Former Brewers Minor Leaguer Leaving Baseball to Play College Football
![May 2, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Former Miami center fielder Monte Harrison (3) recorded just 10 hits in his time with the Marlins. May 2, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Former Miami center fielder Monte Harrison (3) recorded just 10 hits in his time with the Marlins.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4289,h_2412,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/325/01hxfjz994b885ptzmx6.jpg)
Arkansas football added to its recruiting class this past week with a four-star recruit who also used to play for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Monte Harrison, a former Brewers prospect, was a four-star wide receiver out of Lee’s Summit West High School in Missouri TEN YEARS AGO and he just committed to play for the Razorbacks.
REPORT: Former MLB player Monte Harrison has committed to Arkansas football, per @ArRecruitingGuy🐗
— On3 (@On3sports) May 7, 2024
Harrison was a 4-star WR recruit in the 2014 class🤯https://t.co/vphx9fXvnl pic.twitter.com/feNWOjVnBG
It’s one of the more unlikely stories you’ll see in sports and a refreshing reminder of just how badly the Brewers fleeced the Marlins when acquiring Christian Yelich prior to the 2018 season.
Let’s break down what might go down as one of the worst trades in Marlins history.
Christian Yelich Trade Officially a Massive Bust for Miami
Trading for Yelich was deemed an instant win when he went on to win the NL MVP award in 2018, but no one could have imagined just how unfair this trade would turn out.
At the time, it didn’t seem so bad for Miami.
Hey, remember when this guy was one of the reasons Brewers twitter was pissed about the Christian Yelich trade after it happened? https://t.co/RbfKtu3GXj
— Becky Hammon, Hall of Famer (@kneary22) May 7, 2024
Milwaukee sent outfielder Lewis Brinson (then the No. 13 prospect in baseball), infielder Isan Diaz, right-handed pitcher Jordan Yamamoto and Harrison to the Marlins for Yelich.
Let’s look at where they are now.
Brinson never batted better than .226 and never hit 10 home runs in a season with Miami. He’s currently out of MLB, playing in the Mexican League.
Diaz never even hit .200 in a season, playing in just 145 games for Miami across three seasons. He’s currently playing for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League.
Yamamoto might have provided the most value. He started 15 games in 2019, going 4-5 with a 4.46 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 78 ⅔ innings. However, he played in just six more games after that, retiring in 2021. He currently coaches varsity baseball for Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
And then there’s Harrison, a soon-to-be 29-year-old college football player.
He recorded just 10 hits across 41 games for the Marlins, playing mostly as a defensive replacement and pinch runner.
And we all know where he’s currently at in his sports career.
Yeah I think Monte Harrison will do just fine playing college football pic.twitter.com/4xw2bZcAsE
— jeremy chandler taché (@jeremytache) May 8, 2024
This is one the wildest sports stories you’ll ever come across, and it’s even better when you consider the caliber of player the Brewers received for Harrison and his former teammates.
Laugh it up, Brewers fans.
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