rule 5 draft.

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