The Brewers and Indians announced a minor trade Wednesday, with Cleveland sending minor league infielder Mark Mathias to Milwaukee in exchange for minor league catcher Andres Melendez. Milwaukee has selected the contract of Mathias.
Mathias, 25, needed to be added to the 40-man roster in order to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. The Indians apparently preferred not to commit that 40-man spot to Mathias, prompting today’s swap with the Brewers, who’ll now pick up some new infield depth. The 2015 third-rounder hit .269/.355/.442 with a dozen home runs, 31 doubles, two triples and 13 stolen bases at Triple-A this past season. Mathias is primarily a second baseman and third baseman, but he’s also logged 203 innings at shortstop since being drafted.
Milwaukee signed the now-18-year-old Melendez out of Venezuela back in 2017. He played 36 games with the Brewers’ Rookie-level Arizona affiliate in 2019, hitting .250/.340/.352 with a 30 percent caught-stealing rate behind the plate. Despite being years from the Majors, Melendez was ranked 16th among Brewers farmhands by Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen on their midsesason update of the team’s prospect rankings.
GREAT DEAL for Brewers, could be a really solid player plus he adds a versatile bat to an empty infield
Not as good as Dubon. Y’all got fleeced.
Eh Pomeranz was a huge reason why the Brewers snagged the last wild card and they still have Ray Black. Wouldn’t exactly say they got fleeced.
These are my favorite kinds of moves, honestly.
Mathias was decent last year but hadn’t shown an ability to hit in the upper minors before last year, so it could be a legitimate improvement or it could just be the juiced baseball. He’s probably a utility guy when it’s all said and done.
The Indians obviously weren’t going to protect him so getting anything back is a plus, but an intriguing lottery ticket (especially a catcher) is a pretty solid return. He’s way too far away, but he gives you something to dream on.
He was my longshot choice to take over 2B.
Interesting that a team with Lindor on the block and Kipnis gone wouldn’t make room for him on the 40- man
We only have 2 spots 1 is going to McKenzie that leaves 1 OF position so probably Johnson to get that bid
I’m saying this before finding out who the Indians protect, but don’t forget about Scott Moss. That’s 3 guys at the minimum, plus whoever else (if anyone) that they decide to add. I’d imagine they’re looking at deals involving guys on the fringes of the 40-man so they can clear room without having to expose someone to waivers.
If you don’t love the player, there’s no point in making room for him because of his position. If you look at it from that angle, it could mean the Indians ~really~ don’t like him if they aren’t willing to give him a spot with the uncertainty in their infield.
Mathias has some versatility and he probably would have gotten picked if he didn’t get added to a 40-man roster, but he’s probably just a utility man.
I heard that Mathias was a very big supporter of the LGBTQ community. Especially the T part. It’s good to have some forward thinking progressives in the sport. I would love to know what his reasons for specifically focusing on the T are.
Probably a friend of family member. As with attitudes towards gays, that usually changes people. In fact, with some people, it’s the only way.
You should be proud of me Mo! That last comment was only 6.1 lines. What was up with that @IHateJeffTodd guy before? I had forgotten that was his name and I thought you were saying (ie I( as in you Mo)HateJeffTodd. But then I read it and realized it was some guy complimenting him for hating a baseball writer. Was that a joke or does some lame-O actually have enough built up hatred in his body that he has to spread it around to a good baseball writer? Why would/does he claim to hate him?
That’s great! Probably a friend or relative he is close to…..
And that has what exactly to do with the trade?
I doubt it had anything to do with the trade. I wasn’t trying to imply that it did. My buddy just happened to be next to me when I opened the article and he told me that after reading the article himself. I guess maybe it’s possible Brewers ownership could have been keen on the idea because of that? I doubt it though and I wasn’t trying to imply that.
Don’t feed the trolls.
I love being called a troll.
Stearns is a fan of versatile fielders and guys with good plate discipline. Think its a fair deal for both sides..
but lets not protect zack brown our minor league pitcher of the year, when everyone knows the brewers need pitching depth.
They don’t need depth, they have tons of mid tier pitching depth. They need impact starters at this point to help take the burden off of the bullpen.
How many options does he have?