The Brewers added some defense to their outfield Thursday by trading for Arizona's Gerardo Parra.
The Milwaukee Brewers have made an interesting splash before the trade deadline, acquiring outfielder Gerardo Parra from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team recently announced the deal, which sends prospects Mitch Haniger and Anthony Banda to Arizona.
Parra, 27, is something of a buy-low opportunity for Milwaukee. He's one of the better defensive outfielders in a game -- a two-time Gold Glove winner -- and remains solid there, but his offensive production has bottomed out in 2014 with a .259/.305/.362 line in 440 plate appearances. There is some word, though, that he's looked "slower" to some scouts.
With his cost increasing through arbitration and free agency looming after the 2016 season, Parra became expendable for Arizona with his declined play this year. The return also isn't terrible for the Diamondbacks, giving them a young outfielder who could potentially take over in Arizona a year from now.
Haniger, 23, was drafted by the Brewers with the No. 38 overall pick in the 2012 draft. He was rated as Milwaukee's No. 3 prospect entering the 2014 season by Baseball America, and has batted .255/.316/.416 with 10 homers in 271 plate appearances at the Double-A level this season. Jim Callis, for one, is a fan:
With 96 minutes to go, new @Dbacks OF Mitch Haniger leads the Best Prospect Traded On Deadline Day race.
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 31, 2014Banda isn't as highly regarded a prospect, but at least gives the team some more organizational pitching depth. He's pitched for Single-A Wisconsin this season, posting a 3.66 ERA over 20 appearances (including 14 starts).
It isn't exactly known how Parra fits into the Brewers' outfield rotation just yet. With Carlos Gomez and Ryan Braun obviously not moving anywhere, Khris Davis is the only player likely to lose at bats. The right-handed Davis is slugging .477 with 17 home runs this season, and his production has been steady over the last two months. He does have some extreme platoon splits, though, and Parra can spot him against tough right-handers, at least.
As for Parra, he isn't too concerned about where the at-bats will come from:
Gerardo Parra has no idea where he'll fit into #Brewers OF mix, but he knows this: "They play hard and they play happy. I love that."
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) July 31, 2014
