Milwaukee Brewers acquire former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder
Photo credit: https://www.sportsnet.ca
According to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, prior to facing each other on the field today, the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers have lined up on a trade for former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Steward Berroa.
The Brewers and Dodgers made a trade prior to this afternoon's tilt: OF Steward Berroa acquired from the Dodgers in exchange for cash. Berroa optioned to Nashville and placed on their IL with right shoulder bursitis.
Berroa was recently designated for assignment by the Dodgers, head to the Brewers in exchange for cash.
The Brewers have placed him on the minor league injured list due to right shoulder bursitis. Right-hander Elvin Rodriguez has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.
It's the second DFA trade of the year for Berroa. He spent many years as a prospect in the Blue Jays' system and got to make his major league debut with that club last year.
He got squeezed off the roster in May and flipped to the Dodgers for cash. Now the same sequence of events gets him moved from the Dodgers to the Brewers.
Berroa, 26, has a decent floor as a speedy outfielder. He's generally been good for about 50 steals per year in the minors, give or take, while playing all three outfield positions.
His work at the plate has been a bit more questionable, but with some positive signs.
Over the 2021 to 2023 seasons, he produced a combined .241/.350/.391 line and 108 wRC+ on the farm. His 13.7% walk rate was good but he also struck out 25.3% of the time.
Last year, he seemed to take a bit of a step forward. He got his strikeout rate down to 23.7% while still drawing walks at a healthy 11.7% clip.
He produced a .281/.371/.454 line and 120 wRC+ in 79 Triple-A games. He also got up to the majors, chipping in for a Toronto team that was floundering last year.
He walked at a 17.8% rate but was also punched out 31.1% of the time, leading to a .189/.333/.216 slash while he stole six bases in eight tries.
This year, he got out to an awful start in the Jays' system. He bounced back tremendously with the Dodgers, but with a huge help from a .403 batting average on balls in play.
Put together, he has a .270/.358/.345 line and 90 wRC+ at Triple-A this year with 20 steals. He last played on June 19th, presumably due to the shoulder issue that landed him on the IL today.
Berroa can still be optioned for the rest of this this year and one additional season, so he'll give the Brewers some extra outfield depth.
At worse, he can be a fourth outfielder, doing some pinch-running and defensive replacement work. The bat has been mercurial but could also potentially be useful, depending on how things swing.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 9 | 81 ANSWERS Milwaukee Brewers acquire former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Will Steward Berroa find a home in the Brewers outfield? | ||
| Yes | 36 | 44.4 % |
| No | 25 | 30.9 % |
| Too early to tell | 20 | 24.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
