Milwaukee Brewers: 4 Relief Pitchers to Target via Trade in 2021

The MLB trade deadline is about a week and a half away, and for the Milwaukee Brewers, they’ve already been quite active on the trade market this season, trading away Orlando Arcia, acquiring Willy Adames and Trevor Richards, then trading away Richards recently for Rowdy Tellez. And it’s quite likely that they aren’t done yet.

Milwaukee could still look to upgrade the first base position, but it’s almost a certainty that they will add to the bullpen. For starters, once you get to October, there is no such thing as too much bullpen depth, and every contending team at the trade deadline will be looking for upgrades.

The Brewers’ bullpen has been solid this season, ranking 10th overall in ERA and 11th in WHIP, but they could certainly use another arm or two for depth. In return for Arcia, the team received Patrick Weigel and Chad Sobotka, but neither has seen much time in Milwaukee. To acquire Adames, the Crew traded away JP Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen. And although they acquired Richards, they sent him to Toronto for Tellez.

On top of that, Milwaukee has been without Justin Topa — although, hopefully, he returns soon — while Devin Williams has been placed on the 10-day IL, and there is some uncertainty around Brad Boxberger’s status as well. Fortunately, we’ve seen the emergence of Jake Cousins and Miguel Sanchez this season.

So it makes sense that about a month ago, Robert Murray of FanSided reported that the Milwaukee Brewers are expected to upgrade their bullpen. Here are a few names to keep your eyes on as the trade deadline approaches.

Ian Kennedy – Texas Rangers

The veteran Ian Kennedy, who signed to a minor league deal this offseason with the Texas Rangers, is having quite the resurgence here in 2021. After really struggling during the shortened 2020 season, Kennedy is on pace for a career year in terms of his ERA and WHIP.

The right-handed Kennedy has appeared in 31 games this season, covering 31.1 innings while posting a 2.59 ERA, his FIP is decent as well at 3.81, and he has a WHIP of 1.085. He relies heavily on his fastball that will hang in the 94 mph range while also mixing in a change-up, curve, and cutter.

This season, Kennedy is striking out 9.48 batters per nine innings pitched and is giving up very few walks, averaging just 2.01 per nine innings, according to Fangraphs. His fastball spin rate is among the best in baseball, although it’s worth noting that his BAbip is .282, and his hard-hit rate ranks in the first percentile, according to Baseball Savant. So perhaps there is some regression that could take place.

With the Rangers well out of playoff contention, they will certainly be sellers at the trade deadline.