Milwaukee Brewers deal Billy McKinney to the New York Mets for teenage lefty Pedro Quintana

Billy McKinney’s time in DFA limbo, and with the Milwaukee Brewers, has come to an end. Last night the club announced that McKinney had been dealt to the New York Mets in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Pedro Quintana, who has yet to pitch a game professionally.

McKinney was a great story early in the season, thriving in a pinch-hitting role before injuries thrust him into regular playing time. He hit three homers in four days from April 19th-23rd, but batted just .154/.237/.212 in his next 59 plate appearances before getting designated for assignment. He’ll now head to the Mets and hope for better results, and he could be in line for regular playing time once again as New York currently has five injured outfielders.

As mentioned, the player who the Brewers received in return has yet to appear in a game professionally. 17 year old Pedro Quintana was an international signee by the Mets during the most recent period, inking with the team just a few month ago in January out of Venezuela. The Brewers do heavily scout and sign players from that country, so it’s quite likely they are a bit more familiar with Quintana and his future outlook than the general public is at this time. At this point, it looks at best like a lottery ticket that could pay off years down the road, which isn’t a bad return for a DFA’d outfielder.