With the division rival Chicago Cubs pulling off a sizeable deal with the crosstown Chicago White Sox today, the Milwaukee Brewers didn’t necessarily match it, but they made a deal of their own none-the-less.
The Brewers sent Triple (A) first baseman Garrett Cooper to the Yankees, acquiring left-handed reliever Tyler Webb in return.
The Brewers will decide before they return to action tomorrow night whether to add Webb to their bullpen or assign him to Colorado Springs. The Brewers have a roster spot available after putting starter Junior Guerra on the 10-day DL with a bruised shin.
Webb pitched twice against the Brewers last weekend in New York and seven times for the Yankees this season, posting a 4.50 ERA over six innings. He was a 10th round pick in 2013 out of South Carolina by the Yankees.
Webb has spent most of this season at Triple (A) Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, going 3-1 with a 3.24 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings.
Cooper was leading the Pacific Coast League with a .366 batting average and ranked second with 82 runs batted in and was a sixth round draft pick out of Auburn in 2013. But the Brewers already have two first baseman at the Major League level in Eric Thames and Jesus Aguilar.
Earlier in the day, the Cubs beat the Brewers as well as other teams to the punch, for the services of Quintana, who figures to be in the Cubs starting rotation for years to come.