1:01pm: Milwaukee has announced the swap, adding that Webb will open his tenure with the organization at Triple-A. The same holds true of Cooper, per the Yankees’ announcement.
12:28pm: The Brewers and Yankees have lined up on a minor deal with potentially significant ramifications, as both teams seemingly met needs while dealing from areas of depth. Per Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter), lefty Tyler Webb is headed to Milwaukee. Minor-league first baseman Garrett Cooper is going in return in the swap, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports hinted (via Twitter) and Jon Heyman of Fan Rag confirms (in a tweet).
Webb, 26, will give the Milwaukee pen another southpaw option. He made his MLB debut for New York this year after spending spring camp with the Pirates as a Rule 5 pick. Webb put up 33 1/3 impressive Triple-A innings upon his return to the New York organization, posting 47 strikeouts against just three walks in that span.
The major league sample is quite a small one. Webb has thrown only six innings in seven appearances, allowing three earned runs but only three total base hits. He has struck out five and walked four. Webb only checks in with a low-nineties fastball, but also utilizes a change and slider — to good effect, evidently, at least in the upper minors.
Cooper, who’s also 26 years of age, has enjoyed quite a productive season thus far in the hitter-friendly environs of Colorado Springs. Through 320 plate appearances on the year, he owns a .366/.428/.652 slash with 17 home runs. That’s a big power jump for the former sixth-round pick, who has also drawn 33 walks against just 48 strikeouts on the year.
Clearly, the right-handed hitter offers an alternative to Greg Bird, who’s injury status has left the team in flux at first base. Whether additional trade targets could still also be pursued isn’t immediately clear, but seemingly remains plausible.
Please be Aguilar
Wut?
It clearly says Garrett Cooper, what were you reading?
It was updated After he posted that.
It’s not Aguilar, go back and read it again
It also says 12:35PM by that update. Maybe you were late to the party
It’s not. It’s Garrett Cooper, a MINOR league first baseman
MLBTR posts updates, brewcrew. You new here?
Hate newbies
Because the Yankees bullpen is in such great shape that they don’t need any help…
Getting ready to acquire Hand and Maurer maybe
Okay.
Who
Why?
Why did we do this?
Why? Yanks need pen help. Must be a larger idea behind this one. Though they do have plenty of guys pitching very similar to Webb littered throughout the minors, so who knows.
They also badly need 1B depth, so… ya know.
Oh absolutely. I made that comment before we knew the return from the Brewers. Definitely makes sense.
They Also need to free up some 40 man roster spots so they can keep their farm in tact next season and not lose them all to the rule 5 draft
Problem is, Cooper will be Rule V eligible as well. Honestly, I get the vibe that Ian Clarkin will be the big name taken in the Rule V draft considering they have to protect do many guys.
Teams are less likely to take a 1B in the Rule V draft with so many options on the FA market. Left handed relief pitchers are sure to be gone if they have any promise.
This fits right into Cashman’s plan, he is not ready to move on from Bird yet. If Cooper is better than he thinks Bird is they keep him. If not, you free up a roster spot for next year. Long term if Bird doesn’t cut it the Yanks will go after Goldy. They have 100 million coming off the books, and they still can move Ellsbury, Headley, and Gardner to free up more money.
Yankee want power arms in bullpen. Injuries have put it out of kilter. Warren returning makes a big difference. Tyler Clippard will be going to the team for the biggest wise guy here (lol)
Wow! Brewers stealing today’s headlines!
They need room on the 40 man roster for someone.
Cooper going to the Yankees. Minor league 1B. Makes sense.
Counters the Cubs trade for Quintana
The main reason Webb didn’t make the Bucs wasn’t his fault: they already had 4 lefties in the bullpen, Webb was basically insurance in case they traded Watson or Bastardo. He’s got the skill set to help the Brewers.
Not a bad swap honestly for the crew. They could use the pen help and didn’t have to give up a ton, though Cooper seems to be making a lot of noise this year
Especially since the only Lefty on the 25 is Hader. Like this move for the Crew.
They also have Brent Suter as a lefty.
Ah, forgot abut him. They keep bouncing him up and down from minors.
Yeah… a log of noise in AAA, in Colorado Springs… highly inflated numbers. Brewers win this trade as that rotation depth will be key. Torres and Peralta shouldn’t be allowed to pitch in an MLB game again this season…
Do you have lottery numbers since you are such a great prognosticator in deciding who won this trade?
A little too soon to say “Brewers win this trade”.
trust me it’s a win win. Cooper will do just fine for the Yankees if they give him a chance Yes he won’t be a Mattingly but he will be a find
Not a bad swap for the Yankees either. They were looking for help at 1st base and didn’t give up a whole lot to get it.
So that’s the brewers answer for the cubs. Lol. Last time they got cc sabathia this time a reliever.
This is a fine start for Milwaukee’s deadline action. There are still two and a half weeks left. If they can get a sturdy mid-rotation guy I think they’ll be satisfied. No reason to sell the farm for an “ace” when the offense is putting up enough runs to give flippin’ Zach Davies a 10-4 record with an ERA around 5.
Ya because teams totally make trades immediately after their rivals to directly counter them. Smh
If the Brewers made the trade for Quintana it probably would’ve cost them Brinson AND Hader. No thanks.
It looks like the Yankees are counting on Bird to return this season and Cooper is the stop gap for now. If Bird tanks or is still hurt by the end of the season I expect the Yankees will trade for a 1B unless they think Cooper is the real deal. Now for some bullpen help…
This fits right into Cashman’s plan, he is not ready to move on from Bird yet. If Cooper is better than he thinks Bird is they keep him. If not, you free up a roster spot for next year. Long term if Bird doesn’t cut it the Yanks will go after Goldy. They have 100 million coming off the books, and they still can move Ellsbury, Headley, and Gardner to free up more money.
Any other clubs in MLB looking for a RH First Baseman ?
(if this may be a get & gone ?)
I don’t know how I feel about a great 1st base prospect for a decent bullpen pitching prospect
Eric Thames has a three-year contract. Don’t need a first baseman need left handed pitching.
He’s 26 and hitting in Colorado Springs. Not much to see here. Old, first-base only prospects rarely amount to much.
He’s not a great prospect
Have you seen Jesus? He isn’t a free agent until 2023. They are fine.
Cooper is the next Sean Halton, Matt Clark, Blake Lalli, Jason Rodgers, Matt Gamel,etc. Brewers 1B always seem to have 1 big year in the minors late in their development and then fizzle out.
Agree but to be fair Gamel’s career ended because of countless injury, not because he wasn’t producing.
Assuming the Yankees are clearing a 40-man spot for a future trade maybe?
The Yankees solution to their inexperienced unproven injury plagued first basemen is to get a 26 year old who hasn’t played in the majors and is putting up gaudy stats because he’s playing at Colorado Springs. His home road OPS split is nearly 500 points!
Yes. He’s “only” hitting .300/.359/.500 in away games…
It’s still the PCL so those numbers are still inflated. He’s a good natural hitter, but he’s never show this kind of power before and a lot of it may have to do with where he plays. Still a nice lateral move for both teams, but I don’t really see either having a big impact on their new squads.
All of the Cubs top prospects played in the PCL didn’t they, how’d that turn out.
Most of them had better pedigree and more than half a year of good production. Cooper hasn’t been anywhere near as productive anywhere else.
Big answer to the Cubs getting Quintana
Is this setting us up for hand deal?
I like it. Didn’t cost the Yankees much, and Cooper has more upside than Choi.
Maybe Cooper goes to Scranton and Mike Ford finally gets a shot at the big club?
When Webb makes it up to the big leagues, will Hader stay in the pen, move to the rotation, or go down to the rotation in AAA?
Yankees acquired a first baseman in return
Yes they did.
Cooper has 17 HRs and 82 RBI already this season!! Wow!! He’s going to get his chance and he could potentially platoon with Bird, if he comes back healthy.
He’s definitely got some potential, but don’t let those numbers fool you. He’s never shown that kind of power outside of Colorado Springs. He’s a good hitter with a little pop, but those HR numbers are skewed being in the PCL and playing home games at elevation.
those are exactly the numbers you want to see a guy put up in that park,,if it is hitter friendly a good hitter will hit very well…….so maybe at another aaa park he is a .300 hitter with 10 hr’s at this point,,,he apparently walks a lot and doesn’t strike out much. It seems like a win win for both teams. It didn’t cost either team a huge piece.
Cooper is actually pretty underrated. Its not every day you see a guy who has pretty much found nothing but success in the minors without drawing any prospect hype. He was rated #43 by Prospects1500 in the Brewers system. Ithink the Yanks may have just found a diamond in the rough.
I spent a lot of time profiling Webb prior to the Rule V draft and throughout his time in Spring Training. Honestly, I don’t see much of a ceiling.
Overall:
Cooper
Ceiling: He’s able to maintain success as he has while ascending through the Brewers system and becomes a Justin Smoak type hitter
Floor: He never gets the chance he deserves and becomes like a Mike Hessmam/Valentino Pascucci
Likely: I see a Tommy Joseph type
Webb
Ceiling: Solid middle reliever
Floor: Patrick Schuster
Likely: He’s a taxi-squad Loogy until he’s out of options and then he becomes like a Rob Scahill/Vin Mazarro type- you probably see him at some point every season- albeit for a brief period of time as a mop-up man.
Cooper is nothing more than a career minor league player. He is only insurance in case of a injury. 26 and never been to the big leagues shows he is AAA filler. Carter had a better track record than Cooper. .
Pretty similar for Webb also. He may eventually get a shot in the majors due to injuries and then it will be back to the minors. He’s actually pitched pretty well in the minors, but don’t expect too much more than that.
“He was rated #43 by Prospects1500 in the Brewers system.”
The 43rd best prospect in the Brewers system? I’m sorry, but that doesn’t generally translate into a ML talent
I’d also argue he has never really found that much success in the minors. He has been older than the league average each season up until now (and a short trip to AAA last season), and his numbers have not exactly been top of the pile. Like last year he was 32nd in the Southern League in OPS, behind many 19-23 YOs. He was 25; a 25 YO 1B to boot. And even more specifically a 25 YO 1B who hit all of 4 HR over 330 PA …he was outpacing most of the league in GDPs though, so I guess there’s that!
Has Cooper been blocked at First Base at the ML level ?
Anyone of any significance ?
Not that I’m aware.
In fact the site he references for the ranking (Prospects1500) mocked the Brewers (and Cooper to some extent) over the 1B situation, stating specifically
43. Garrett Cooper, 1B/OF
Age: 26 (DOB: 12/25/1990)
Who needs Eric Thames? We have someone waiting in the wings I’m sure… Garrett Cooper? MIL’s best 1B prospect. I’m supposing someone from the crowded OF (or Nottingham) will eventually move to 1B but Cooper does have a good average and earned his promotions.
So they consider him to be the best 1B in the Brewers system, but don’t see him playing 1B for the Crew.
For a little more context of the ranking and his prospects for the future, here is what they considered the #41st ranked Mil prospect
41. Michael Reed, OF
Age: 24 (DOB 11/18/1992)
5th round pick from 2011 can get on base but does not have the power to stick for more than the cup of coffee he got last two seasons. Would drastically exceed my expectations if he were to get more than another quick look with big league club.
…so they expect maybe another cup of coffee for the younger Outfielder, Reed – and he ranks higher than Cooper
So I’m thinking most all the hitters in the PCL suck even so much more.
Regardless of age; how’s that #1 Met prospect doing this year in the PCL compared to Cooper ?
Met fans here are screaming to call up Domonic Smith.
Dom is not their #1 prospect but anyway… His numbers are pretty comparable to Coopers, but when dealing with prospects you can’t just say “regardless of age,” 4 years is a huge difference. Just because fans want him up on a bad team that is already pretty much out of the race means nothing. The Mets still don’t think he’s ready. And apparently there is something in Cooper’s game that isn’t either or he would have been given a shot.
Cooper just likes playing in the Colorado Air, as evidenced by his splits:
Away – .300/.359/.500/.859 (167 PA)
Home – .442/.503/.829/1.333 (153 PA)
That away line, while still lucky based off past performance, would drop him considerably down the rankings
As far as the 22YO Smith … well I’m not sure how he even comes into a conversation to compare against a 26Yo AAAA guy, at best, who is only intriguing people at all because he is playing well for really the first time in his career in Colorado
…like last year though, Cooper is outpacing most of the PCL in GDP this season – so there is that!
Current performances/successes are not adjusted for age.
Future – yes.
Current – no.
Right now – Cooper is a better prepared player for ML service than the vast majority of PCL hitters.
Smith is not close to Cooper right now.
Smith is also in the system of an under-performing team that is not in a playoff hunt and can afford to call him up and let him work through the inevitable struggles. Neither of the teams involved in this trade can really afford to do that.
Smith this season – .330/.382/.500/.882
Cooper away line – .300/.359/.500/.859
Away from Colorado the 26YO Cooper is under-perfoming the 22YO Smith, so not sure how you come to that conclusion
But this look from his advanced stops probably says about all you need to know about Cooper, to be totally honest:
14 (A+) – 5.0% HR/FB
15 (A+) – 5.6% HR/FB
15 (AA) – 0.0% HR/FB
16 (AA) – 5.7% HR/FB
16 (AAA) – 14.7% HR/FB
17 (AAA) – 20.o% HR/FB
…he loves him some PCL parks – everything else, not so much…
Averages are inflated for the whole league!
I wouldn’t discount him simply because of his prospect rating. Tons of players have come out of nowhere with very little hype.
Goldschmidt, Odubel Herrera, Keon Broxton, Jerad Eickhoff, Jesus Aguilar, Erasmo Ramirez, Freddy Galvis, Guillermo Heredia, Chris Devenski, David Peralta. Just a few examples of guys who didn’t rank too highly as prospects.
43rd overall in a system like Milwaukees is the equivalent of a C prospect. Sometimes they work.
It is completely possible that he is just a late bloomer and is having a breakout season, but the peripherals tend to suggest its more a case that he moved to the most hitter-friendly stadium in the most hitter-friendly league in the US. Now don’t get me wrong, I believe he can hit. I think he can be a .270-.285 guy in the league but I think the power is a facade. If he projects as a future .275 14-18 HR first-baseman who is already 26, plays average d, and has yet to see a MLB pitch then I see this as an even trade for a bullpen lefty who relies on control. The monster AAA numbers just have people over-valuing. There is a reason that if you’re not a Brewer fan you haven’t heard of him before today.
He is being discounted because of the lack of abilities shown at advanced ages through his minor league career
Now compare that to the first guy on you list; Goldschmidt:
.334/.408/.638/1.045 as 21 YO in Pioneer League (Rookie)
.314/.384/.606/.990 as 22 YO in Cali League (A+)
.306 /435/.626/1.061 as 23 YO in the Southern League (AA)
…then he was in the majors for good
Those are advanced stats at league appropriate ages (and well under age in the case of his AA stop) on an accelerated path before making the Majors for good. That isn’t comparable at all
Lastly I would point out that John Sickels does not have Cooper listed on his 54 Brewers prospects he ranks as at aleast a C prospect (meaning John has him ranked at best as a C- and a sub-54 prospect in the Brewers system)
Yanks are bidding their time, they will sign Goldy in 19.
Pretty cool and interesting scouting assessment, thanks for the breakdown.
Cashman does it again!
A 171wRC+ slugging first baseman to pair with Judge for the next 7 years. This tandem of Judge, Sanchez and Cooper will be slugging 150 home runs a year.
Lol.
Judge-120
Sanchez-25
Cooper-5
Lmao
Your trolling needs some serious work dude
Garrett Cooper = Gary Cooper = Lou Gehrig?
Kinda like Tyler Webb = Mariano Rivera?
And they traded for Cooper at High Noon!
A trade that seems to benefit both teams needs at this point.
WOW. The reliever market is going to be costly this year. Just like last year. A stud infielder for a reliever. Imagine what Hand is going to bring?
This doesn’t correlate. It’s two prospects who will more than likely be fringe big leaguers
not near what miller or chapman brought,,,these guys simply are the best of whats available and not in miller or chapmans league.
Man it sucks to see coop go from us here in Colorado Springs.. he is a super nice guy, I even got his 15th home run of the season this year
Cheerios Famine,
Read a great article in NY Daily News regarding Quintana and why it was smart the Yanks didn’t make this deal as one pitcher wasn’t worth the return right now. It states an equivalent package as per pro scouts been Rutherford and Sheffield. Then further stated Rutherford is valued very highly by scouts throughout game!
Hmmmmmmmm.
Please read it so that you can better understand how the Yanks are working.
Cheerios you still don’t care for the kid though right?
Now Billyboy read what I wrote farther up. Anywho please put the prospect love away for a minute and wait till all lists are published. I to can surf and find various views on various prospects but let’s just wait and see what Cash actually does or doesn’t do.
true, lets hope if he deals a high end prospect (Florial, etc??) its for a young potential ace and not Q. Cool, we good?
Rutherford wants to be your friend, give him a chance to prove you wrong is all Im saying coco puffs.
I wonder how the Yanks view one of their own AAA 1B, Mike Ford? He’s been tearing things up for his entire career and seems like he would be ahead of Cooper on the depth pool.
2017-..290/.418/.507 , 14 hrs and more walks (61) than strikeouts (47).
I haven’t heard of serious concerns on his defense. Hopefully, he’ll get a shot ahead of Cooper.
Ford has been very good. However keep in mind the stats you are quoting are from both Double & Triple A. The majority from Double A. Ford’s biggest problem is he’s not on the 40 man roster presently. My guess is we won’t see him until rosters expand in September.
Well they say that the most talent is usually at the AA level. Regardless, he’s performed well at the two highest levels.
480 AB @ AA = .881 from ’16 and ’17
I really like Ford and I hope he does get his chance. But he seems to have been bitten by the injury bug the last season and a half like so many of the Yankees 1st basemen.
Ty Webb was a better golfer than Al Czervik or Judge Smails.
^^^ This guy gets it.