The Brewers are still shopping, still hunting, still trying to make a real move before Monday’s 5 p.m. CT Trade Deadline. But the biggest name on their board is now off limits.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported Saturday night that the Dodgers were finalizing a trade for Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, beating out the Brewers, Yankees and Cubs. The news landed in the middle of Milwaukee’s 3-1 win over the Angels at Angel Stadium, right as the Brewers were putting together the rally that gave them the lead in the eighth inning.
That win mattered plenty on its own. Brice Turang’s tie-breaking single in the eighth broke the game open, and Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill finished the job in relief. The result pushed the Brewers to 69-41, nudging them back ahead of the Dodgers, who sit at 69-42, for the best record in the majors.
Still, losing out on Skubal stings. Brewers officials have made it clear they want to be more aggressive at this deadline than they have been in recent years, and the buzz had clearly reached the clubhouse. By Saturday, after word spread that Detroit was willing to listen, Milwaukee had its hopes up.
“I was late today because I was saying the rosary,” Pat Murphy said during his afternoon media briefing.
He laughed.
“I wish my mom was alive,” Murphy said. “She would have loved that quote.”
Now the Brewers have to adjust. They’ve been casting a wide net for help in the rotation, the bullpen and the infield, and Skubal was the headliner. Other front-line starters believed to be available include Tigers right-hander Casey Mize and Reds ace Hunter Greene.
A second group of options features veterans such as Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman and Angels pitchers Reid Detmers and José Soriano. Soriano was scratched from his scheduled start against Milwaukee on Saturday night while the Angels weighed trade possibilities, and left-hander Brent Suter served as the opener against his former team.
Murphy said he believes the front office is serious about acting.
“I trust our front office, and it does feel like there’s a clear message out there that we’re not going to be passive in this thing. We’re going to be aggressive,” Murphy said.
“But it still has to make sense. It still has to be responsible.”
Then he added, “Hopefully not too responsible.”
For a Brewers team that has won three straight division titles and reached the postseason seven times in the last eight seasons, any major trade comes with a real cost. Milwaukee has built much of that success on prospect depth and on finding smart deals that don’t always dominate the headlines. Going all-in for Skubal would have been a major departure from that formula, more in line with Doug Melvin’s 2008 deadline swing for CC Sabathia.
That deal still splits the conversation 17 years later. On one hand, Sabathia helped carry the Brewers to the postseason for the first time in 26 years, a stretch that changed the feel of the whole organization. On the other, Milwaukee lost Sabathia’s only postseason start and was knocked out by the Phillies in the NLDS.
That’s the reality Arnold and his advisers have been weighing for weeks. Baseball’s biggest deadline moves can feel seismic, but they don’t come with guarantees. Even a pitcher as dominant as Skubal has seen that truth in October, with the Tigers going 3-3 in his postseason starts and losing three of the last four times he has taken the ball in a playoff game.
The Brewers already made one move Saturday, dealing with the Guardians in a trade aimed at adding depth. They spent the rest of the day working toward something bigger.
Just not Skubal.
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Jacob Misiorowski Sends A Message As Brewers Face Dodgers Pressure
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Jacob Misiorowski is not backing away from the challenge, even with the Dodgers reshaping their roster by landing two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal from the Tigers. The Brewers ace made it clear he believes Milwaukee can handle whatever name-brand talent gets thrown at it, a confidence that fits the way this team has carried itself all season and one that will be tested if the path eventually runs through Los Angeles. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Just Got A Brutal Deadline Twist In The NL Race
The deadline market shifted hard on Friday, and it did so in a way that could matter for Milwaukees National League race. While the Brewers made their own move earlier in the day, the bigger jolt came from national reports that the Dodgers were landing one of the most coveted arms available just ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline, adding even more weight to a postseason picture that already looked crowded.
For Milwaukee, the sting is less about what it did and more about what it did not do. The Brewers had been in the mix for upgrades, but this latest twist sends a reminder that the teams chasing the same October ceiling are not standing still, and Los Angeles reportedly paid three prospects to get the deal done. With the deadline clock still ticking, the pressure only grows for Milwaukee to answer back somehow. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Fans Will Have Strong Feelings About Freddy Peraltas New Trade
Freddy Peralta is on the move again, and this time the deal sends the two-time All-Star from the Mets to a Rays club that is trying to stay in the thick of the AL East race. Peralta never really found his footing in his first season in New York, but Tampa Bay is betting his arm still belongs in a rotation built to chase wins deep into the summer.
For Brewers fans, any Peralta trade news is bound to sting a little more than most. He was one of the more familiar high-end arms in the organization not that long ago, and seeing him continue his career elsewhere keeps his name tied to a familiar question around Milwaukee: what kind of pitcher might he look like once he settles in somewhere again? [Read more 🡒]