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The Brewers have acquired outfielder Gerardo Parra from the Diamondbacks in exchange for prospect Mitch Haniger, the team announced on Twitter. Logan Schafer has been optioned to Triple-A to make room on the active roster.
Parra, 27, will likely take over as the Brewers fourth outfielder immediately. He has spent most of the last six years in the major leagues, with a career .274/.326/.395 batting line. He is in the midst of a career-worst season at the plate, however, with just a 667 OPS.
Still, Parra is not known primarily for his hitting. Rather, he has been heralded as one of the best defensive outfielders in the game. He is a two-time Gold Glover (2011, 2013) and could pair with Carlos Gomez to give Milwaukee an outstanding defensive outfield when he's in the lineup. Parra also has above-average speed and good baserunning instincts.
Parra is under team control through 2015. He is making $4.85 million this season and has one more year of arbitration eligibility.
John Sickels ranked Haniger as the 13th best prospect in the Brewers' system prior to the 2014 season. More recently, MLB.com had him as the eight best prospect in the system. Baseball America had him number three. However, in his first taste of Double-A this year with the Huntsville Stars, he has hit .255/.316/.416 as a 23-year-old.
With the Brewers outfield seemingly set for the next few years, Haniger was perhaps one of the more expendable prospects the team had. His ability to play anywhere in the outfield is nice, and he flashed good plate discipline and potential power in his first two minor league seasons before 2014. The Milwaukee front office reportedly liked him a lot, which makes sense considering they made him a supplemental first round pick in 2012.
The Brewers are also sending pitcher Anthony Banda to the Diamondbacks. A 10th round pick in 2012, he has a 3.66 ERA in 20 Single-A appearances this year.
