The Brewers just traded Tony Gwynn, Jr. to the San Diego Padres for CF Jody Gerut. The rumor cam from a SD radio station and Tom H of the Journal-Sentinel got it confirmed.
From the J-S: “Gerut, 31, was batting .221 with four home runs and 14 RBI in 37 games with the Padres. He had a .248 on-base percentage and .381 slugging percentage. He is on a one-year deal with a $1.775 million salary.”
Off the cuff, this seems like a weird move – the Brewers don’t need a center fielder.
That being said, we’ve been trying to move TGJ for quite awhile. He cleared waivers at the end of Spring Training. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if we took ANY viable offer for him.
Because of his father and the legend he is in SD, TGJ’s value to the Padres is far inflated over what any other team would give for him. It also means he’s got enormous shoes to fill and those of us that have seen him play know it’s not going to happen.
Chris Duffy is the guy on the Brewers bench that can back up our outfielders, so this move doesn’t bode well for him and his .125 BA this season.
Gerut is also a left-handed hitter, meaning if he is put on the roster, the only right-handed pinch-hitting option is back up catcher Mike Rivera.
Playing devil’s advocate – could this be giving us a viable center fielder so that Mike Cameron can be used as trade bait for a second baseman to replace Rickie Weeks?
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This is the final season of Cam’s contract here in Milwaukee and while it’s a bit early for the trade season, Rickie’s injury has forced our hand.
It’s clear that the club isn’t sure what to do about filling Rickie’s spot. The first news was that the Brewers were going to check the trade and free agent market for a replacement. Then it was said that the replacement would come from within the organization.
I personally would be really upset if we lost Cam. I’m already advocating for re-signing him and I’d be sad if we lost him this early in the season.
The Tom H post says that Frank Catalanotto will be called up to the majors within the next week, but doesn’t speculate as to whether or not Gerut will stay up or head to AAA.
