The Milwaukee Brewers haven’t been overly active this offseason, but they did swing a trade on Friday night. The Brewers sent right fielder Domingo Santana to the Seattle Mariners. Outfielder Ben Gamel and pitcher Noah Zavolas are heading to Milwaukee in return.
The Brewers have acquired OF Ben Gamel and RHP Noah Zavolas from Seattle in exchange for OF Domingo Santana. pic.twitter.com/VIt8RIEvtm
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) December 22, 2018
Brewers Send Domingo Santana to Mariners for Ben Gamel
Santana had a strong 2017 season, smashing 30 home runs to go along with a 127 wRC+. Unfortunately, he became a victim of the Brewers outfield logjam after the acquisitions of Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain. He ended up spending most of the year in Triple-A. Santana finished the season with a 97 wRC+ and even more disappointing 76 DRC+ in just 235 plate appearances. In Seattle, he’s likely to spend time at DH and the corner outfield spots. The Mariners will hope that regular playing time can get Santana back to his breakout form. If it works, they’ll have a young controllable asset.
Gamel has an even 100 wRC+ for his career. DRC+ is less impressed with him, pegging him with a career mark of 87. Because he has options remaining, Gamel figures to be shuttled between the Brewers and their Triple-A team multiple times throughout the season. He gives the Brewers more flexibility than Santana did, as he was out of minor-league options. While Santana has a history of being a power threat, Gamel hits for very little power. He hit just one home run in 2018, and his career hard-contact rate of 28.3% leaves much to be desired.
Zavolas, meanwhile, was just drafted this past summer in the 18th round. The 22-year-old righty made 19 relief appearances between short A-ball and advanced A-ball, compiling a 3.13 ERA and 9.54 K/9.
Santana should be a nice piece for Seattle as the Mariners look to rebuild moving forward. Meanwhile, the Brewers gained a bit of flexibility as they look to repeat as NL Central champs.
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