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The phrase “Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Felix Hernandez” just sounds weird — but it could have been a reality.
Before San Francisco Giants general manager Zack Minasian moved out west, he was a scout with Milwaukee, and as he tells it, there was a time where the club really thought it was about to land King Felix in a trade. ESPN published a collection of executives telling their wildest trade stories on Monday, and Minasian's tale was among them.
According to him, then-GM Doug Melvin and Seattle Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik were “deep in conversations” about a deal.
“Jack and Doug were talking about a trade that would have sent Felix Hernandez to Milwaukee,” Minasian said. “At one point, we thought Jack had agreed to it but he needed to make one other move before we could finalize it.
“It didn't happen, but for an hour we thought we were getting Felix Hernandez. We were nervous, anxious, excited and just waiting.”
Hernandez, of course, ultimately spent his entire 15-year career in Seattle, winning a Cy Young and making six All-Star teams along the way. Though Minasian didn't say what year this deal almost happened, the Brewers did land eventual Hall of Famer CC Sabathia instead at the 2008 deadline. Sabathia ultimately pitched them into the postseason in his half-season in Milwaukee.
The Brewers also almost landed Wilmer Flores and Zack Wheeler
At one point, the Brewers also thought they had a deal lined up for Wilmer Flores and Zack Wheeler from the New York Mets. This one the public did know about because when news. broke of the potential deal, the Mets were in the middle of a game, and Flores took the field, visibly emotional as the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
When that 2015 trade never materialized, Minasian said he went to a local bar, where he had to excuse himself to try and come up with another plan.
“One of my friends owned a place in Milwaukee,” he said. “I got a call from Doug while I was there and I had to go in the basement of the bar where all the liquor is being stored, huddled in the back corner, going through Astros prospects.
“You have to do what you have to do, right?”
