The Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies agreed to a trade on Saturday afternoon. Milwaukee is receiving right-handed reliever Nick Mears in exchange for right-handed pitchers Bradley Blalock and Yujanjer Herrera, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. Blalock and Herrera are prospects who will give the Rockies pitching depth for the future. Meanwhile, Mears is in the middle of a forgettable 2024 season but has potential.
Milwaukee will likely look for more upgrades before the 2024 MLB trade deadline. The Brewers will be open to moving even more prospects if it nets them a quality big league return. However, the acquisition of Mears should not be overlooked.
Brewers trade for Nick Mears
Mears, 27, made his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020. He pitched in a total of 36 games from 2020-2022 before ending up in Colorado before the 2023 season. Mears showed promise across 16 relief appearances in 2023, but he has struggled mightily in 2024.
The right-handed reliever has pitched to a lackluster 5.56 ERA across 41 appearances so far this season. So why did the Brewers make this move? Passan provided more context on the acquisition, via his X, formerly Twitter account.
Mears' Baseball Savant page, which Passan provides, reveals that the new Brewers pitcher's underlying statistics are quite impressive. Milwaukee is known as a pitching franchise. They have found ways to contend over the years despite often featuring underwhelming offensive numbers.
Whether it is starting or relief pitching, the Brewers unquestionably understand what it takes to develop arms. They clearly believe Mears can factor into the bullpen and possibly even become a high-leverage hurler at some point down the road. It would not be surprising to see Mears take a step forward in Milwaukee.
In the end, this is not a trade that will receive all that much attention. Sometimes, as baseball fans know, the less notable acquisitions can make a crucial difference in October.
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