What We Learned: Trade deadline passes with Gerardo Parra & Jonathan Broxton heading to new places

The 2015 trade deadline ended up being one of the more exciting deadline days in a while. Though it started slow, the last several hours featured many moves that will shake up the playoff races all around the league. Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, the Brewers focus has shifted away from the playoff races and towards the process of rebuilding.

The Brewers made two more deals yesterday before the deadline arrived. The first was one we had heard rumors about on Thursday night, and they came together Friday morning for an official trade. The Brewers traded Gerardo Parra to the Orioles for minor-league pitcher Zach Davies. Originally, Melvin had wanted to get two players for Parra in the deal, but with the deadline approaching he settled for one. With Parra's contract done at the end of the season, getting a trade done was critical, and the return is still a good one. Davies is a pitcher that could be on the roster in September and compete for a rotation spot in the spring.

However, the Brewers weren't done after that. They pulled off one more trade before the deadline, sending Jonathan Broxton and some cash to the Cardinals for minor-league outfielder Malik Collymore. With Broxton also gone at the end of the year, getting something for him is a plus for the Brewers, even if they still have to pay some of his contract. Collymore is still in rookie ball, but could turn into something good for the Brewers if he develops well.

That would end up being it for the Brewers. They weren't able to trade their other expiring contracts in Neal Cotts and Kyle Lohse, and also still have some other trade chips that could be dealt in the offseason. The Brewers did get some good value at the deadline, and as the rebuilding process appears to begin in earnest now, getting as much value as possible is critical for the development of the future.

Yesterday's Results

Cubs 4, Brewers 1

Well, many of you wanted a rebuild, so get ready for games like this to become normal. A home run from Ryan Braun accounted for the only offense in the game. Meanwhile, Taylor Jungmann had a good start, pitching 5.2 IP and allowing three runs, two of those earned.

Brewers News & Notes

• If you fell behind on all of the Brewers moves from the trade deadline, Noah put together a recap of everything that happened from the Ramirez trade last week through the deadline.
• To fill one of the roster spots vacated by the two trades, the Brewers claimed Preston Guilmet off waivers from the Dodgers. Guilmet is a 28-year old reliever who has put up some great minor-league numbers, but hasn't fared as well in limited time in the majors.
• The other roster spot was filled by Tyler Thornburg, who was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
• Following his trade yesterday, Gerardo Parra posted a goodbye message to the Brewers and fans on his Twitter account.
• Over in the FanPosts, aaronetc has a meaningful post on what Carlos Gomez has meant to him and to the Brewers organization.
• On Disciples of Uecker, Ryan Topp believes that the Brewers organization is heading in the right direction following the trades. Meanwhile, Nicholas Zettel breaks down all of the prospects that the Brewers got in trades over the last few days.
• Chris Mitchell of FanGraphs looks at the four players the Brewers acquired in the Gomez/Fiers trade and projects their WAR through age 28. While he likes the acquisition of Brett Phillips, he also sees Domingo Santana as a future star for the Brewers.
• Over on Minor League Ball, John Sickels has a profile of new Brewers minor-league pitcher Zach Davies, and Nick Melotte has a profile of minor-league outfielder Malik Collymore.
• Meanwhile, one person who is not impressed with what the Brewers did is CBS writer Jon Heyman. He calls the Brewers one of the losers of the 2015 trade deadline, saying that while they acquired some good prospects, they should have made more trades and done a bigger rebuild. (Personally, I think his comment is shortsighted in that the Brewers can still trade a player like Jean Segura in the offseason.)

Minor League Update

Around Baseball

• The Blue Jays acquired reliever Mark Lowe from the Mariners for minor-league players Nick Wells, Jake Brentz, and Rob Rasmussen. They also acquired Ben Revere from the Phillies for minor-league pitchers Jimmy Cordero and Alberto Tirado.
• The Cubs acquired starting pitcher Dan Haren from the Marlins for minor-league shortstop Elliot Soto and pitcher Ivan Pineyro. They also acquired Tommy Hunters from the Orioles for outfielder Junior Lake.
• The Dodgers acquired outfielder Jose Tabata from the Pirates for outfielder Mike Morse.
• The Rangers acquired reliever Sam Dyson from the Marlins for catcher Tomas Telis and LHP Cody Ege.
• The Mets acquired outfielder Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers for RHP Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa.
• The Padres acquired Marc Rzepczynski from the Indians for Abraham Almonte.
• The Pirates acquired LHP J.A. Happ from the Mariners in exchange for RHP Adrian Sampson.
• The Twins acquired reliever Kevin Jepsen from the Rays for minor-league players Chih-Wei Hu and Alexis Tapia.

This Weekend's Action

The two veterans pitch this weekend for the Brewers. Today, Kyle Hendricks and Matt Garza face off at 6:10 pm. Then, Kyle Lohse faces the dreaded TBD pitcher tomorrow at 1:10 pm.