Milwaukee Brewers acquire All-Star infielder Eduardo Escobar from Diamondbacks

With the trade deadline less than 48 hours away, the Milwaukee Brewers have been hard at work on the trade market to improve the team before the deadline. They made a big step towards that today, as they acquired All-Star infielder Eduardo Escobar from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The move was first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN and later made official by the Brewers.

The addition of Escobar brings a big bat to the lineup that the Brewers need. So far in 2021, Escobar is batting .246/.300/.478 with 22 home runs and 65 RBI. Mike Vassallo notes that Escobar is tied for fifth in home runs and tied for sixth in RBI. He also can play all over the infield, and is a switch hitter at the plate. Most of his games this year have been at third base, but he also plays second base regularly and can also play shortstop. Early in his career, he also spent time in the outfield, though hasn’t played there since 2017. He hasn’t played at first base at all, but the Brewers plan to use him at first base against left-handed pitchers.

Escobar is in the final year of his contract and will be a free agent at the end of the season. He started his career with the White Sox before being traded to the Twins, where he spent the next six seasons. He then was traded to the Diamondbacks, and has been with them for the past few seasons.

In return for Escobar, the Brewers sent outfielder Cooper Hummel and infielder Alberto Ciprian to the Diamondbacks. Hummel is 26 years old and has been with Triple-A Nashville all season, batting .254/.435/.508 with 6 home runs and 15 RBI in 46 games this season. He has mostly played in left field, but also has spent some time at first base and catcher. Ciprian is 18 years old and in his first year playing in the organization. He is with the DSL Brewers 1 team in the Dominican Summer League, batting .378/.465/.514 in 12 games this season.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.