The Brewers didn’t land the splashy Tarik Skubal swing plenty of fans dreamed about, but their deadline haul still brought real impact - and one of the more interesting moves was the trade with the Cardinals that sent two prospects out for Dustin May and JoJo Romero.
It wasn’t a cheap deal. Milwaukee had to part with two Top-15 prospects from its top-ranked farm system to pry loose the pair of rental arms from a division rival.
Outfielder Josiah Ragsdale, 22, and outfielder Alexander Frias, 18, headed to St. Louis in the rare NL Central swap.
Frias quickly jumped onto the Cardinals’ prospect radar. MLB Pipeline slotted him as the No. 4 prospect in St.
Louis’ Top 30 after the deal, and the numbers help explain why. In 66 games split between Rookie ball and Low-A this season, he has hit .337/.422/.538 with 30 extra-base hits and 22 stolen bases.
Ragsdale, though, is the name making the louder early noise in the Cardinals’ system. The 2025 seventh-round pick was already turning heads before the trade, and he’s kept right on rolling since the move. During 86 games between High-A and Double-A for Milwaukee, he hit 19 homers, including 12 in just 26 games with the Biloxi Shuckers, while also stealing 31 bases and showing the kind of defensive value that helped get him noticed.
That power was never supposed to be his calling card. In four years of college, he averaged fewer than four home runs per season.
This year, though, the pop has shown up in a big way. And in his first taste of the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate, the Springfield Cardinals, the left-handed hitter has kept the trend alive: five hits in his first 24 at-bats, with two home runs and a double.
For Brewers fans, that kind of production is hard to ignore. But May’s first two outings in Milwaukee make the trade a lot easier to live with.
He debuted with a quality start, giving up two earned runs in six innings and picking up a win for the Brewers. Then he followed that up yesterday afternoon against the San Diego Padres with seven innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits. Through two starts, May owns a 2.08 ERA and has put Milwaukee in position to win both games.
If that keeps up the rest of the way, and if Romero gives the bullpen the boost Milwaukee expects later this month, this could settle in as a clean win-win. St.
Louis moved pending free agents for young talent as part of its roster reset, while Milwaukee turned depth into pieces that can help right now. Early on, both sides have reasons to feel good about the deal.
In Other News...
Brewers Lead Faces A Cubs Threat That Comes Down To Three Names
The Brewers cushion in the NL Central has turned the next few weeks into a measuring stick for Chicago, which still has time to make the race interesting with 42 games left. The Cubs are four games back and still have seven head-to-head matchups to work with, so every turn in this stretch matters for a club trying to stay in the division hunt and keep its postseason path alive.
A lot of that push may hinge on three names: Kevin Gausman, Shota Imanaga and Alex Bregman. Gausman and Imanaga have to keep giving Chicago quality innings, while Bregmans second-half uptick offers a needed jolt to the lineup. For the Cubs, the formula is clear enough even if the finish is not - they need those key pieces to keep trending in the right direction while the remaining meetings with Milwaukee start to carry a little extra weight. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Catching Problem Just Set Up A Huge Offseason Debate
The Yankees passed on adding help behind the plate at the trade deadline, and that decision now has a way of spilling straight into the winter. With their catching situation still under the microscope, attention is already drifting toward names that could reshape the market, and Milwaukees William Contreras has quickly become one of the most obvious ones to watch.
Contreras is not available right now with the Brewers still in the thick of the playoff race, but his status is exactly why the conversation has started early. Milwaukee has never been shy about moving star players before they reach free agency, which is why the offseason could turn into a serious test of how far the Yankees are willing to go if they want to solve a lingering problem at catcher. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Suddenly Have An Infield Opening They Cant Ignore
The left side of the Brewers infield has become an issue they cant just paper over for long. With Cooper Pratt and Joey Ortiz both dealing with injuries, Milwaukee has been forced to look for short-term help, and the recent addition of Ji-hwan Bae has not settled things down on the defensive side.
That leaves the organization weighing its next move more seriously, especially with Triple-A Nashville offering a possible internal answer. Luke Adams has been one of the systems better performers there and has put himself in the conversation as a player who could help if the Brewers decide they need another look at the position. [Read more 🡒]