With Keston Hiura in another hitting slump, Brewers acquire first baseman Rowdy Tellez from Toronto Blue Jays
NEW YORK – The Milwaukee Brewers didn’t wait for the July 30 trade deadline to get help at first base.
The Brewers announced Tuesday afternoon they acquired first baseman Rowdy Tellez from the Toronto Blue Jays for pitchers Trevor Richards and Bowden Francis. Richards was acquired earlier from Tampa Bay in the Willy Adames deal, and Francis recently was promoted from Class AA Biloxi to Class AAA Nashville in the Brewers’ farm system.
The acquisition came a day after Keston Hiura struck out four times in a 4-2 loss to the New York Mets and with backup first baseman Daniel Vogelbach on the injured list for an extended period with a severe hamstring strain. Hiura, demoted twice this season to Nashville to work on swing-and-miss woes, is 3 for 18 on this road trip with nine strikeouts.
3-0 with a 3.20 ERA in 15 games with Milwaukee.
Francis, 25, was selected by the Brewers in the seventh round of the 2017 draft. He went 22-23 with a 4.23 ERA in 69 career minor-league appearances (63 starts), including 7-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 11 starts between Biloxi and Nashville.
Richards was pleasant surprise
When the Brewers traded relievers J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen to Tampa Bay for Adames, it thinned their relief corps considerably. Richards was a pleasant surprise and helped fill that void, and Stearns acknowledged he will be missed.
The Brewers believe the recent additions of Jake Cousins and Miguel Sanchez from the farm system and veteran Hunter Strickland in a cash deal with the Angels have helped stabilize the bullpen and allow for dealing Richards.
“Trevor did a great job for us,” Stearns said. “This deal was about acquiring a bat and trying to complement the roster. This was in no way a commentary on Trevor. He did everything we could have asked for during his brief time here.
“In terms of the pen as a whole, we’ve had some guys step up. We’re probably nearing the edge of our depth a little bit. I’m cognizant of that. But, in order to make trades like this where you have two contending clubs make a deal, you often have to give up something off you’re major-league team. We’ve now made two of those.”
Of Richards’ performance with the Brewers, Counsell said, “He pitched a bunch of innings in his time here. What he does works. He has a very good changeup, throws strikes. He pitched in some big spots; got out of some big jams for us. He did a really nice job.”