The Orioles and Brewers have announced a three-player trade that will see the O’s land right-handers Thyago Vieira and Aneuris Rodriguez. Milwaukee will receive minor league righty Garrett Stallings in return.
Vieira is the only member of the trio with any Major League experience, as the Sao Paulo native has a 6.18 ERA over 51 career innings in the Show. He appeared in parts of the 2017-19 seasons with the Mariners and White Sox before spending the next three seasons in Japan, and then returning to North American baseball via a minors deal with the Brewers in the 2022-23 offseason.
After making two appearances with Milwaukee’s big league roster last year, injuries opened up more opportunity for Vieira this season, though he didn’t exactly capitalize. The right-hander posted a 5.64 ERA over 22 1/3 innings for the Crew, allowing six home runs and walking 12.3% of batters. Despite a big fastball with regular high-90s velocity, Vieira has yet to translate that heat into high-level strikeout volume, as he whiffed a decent but unspectacular 23.6% of batters faced this season.
Between that velocity and solid numbers in NPB and with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in 2023, it isn’t hard to see why the Orioles might have an interest in seeing if Vieira might still be a late bloomer at age 31. A classic case of a hard thrower with control issues, Vieira’s potential is obvious if the O’s can figure out a way for the righty to harness his stuff. The Brewers have had a lot of success in helping unheralded pitchers unlock their ability in recent years, though the team opted to move on by designating Vieira for assignment earlier this week.
Rodriguez is more of a longer-term lottery ticket of a prospect, as the righty is still a few weeks away from his 20th birthday. His pro experience has been limited to two seasons in the Dominican Summer League and some rookie ball action this year, with a cumulative 3.67 ERA over 83 1/3 total innings.
Stallings was a fifth-round pick for the Angels in the 2019 draft, and he came to Baltimore’s organization as part of the return in the December 2020 trade that sent Jose Iglesias to Los Angeles. Stallings has a 5.41 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate, and 6.48% walk rate over 379 1/3 career minor league innings. That includes a 5.52 ERA in 101 innings of Triple-A work, as he has pitched as both as a starter and a reliever at Baltimore’s top affiliate in each of the last two seasons.
Milwaukee just doesn’t care about baseball. No chance at WS forever
“Milwaukee just doesn’t care”…You do realize the Brewers are in first place by 2+ games don’t you?…I think both of us would have to agree that’s pretty good for a team that “doesn’t care”, right Liberal Steve?..And due to the somewhat random nature of baseball, anytime a team makes the playoffs, there’s at least a “chance” that they make and win the World Series.
lol. They have zero chance of doing anything with that weak *$$ lineup, average SP. First round exit at best
Just like my meds, I can’t spell them, let alone pronounce them. (Thyago Vieira?)
it has a V and an A in it, are those the good pills (wink wink)?
Yawn you are a bore
I saw a great play yesterday to rob Ortiz of at least a double. He’s great. The whole team is doing well.
Relax
Their ace is pitching for Baltimore and they are still a first place team and are actually 3 wins better than this time last season
Don’t forget our other ace is out for the year with TJ surgery.
A DFA’d never-stuck and a rookie baller. Go ahead and hand over that trophy, commissioner!
Brewers saw enough of Vieira, O’s saw enough of Stallings. Make a swap and hope for the best.
The Brewers also had to make sure they didn’t exceed their roster makeup quota. Which is also why certain players (Frelick, Wiemer, etc.) are also given a much longer leash than other certain players and we keep being force fed Miller is a MLB player. Should have traded Wiemer when he was an overvalued prospect.
Another team gets sucked in by Viera. He could be the New Edwin Jackson. Play for every team and smell.
Os think they can fix him. Nothing to lose
Allow me to make an addition to the discussion of Vieira’s arsenal and its effectiveness. While he does have a extremely high velocity four-seam fastball that averages just shy of 98 mph, the Brewers and Vieira haven’t decided to use it all that much as he throws it only 6.5% of the time. For a guy who averages about 27 pitches per outing that means he throws a fastball maybe once or twice an appearance. We have no way of knowing how effective his fastball could be if he throws it once or twice each outing.
He has 2 fastballs. One’s a sinker, which is what he throws the most because it’s his best offering. He just can’t throw a strike, let alone locate it.
YAWN!
Not really a yawn. turned out to be the worst introduction to a new ball club I’ve ever seen.
Walk, Walk, 2 pitch triple giving up 3 runs (including the inherited runner) and then to top things off… another Walk before getting the hook after crapping the bed and logging zero outs.
Wow. that’s a bad day at the office.
Came here to say the same thing. God willing he never has a chance to take the mound again, except maybe as a Yankee, haha
I think all three runners were his, btw. Four walks and a triple.