With the trade deadline clock ticking down, the Brewers are still hunting for the top-end rental starter they’ve been linked to, and the board hasn’t exactly broken their way. Tarik Skubal is off to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Freddy Peralta is with the Tampa Bay Rays, and Kevin Gausman has gone to the Chicago Cubs, leaving Milwaukee with fewer paths to the clear No. 3 starter it wants alongside Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison.
That search may not be over, but the Brewers already made one of the weekend’s more unexpected moves. On Saturday morning, they sent Craig Yoho and Blake Perkins to the Cleveland Guardians and got back catcher Bo Naylor and reliever Codi Heuer, then optioned both players to Triple-A.
At first glance, it’s a puzzling fit. William Contreras and Gary Sánchez have been productive at the major league level, and top prospect Jeferson Quero is still in the pipeline.
Even so, there’s a logic to Milwaukee’s thinking. Sánchez is headed for free agency after the season, Contreras could be moved this offseason before his final year of team control, and Quero hasn’t developed exactly the way the Brewers had hoped so far.
That leaves room for the front office to keep another long-term catching option in the mix, even if it means carrying four catchers on the 40-man roster for now.
What makes the Naylor deal stand out even more is how much it resembles a move Milwaukee made in the middle of the 2025 season, when the Brewers took a shot on Andrew Vaughn and got a massive payoff.
The Brewers have built a real reputation for rescuing careers that have gone sideways elsewhere, and Vaughn is the clearest example. When Milwaukee acquired him in June of last year for Aaron Civale, he was in rough shape. He had opened the season with a .532 OPS in 48 games, then landed in Triple-A.
The Brewers turned that into one of their best midseason success stories. Vaughn hit .868 OPS in 64 games with Milwaukee last year, then carried a .859 mark through his first 67 games of the 2026 season. He was a major force in the second half of the 2025 campaign and played a big role in the Brewers beating the Cubs in the NLDS.
There are some striking parallels between Vaughn and Naylor. Both were first-round picks - Vaughn went third overall in 2019, while Naylor was taken 29th in 2018.
Both flashed promise early in their careers, too. Vaughn posted a 102 OPS+ over his first three MLB seasons, while Naylor put up 3.7 bWAR in his first three, driven largely by his defense behind the plate.
Then both hit the same wall in year five. Vaughn slumped to a .532 OPS before the White Sox sent him down, and Naylor was sitting on a .438 OPS when the Guardians demoted him this year. From there, both ended up with the Brewers after their value had dropped.
Of course, they’re not the same player. Vaughn is a bat-first first baseman whose power was muted by an early-season hamate bone injury, while Naylor is a defense-first catcher with some pop who has had trouble reaching base consistently. Nobody should expect Naylor to suddenly mirror Vaughn’s offensive surge.
Still, the Brewers clearly see something in the profile. They’ve found success betting on players with pedigree who need a reset, and Naylor fits that mold. If Milwaukee can unlock the talent that made him a first-round pick in the first place, this could become another sharp move from a front office that has made a habit of turning these kinds of swings into wins.
In Other News...
Jacob Misiorowski Sends A Message As Brewers Face Dodgers Pressure
The Brewers keep stacking wins at a pace that has put them in rare territory, and their latest victory over the Angels only added to the sense that this group has been built to withstand pressure. Through 110 games, Milwaukee owns the best record in franchise history, a milestone that has naturally sharpened the attention around the club as the playoff picture starts to come into focus.
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 🡒]