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Update: Brewers will also send $4 million to the Rangers in this deal. Not incredibly pleased with that.
The Brewers have officially complete a trade with the Rangers that will see long-time Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo head to Texas.
In return, the Brewers will receive three players: Utility-man Luis Sardinas, reliever Corey Knebel and pitching prospect Marcos Diplan.
Sardinas will immediately slot in as the Brewers primary bench infielder. A switch-hitter, it's not outside the realm of possibility that he can platoon with Scooter Gennett at second base as well. He's never been a great power hitter, but Sardinas has shown a fair eye at the plate in the minors with a .333 career OBP. He played in 43 games with the Rangers last year, hitting .261/.303/.313. Sardinas has shown a strong ability to steal bags, too, with two seasons of 30+ steals in the minors.
Primarily, Sardinas immediately brings in a strong defensive presence around the diamond, particularly with a strong arm. It's also important to remember that he is just 21 years old and has been named a top-100 prospect by Baseball America each of the last two years. He's not a strong hitter, but he has a ton of potential. His floor is defensive-utility guy a la Elian Herrera. His ceiling is an All Star. Where his career will actually go is anyone's guess.
Knebel should become a strong presence in the Brewers bullpen, which is exactly what the Brewers needed. He was the 39th overall pick of the 2013 draft and advanced extremely quickly through the minors, making eight lackluster appearances in 2014. Though his brief major league trial was strong, he destroyed minor league hitting. Knebel made 65 MiLB appearances, posting a 1.65 ERA, a 0.904 WHIP and a 12.3 K/9. However, he has had a UCL sprain already, so there are some injury concerns.
Knebel throws in the mid-90s with a heavily praised curveball. He has the potential to be a future closer, which is extremely exciting. The Rangers acquired Knebel from the Tigers in exchange for Joakim Soria.
Diplan is an 18-year-old righty coming off his first major league season. In the Dominican summer league, he made 13 starts with a 1.54 ERA and 57:36 K:BB. He's the Brewers' lottery ticket in this deal: Some good numbers as a young player, but who knows where he'll end up, really?
All in all, a fairly solid return for the Brewers. It helps the bench and bullpen, while allowing the Brewers to either slot in Jimmy Nelson to the rotation or chase a better pitcher than Gallardo was. The starting rotation isn't as sure as it was two days ago, but two other spots have improved. There's still a month of off-season left for the Brewers to make additional moves.