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Identifying the best reliever, infielder and starter for the Brewers to target at the deadline

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Sitting atop the NL Central, the Milwaukee Brewers look to be contending for a World Series title come October. They have the 3rd-best record in the National League at 57-41 and have good leads in the division over the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals. It’s not surprising that Brewers trade rumors are everywhere.

With the trade deadline approaching, expect the Brewers to be active. The acquisition of Willy Adames earlier in the year has worked out even better than the Brewers thought. So who else could become a Brewer and add to the team’s run to the postseason?

Brewers trade rumors

For Milwaukee at the trade deadline, expect GM Matt Arnold to be active in acquiring some arms for either the starting rotation or the bullpen, or both. Both corner infield positions could also use an upgrade as well, especially first base.

Here are three options, one for each need, that the Brewers should target at the trade deadline.

Richard Rodriguez

Bullpens are essential come postseason, and the Brewers could use another arm in the pen, especially a righty. With Devin Williams going on the IL with what is hopefully a minor injury, the Brewers could use a righty in the back end of the bullpen. Richard Rodriguez could fit that bill.

       

The closer for the Pittsburgh Pirates sports a 2.82 ERA and is 14 for 17 in save situations. He could be an 8th inning guy in Milwaukee, and he’s done it before. This is just the first season the 31-year-old been the full-time closer of the Pirates.

Rodriguez doesn’t rack up the strikeouts like most closers. In fact, his 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings ranks the lowest among closers. However, opponents are hitting just .194 off him this season, as he’s more of a weak contact pitcher. He’s also under team control until 2023, so he’s not just simply a rental.

Jesus Aguilar

The first base position continues to be an issue. Keston Hiura has been surprisingly bad, Daniel Vogelbach is recovering from a hamstring injury and Rowdy Tellez is not an everyday MLB first baseman.

       

So what about bringing a familiar face back in Jesus Aguilar? He was traded in 2019 to the Tampa Bay Rays for pitching. He’s now with the Miami Marlins, who will surely be sellers at the deadline.

Aguilar is batting .264 with 17 home runs and is fifth in the league in RBIs with 71. The Brewers know just how good Aguilar can be, as he was an All-Star in 2018 with Milwaukee. The only downside to bringing him back to shore up first base would be that Arnold would be indirectly admitting that he was wrong to trade away the power hitter two years ago.

Kyle Gibson

When competing for a World Series, there’s never such a thing as too many good starting pitchers. While it’s not a major need for the Brewers, you can always use some help on the mound.

Kyle Gibson would be a relatively cheaper option to acquire from the Texas Rangers. In 18 starts this season, Gibson is 6-3 with a 2.87 ERA. That ranks as the 14th-best ERA among among all eligible starting pitchers. Like Rodriguez, he’s not a big strikeout guy, sitting with a 7.5 K/9. But this has been far and beyond Gibson’s best year in the majors.

He’s 33 years old, but he’s also under contract for one more year. He would give the Brewers a rotation of Gibson, Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Adrian Houser and Freddy Peralta. Not too shabby.

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