TRADE REACTION: Brewers-Guardians swap might be backfilling for deadline deals
Reviewing trades and if they have any fantasy implications
The minor implication deals are starting to roll in as we inch closer to the 6 p.m. MLB trade deadline.
This time the Milwaukee Brewers swapped outfielder Blake Perkins and reliever Craig Yoho to the Cleveland Guardians for catcher Bo Naylor and reliever Codi Heuer.
Not exactly the blockbuster we have been waiting for, but there could be implications for future deals from this move.
Brewers’ side of the deal
For Milwaukee, Perkins was back down in the minors, while Yoho was in a low-leverage spot in the bullpen. If Milwaukee adds pitching at the deadline, Yoho was near the top of the list to go to the minors since he is righthanded. A lefty was needed in the bullpen.
The return for those two was pretty low, but potentially interesting. Most of that interest will be generated from Naylor. The former first-round pick (2018) looked like the Guardians’ catcher of the future when he zoomed to No. 29 on Fangraphs and No. 64 in the MLB Pipeline prospect Top 100 in 2023 (he was between Jackson Jobe and teammate Tanner Bibee).
Naylor was expected to provide 20-25 HR power with a good approach at the plate, solid batting average, and surprising speed for a catcher. But 2023 was his MLB peak, hitting .237/.339/470 with 11 homers in 67 games.
Since then Naylor has only finished above the Mendoza line once, hitting .201 in 2024. All his hitting numbers have tanked with strikeout spiking, home runs falling, until he was sent back to the minors earlier this year.
He really hasn’t found the old Bo in the minors yet. He is hitting .224 with seven home runs in 46 games and nearly twice as many strikeouts (51) as walks (28).
In Milwaukee, there is no home for him on the MLB roster and is he better than the Brewers’ long-time catching prospect Jefferson Quero. Certainly not as a hitter. But if Quero is heading out in a trade deal, then Naylor is a natural replacement.
Heuer is on his fourth MLB team in the past two seasons. The 30-year-old is an emergency call-up to the bullpen at best.
Guardians’ side of the deal
For Cleveland, it was time for Naylor to find another home as the backlog of catching prospects, especially after the spring deal to add Gold Glove catcher Patrick Bailey. And Heuer was spending most of his time in the minors.
Perkins is a defense/speed outfielder who can play all four spots. Not exactly what the offensive-deficient Guardians’ outfield needed, although he is the Guardians’ classic choice of a switch hitter.
Yoho is the more interesting addition. An 8th-round pick from Indiana, Yoho signed for just $10K in 2023. But the Brewers have worked their magic with his 70-grade changeup to get him into the Majors by 2025. After a rough go last year, Yoho returned to the majors after tearing up Triple A (0.78 ERA, 11.35 K/9) and has been solid (3.15 ERA, thanks to a .128 BABIP).
Cleveland has had success with changeup-first relievers like Hunter Gaddis by improving their sliders. Look for Cleveland to try the same thing with Yoho and they could get him to his high-leverage bullpen peak.
If nothing else, this takes pressure off the Guardians of finding more bullpen arms in a competitive trade market. But the search for offense in the outfield continues.