It was first reported over at Bernie's Crew but now has been confirmed by multiple sources that the Brewers have traded Alcides Escober, Jake Odorizzi, Lorenzo Cain and a Player To Be Named Later (PTBNL) to the Kansas City Royals for Zach Greinke, SS Yuniesky Betancourt and $2 million in cash.
HOLY CRAP THE BREWERS GOT GREINKE!
Greinke has been on the trade table this whole off-season and recently made it known that he was not happy in KC and was looking to be traded. It's been rumored that the Brewers were one of the teams interested and in talks, but it was said that the Brewers didn't have the pieces to complete a deal. During the Winter Meetings, it was said that Brewers had no chance to complete the trade. However, once Greinke went public with his displeasure, the Royals had to reevaluate the situation. In adddition, Greinke had a no-trade clause and it was thought that Milwaukee was one of the places he wouldn't waive the clause for.
The Washington Nationals had apparently put together a package, but Greinke would not waive his no-trade clause for them.
Odorizzi was the top pitching prospect in the Brewers' system. It's unclear who the PTBNL is, but rumor has said that the Royals are waiting on medical information. The PTBNL can be on the 40-man, but will not be a major-league starter.
The trade leaves the Brewers farm system pretty well gutted, but it's clear that Doug Melvin is "going all in" in this final season of Prince Fielder's contract.
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The Brewers made a similar "all in" push in the 2008 season when they traded away top prospect Matt LaPorta for four months' rental on CC Sabathia. La Porta has not turned in to the major leaguer that everyone had hoped and that move by Doug Melvin turned out much better than anyone could have imagined.
It has to be remembered that Odorizzi is just a prospect. He's young and still has a lot of developting to do.
Doug Melvin is really gambling with his own future here. Putting all the eggs in his one basket did get the Brewers to the playoffs in 2008, but they lost in the first round. After giving away the farm here, one and done in the playoffs is certainly not going to cut it.
Remember, too, that the Brewers will be trading Prince Fielder in the off-season (if not before) and will be able to trade him for prospects instead of starting pitching. The Brewers will have a chance to re-stock the system with this trade.
Edit:
The PTBNL is Jeremy Jeffress. Apparently the Royals were checking over his history with marijuana.
Quotes from Ryan Braun:
“I don’t think anyone thought this was possible without trading Prince.”
“Excited would be a severe understatement,” Braun said. “It just shows the players, the fans, once again the commitment to winning from our ownership and management. It’s really exciting. We just got one of the best players in baseball [in Greinke] and I can’t wait to get started.”
