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Brewers acquire OF Rymer Liriano from Padres

David Stearns on the verge of adding another post-hype, high risk/high reward player to the Brewers.

By Derek Harvey
Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

If you'll allow me a moment to gloat. On December 1, 2015 I wrote an article about how I thought the Brewers should try to acquire Garin Cecchini. On December 10, 2015 the Brewers did just that. On January 23, 2016 BCB's Kyle Lesniewski wrote why he thought it would make sense for the Brewers to claim recently DFA'd Rymer Liriano. Today, January 28th, it seems once again the Brewers are taking our advice:

Clearly David Stearns reads our stuff, and honestly, why wouldn't he? We're the best Futurama Brewers site on the world wide net.

In all seriousness though, this is a rather interesting trade. Liriano is a former highly rated prospect, who has scuffled in limited major league playing time, but still possess all those tools that made such an intriguing prospect. MLB Pipeline currently has a breakdown of his tools on their Padres list, but he will probably be moved to the Brewers list once the trade is official--assuming it does become official.

He has a plus arm to go along with above average speed and fielding ability. So at worst he's a capable defender that can play all three outfield spots. He has the chance for an average bat too. But to date he's had problems making contact. And that's the rub. If he can't fix those problems, it's more likely he's a 4th outfielder than a starting regular. But if he can fix those issues, he could be a pretty good corner outfielder. And those are chances the Brewers can take during their rebuild.

At this time there isn't an information regarding what the Brewers might be sending back. Just a guess, but it might look something like the Jonathan Villar trade. While the two players are vastly different, in terms of post hype prospect status they're similar.

Once we get more information we will update this article.

I saw this on Twitter

Jim brings up a good point. I wonder if perhaps the Brewers will be sending someone currently on their 40-man roster. Perhaps Yadiel Rivera? Jean Segura? Segura would also fit under the umbrella of "post-hype" prospect. Just speculation on my part. But the Padres were said to be looking for shortstops earlier. They did just sign Alexei Ramirez though and I wonder if perhaps the Brewers would want to wait and see if they can get more out of Segura, either through trade or performance.

UPDATE: Brewers officially announce trade on their Twitter account:

Trevor Seidenberger was drafted in the 12th round of the 2013 draft. He's spent his time in the Brewers farm system as a reliever, reaching as high as AA in 2015. He's sported solid strike out numbers, but high walk rates. It's likely his ceiling is as a middle reliever or lefty specialist.

Shane Peterson was claimed from the Cubs in December of 2014. He split time between AAA Colorado Springs and the Brewers bench in 2015. He's capable of playing all three OF spots if necessary, but best suited to LF. Defensively Rymer Liriano is probably an upgrade. With the bat Peterson offered potentially for very high walk rates, but he was never going to become a starting regular.

All things considered, at the very least the Brewers have upgraded their 4th outfielder. If things work out for the best, the Brewers can add another option to their cadre of potential starting corner outfielders.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this deal is what it means for Khris Davis. Already David Stearns has shown that he's willing to increase depth at a position in order to later deal from that depth (Luis Sardinas). Perhaps the acquisition of Rymer Liriano will finally lead to the oft discussed trade of Khris Davis?

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