The Padres and Brewers have agreed to a trade that will send left-hander Nestor Cortes, shortstop prospect Jorge Quintana, and cash considerations to San Diego in exchange for Brandon Lockridge. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the Padres will only owe Cortes the prorated MLB minimum salary over the remainder of the season, as the Brewers will be covering the remainder of the approximately $2.4MM owed to Cortes.
Cortes is on the move again after being dealt from the Yankees to the Brewers in December, and the southpaw’s Milwaukee tenure ends with just two starts in a Brew Crew uniform. Cortes had a 9.00 ERA over his eight innings in 2025 before a left elbow flexor strain sidelined him for the bulk of the season.
With his rehab assignment nearing an end, the Brewers had to make a decision about activating Cortes or perhaps dealing him elsewhere, given the club’s crowded pitching situation. The result was a trade to San Diego, as Cortes will now provide some depth to a rotation that was thinned when Ryan Bergert and and Stephen Kolek were dealt to the Royals earlier today in the Felix Fermin trade.
However, the Padres didn’t move Dylan Cease despite multiple rumors and acquired JP Sears as part of the Mason Miller blockbuster, leaving the club’s rotation as Cease, Sears, Yu Darvish, Nick Pivetta, and Randy Vasquez. Cortes and the injured Michael King should likely supplant Vasquez and Sears when they return from the IL, but the bottom line is that the Padres’ plethora of deadline moves has seen the team shuffle but not really overhaul its core rotation mix.
“Nasty Nestor” emerged as a relief weapon and then as a starter with the Yankees during the 2021 season, then seemed to fully break with a tremendous 2022 campaign that saw finish eighth in AL Cy Young Award voting. Injuries unfortunately limited him to 63 1/3 frames in 2023, and he bounced back to toss 174 1/3 frames in the regular season before a late-season flexor strain surfaced.
Since Opening Day 2024, Cortes had a 4.09 ERA over 237 2/3 innings and good enough secondary numbers to make him still a solid rotation option, but New York opted to deal from a crowded rotation and sent Cortes and Chad Durbin to Milwaukee for Devin Williams. Cortes is earning $7.6MM in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and he doesn’t have a ton of time left in the season to re-establish some value heading into free agency.
Since the Brewers will end up eating pretty much all of Cortes’ salary, the Williams trade hasn’t worked out to date, yet the deal will ultimately be judged down the road depending on how Durbin and now Lockridge or Quintana develop as big leaguers. Lockridge has seen some time in the majors already, though with only a .210/.248/.280 slash line to show for 59 games and 107 plate appearances over the 2024-25 seasons. He is 10-for-11 on stolen base attempts in the bigs, and he topped the 40-steal plateau in both the 2023 and 2024 minor league seasons.
Capable of playing all three outfield positions, Lockridge is an average-to-capable defender all over the grass. His Triple-A numbers have perhaps been inflated by the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League over the last two years, but Lockridge has a .299/.398/.396 slash over 712 career PA with the Padres’ and Yankees’ Triple-A affiliates. The Brewers seem likely to give Lockridge a look in the majors right away, as Jackson Chourio’s hamstring injury is probably going to result in a stint on the injured list.
Quintana is an 18-year-old lottery ticket of a prospect who was a member of Milwaukee’s 2024 international signing class. He has hit .257/.355/.392 over 467 career plate appearances, all at the Rookie League levels.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal was the first to report on the Cortes deal, while the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reported that Lockridge was heading to Milwaukee in the return and Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Quintana’s involvement.
Wow
so the Orioles basically traded for a full Drafts worth of talent at the deadline (De Braun, Boston, hightower, Nieghbors, Watts-Brown- that is basically what a team would be happy with in the first 4 rounds of the draft)…. and the Padres gave up a whole draft worth of players.
The Orioles paid Laureano and O’Hearn’s remaining salary for 2025 and got the Padres 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 12th, 15th, and 18th round picks from 2024. What the Orioles paid in the remaining salaries for those two is more than what the Padres paid all those draft picks in signing bonuses.
A VERY interesting trade.
Did not see this on my bingo card
Brewers didn’t have room for him in the rotation and he had to be added to the big league roster here shortly after completing his rehab assignment. It was rumored they were either going to shop him or Quintana. As a brewer fan though, I’m glad he kept Quintana instead.
[Preller intensifies]
Mariners Legend Nestor Cortes!
Dodgers Legend! 😂
Yankees Legend!
Ok
How much roster turnover do they want in one day?
Good Lord Preller!!
Apparently for Lockridge. I like the risky rental move. Bryan Johnson can fill the 4th OF role.
Do they even have room to roster Johnson anymore with O’Hearn and Laureano?
Great question. They’ll DFA Maldonado and option Brooks, I think.
Tyler wade is a DFA candidate too, but I’d leans on brooks and a catch being out
I wonder if Wagner replaces Wade. Probably smarter to option Wagner, good future piece though.
Niebla reclamation project?
He hasn’t pitched much this season due to flexor strain injury and in 1 of his 2 starts he was bad because of the injury. He was pretty good as a Yankee in 2022-2024. 3.43 ERA in 70 starts.
Nice! Let’s roll, San Diego.
LFGSD
Preller is going full rock star this trade deadline dude!
How many ex-Yankees pitchers does that make?
King,Wandy, Sears, Nestor… am I forgetting any? Haha
Vasquez
Thanx hii
Always glad to help!
Gwynning I lost count of how many guys AJ traded away today you have a spreadsheet?
My Google Docs sheet blew up my laptop, idk 😆
28
All time record for trade deadline?
Pretty sure it is. How many GMs trade an entire team worth of prospects?
I meant to take a screenshot of the top 30 this morning but forgot. I had a belief that he would make a lot but didn’t think it would be this much.
In 2020 he basically flipped half the roster in like 2 days.
That is what I get for listening to MLB Network. Padres website says its 22 players.
mlb.com/padres/news/mason-miller-traded-to-padres
I counted 22 as well. Still… alot!
How will the Tincaps field a team this week?
Seat Raffle! 🤪
Brew – I thought you and I might need to go up and sign up! About 6 hour drive for me, you can get a flight!
Another second, another Padres trade.
Brewers selling an arm? Seems odd.
Nowhere for him to pitch. Rotation is full plus some.
Not at all. He has no place in Milwaukee with depth. Assume Gasser will be ready in next few weeks. Zastryzny close to coming back as well.
They have a ton of good SP options. Trading Cortes or Q was expected
Yes and Q has proven his worth this year while Cortes is coming off the IL and about to hit free agency anyway. Lockridge under years of team control and a utility piece although without much pop in his bat.
I could see this as just an extra guy we don’t need being traded for a maybe little help if an injury occurs SP. AJ did trade away a lot of SP depth and next level guys so, Cortez can be a “if someone goes down fill in”.
Lockridge wasn’t a needed guy. Honestly, at some point spots for Rule 5 might even come into play on a trade like this.
Not at all. Have excess starters. Miz, Peralta, woodruff, priester, Quintana, Patrick, Henderson, Myers and Ashby and Hall used to be, can be starters
Don’t forget Gasser
How is this odd?? lol
Today is trade for former Yankees day
Cortes still looking to recover from that Game 1 Slam. Interesting move from SD.
Don’t worry if the padres get into that situation they won’t have Cortes on the mound
Welcome to journeyman life, (formerly) Nasty Nestor!
Have a good feeling about Nasty Nestor sticking around in San Diego and being effective in the ’26 rotation… watch AJ put together another creative deal to keep him here.
Does this mean that Dylan Cease could be moved to the Astros? Their talks were progressing according to Jon Heyman.
Nah, just a risky high-upside depth piece plus maybe displaces Vasquez.
OMG…are the Padres going to have anyone left in the minors!!
The Angels will still be worse
LOL, seriously.
You know, if Kirby Yates was just halfway decent and Mookie was average, the dodgers would have a 15 game lead and none of today’s moves would have been made. Crazy how the world works.
Trying to strike while the iron is hot by mortgaging your future, is not a recipe for success. The lack of a championship from the Padres has a stench, that they’re trying to get rid of. A loud one.
So you are saying if Ma had balls, she would be Pa?
I know the what ifs are irrelevant, but the odds of mookie having an ops sub .700 and 2 all world closers craping the bed are like 1 in 1000. The padres had a 1 in a 1000 shot at being only 3 games back at the deadline. Which caused all these moves. Try to read between the lines.
Ok, let me do the same kind of what if scenarios.
If Bogaerts played as well the first two months and he has the last 2 months, if Cease’s ERA was the same as his FIP, if Tatis didn’t get hit on the hand in Pittsburgh in early May and continued to play as well as he had the 1st month plus of the season, and if King did not get injured the Padres would have had 10+ more wins.
Don’t worry preller will trade the 2025 draft class next year. Though he did keep their 1st round pick from 2024.
He also already has a top international signing for next season lineup already.
Though I’d still advise Kash to keep a travel bag ready during the upcoming offseason
No doubt
Well, I would say they’re now loaded top to bottom in the lineup and both starters and relievers.
You know they’re only 3 games back of LA..right? And the Padres just DRASTICALLY improved, while the Dodgers didn’t do much.
King is coming back next week too.
Except the ones that did like King and Cease and Vasquez and Cronenworth and Arraez and Sheets and Pivetta and Suarez and Adam and Peralta and Soto and …
Well, I guess you get the picture. The Padres are one of the winningest teams in baseball the last few years because Preller makes a large number of great moves.
Padres have the 4th most wins since the beginning of the 2022 season.
I was wrong saying since beginning of 2022.
The Padres have the 4th most wins since trading for Soto in 2022. tied with the Yankees.
?Pero porque?
Pitching depth (they lost a lot in the Fermin trade).
This is a steal for SD.
Especially since the Brewers are paying his salary.
Of all the playoff bound teams the one with the most puzzling trade deadline moves has been the Brewers. But hard to argue with their success.
Highway robbery… for Lockridge!?!? Nestor paid down to minimum and an 18yo SS in Quintana whom AJ loves? I’d do this deal every day that ends in “y”!!!
A near free Nester and an 18 yr old SS that got a 1.7m bonus in 2024 and is off to a solid start for Brandon Lockridge?!?
Strange trade for MLW, no brainer for SD.
Maybe they really really needed a pinch runner (who has a tendancy to get picked off) and a late game defensive replacement in LF (but warn the CF that he ignores call-offs on interstitial fly balls)?
No problem with this deal, but I hope AJ checked in with Minnesota on Ryan Jeffers when they were burning down the house before going after Fermin. I think that deal was underwhelming for what they gave up. Still don’t understand Wagner deal. Only gave up a Rule 5 guy, but why him?
I think it’s obvious, the scouting department and AJ like what they see. If there’s one department I feel comfortably content with…
Wagner will be a replacement for Wade, possibly as soon as this year. I’m guessing Wade is the last DFA of the incoming position players.
Milwaukee turned Devin Williams into a AAAA OFer and still somehow has the best record in the majors
Brewers turned Devin into Durbin, their starting 3B who started the season rough but has been crushing it.
Ha, no, that’s fair, totally forgot Durbin was in that deal
To be very fair, he started the season out so poorly I’m not surprised anyone other than a Brewers fan would remember.
Caleb Durbin 2025: 2.1 WAR
Devin Williams 2025: -0.2 WAR
I mean, Caleb Durbin was kind of an important omission from this take.
Haha! What?!
Okay enough. The locker room attendants and the seamstress updating uniforms are threatening to quit! Hahahahaha
I’m buying stock in name tags as we speak!
Go Pads
The Padres gift store business has to be rivaling those legacy team stores, e.g. Yankees, Dodgers, …. just based upon shirt-volume-turnover.
I’m suiting up to play RF for the Tincaps tonite they need bodies.
Plenty of recent draftees to go around! Have fun Brew 🤣
Preller is well past the bottom of the 5th.
Oh good, Freddie can hit a grand slam off him in the NLDS this year
Does Preller make anyone dizzy
MORE!!!!!!!!!!!
Just don’t pitch him in relief against the Dodgers with the bases loaded in October and they should be fine
With Suarez, Miller, Adam, Morejon, Estrada, Peralta, and Matsui in the Padres pen I cannot see any reason to pitch any back of the rotation starters in October. Can you?
Alright already! We know who we got in return, but who is he and what can he do? What sort of potential??
Lockridge- AAAA OFer, but probably an immediate fill-in for Honey Nut Chourio? Slappy-type Punch-and-Judy speedster, decent glove, not gunna swipe many bags but good baserunner… not much room between the ceiling and the floor. Hope y’all like him!
Milwaukee front office has knack at getting the most out of this type of player. Isaac Collins comes to mind for example.
Thx Gwynning! Seems like the Crew has enough AAAA guys like this. Arraez would’ve been better! Not sure about these moves, not surprised they would want to get something for Cortes, but figured he’d have brought a little more back I guess…
Is the Padres GM ok coke?
Sears and Cortes are a step down from Bergert and Kolek. So BP got stronger, rotation weaker. OF and bench better. Not sure what they are doing with Wagner.
Wagner can have Wade’s role long-term (he’s not an FA until 2031). I don’t know if he replaces Wade today; he’s a much better bat and comparable defender, but not a burner. Cortes likely doesn’t pitch unless there’s an injury. I think Sears will surprise, but I’m high on him.
Cortes is due back next week. He’s already had 3 rehab starts and been lights out. He may have a short stint in long relief, but he’ll be in the rotation by the end of August.
Maybe so. I’m not sure who he replaces unless they wanna go with a 6-man.
I’d be surprised if they didn’t go to a 6 man with King and Cortes coming off injuries. Good way to keep innings down and ease them back into it. Especially with the pen they have.
Not really weaker when we will have
King
Pivetta
Cease
Darvish
Vasquez
To go with sears and Cortes. Will see who pitches best until king gets back. One will be optioned and the other will be sent to the pen or a 6 man rotation for a bit. Which is fine given easing on darvish and king.
Keeping Cease was vital
Tell me again how Mark A. said it’s not about the $$! lol
There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Not only is the Milwaukee front office arrogant, they’re also stubborn!
One more in a long line of typical Brewer acquisitions. Notice how most of the roster all look the same!
Another more than likely playoff appearance and early exit! This is getting real old. ONE and only WS appearance FORTY THREE years ago in 55 years!!! Main reason why I stopped buying a season ticket package awhile back.
As a Brewer fan, it sure would be great to say something nice and more about the team other than they’re better than average (for the time being) again this year.
“better than average (for the time being)”
My guy, they currently have the best record in baseball…
Hey, a standard 20 game losing streak could have them smack dab at .500. Im sure SharksFan knows what hes talking about, why else would he seem to be so animated?
lol.
Whoa, Quintana is a nice throw-in.
If Nestor gives up another walk-off grand slam to the Dodgers in the postseason, could Padres fans react worse than Yankees fans did last year, especially if it ends a series?
Why would Cortes be pitching in that situation at all, unless maybe it was the 1st or 2nd inning? He probably wouldn’t be pitching at all in the playoffs..
The Padres need about 3 good starters, and they’ll have about 5. Cortes may crack the rotation, based on injuries and the unexpected, but if he’s in the 1-3 playoff category, the Pads are in a whole lot of new trouble.
The Padres have 2 lights out closers, 3 other relievers who probably could be, plus a lot more in the bullpen. I’m not saying that Cortes isn’t good enough to be a TOR Padre pitcher, but after a season of injuries, he doesn’t have to be that guy in 2025. The only question I have as a Padre fan is, is he just a rental or will Padre be able to get something affordable done to keep him for next year. This year, he’s either a #5 pitcher and/or insurance.
Have you looked at the padres pen? No way Cortes is in that spot again.
Wow, Cortes, Jorge Quintana, and Cash for Lockridge. Nice.
What a day for Preller and the Padres. totally remaking every aspect of the team by adding RP Mason Miller, SP JP Sears, DH Ryan O’Hearn, OF Ramón Laureano, C Freddy Fermin, UT Will Wagner, and now another starting pitcher for the back of the rotation in Cortes. The Orioles paid all of the remaining salary owed to O’Hearn and Laureano in 2025 and the Brewers paid down Cortes’ salary too, so Padres only taking on prorated part of MLB minimum for those guys. The Padres payroll is at $267 million, well into the 2nd tier of the CBT after most were saying they would be cutting payroll at the deadline.
Rotation
Pivetta
King
Cease
Darvish
Cortes or Sears with the other going to long relief
Bullpen
Suarez
Miller
Morejon
Estrada
Adam
Matsui
Peralta
Either Sears or Cortes in long relief
C – Diaz and Fermin (Maldonado gets DFA?)
1B – Arraez
2B – Cronenworth
SS – Bogaerts
3B – Machado
LF – Laureano
CF – Merrill
RF – Tatis
DH – O’Hearn/Sheets
Bench – Wagner/Fermin/Sheets/(one of Iglesias/Wade/Brooks/Johnson)
That is as good and deep as any team in baseball.
Iglesias stays on the Active Roster, Wade and Johnson Optioned (with either a potential DFA off the 26 but *probably* retained in El Paso), Brooks DFA’d for sure with a probable Option as well.
Maldonado and Brooks have already been DFA’d.
Hmm, I can’t recall, the strengths of Sheets vs O’Hearn. Are they a natural platoon, i.e. L/R etc.?
No, both are LHHers… I could see O’Hearn a semi-platoon when Iglesias doesn’t start on the dirt that day. Pads are LHH heavy in the infield with Arraez, Cronie, Sheets and O’Hearn all “startable” between 3 spots (inc. DH)
Hmm, need a solution. I got it.
Arraez moves back to his natural position at 2B. O’Hearn takes 1B. Sheets to DH (LF relief).
Cronie? Well, heck, that’s obvious. The Pads can put him back into the bullpen, and eventually stretch him out to start next year, lol. 🙈🤣
Web- you left out Vasquez
He could go down to the minors at some point but that not a given. Sears has options left as well.
It was quite a day, and hard for me to keep track of things while driving to Oregon (wedding) but I have mixed reviews. The additions of O’Hearn and Laureano near end of deadline along with not trading Cease, Suarez and Cronenworth brightened my spirits, and completed the team.
But we sure gave up a lot. The Bogaerts/Kolek trade brought back memories of Austin Nola deal. And I can’t be convinced otherwise. Padres don’t hug prospects, unless it’s while saying goodbye.
Perhaps the most promising message from the day however was that ownership did not shackle AJ to the extent that core players had to be dealt in order to reduce payroll. We even added slightly to payroll I believe. This bodes well for the next few years and beyond.
True
I know you meant Bergert, but I lolled a little too hard at the Bogaerts typo!
Keep the Faith, gents. AJ has a promise to uphold to PS, and he is faithfully enacting the mission.
In the past 11 years, Padres have had 7 different OD catchers (2 of those years, Nola was displaced by Alfaro and Sanchez). I know the org is still smarting from losing Munoz (could you imagine THAT bullpen?), but Fermin is a far better defensive catcher than Nola ever was. I hate to lose Kolek, but this was the big trade I was happiest with.
Freedie will be waiting for him! Muahahaha
Its not Chad Durbin, its Caleb…