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On this day in 2004 the Brewers made a late spring trade, sending starting pitcher Wayne Franklin and reliever Leo Estrella to the Giants for two pitchers, including Carlos Villanueva.
Franklin was perhaps the most established big leaguer in the deal, although he was coming off a 2003 season where he led the NL in both earned runs and home runs allowed. Estrella had appeared in 58 games in relief for the Brewers a season earlier and posted a 4.36 ERA.
Easily the best player in the deal turned out to be Carlos Villanueva, though, who was just 20 at the time of the trade. Villanueva went on to make his Brewer debut in 2006 and appear in 230 games over five seasons in Milwaukee, including 27 starts. He posted a 4.34 ERA over 425 innings before being traded to the Blue Jays in December of 2010.
With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:
- 2012 Brevard County Manatee Thomas Keeling, who turns 25.
- 1984 Brewer Jack Lazorko, who turns 57.
- 1970 Brewer Dave Baldwin, who turns 75.
Today is also the 27th anniversary of the Brewers trading longtime pitcher Moose Haas to the A's in 1986. We covered that event in this space last year.