Headlines

  • Astros To Promote Brice Matthews
  • Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers
  • Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help
  • Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays
  • Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu
  • Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Alberto Ciprian

Brewers Acquire Eduardo Escobar

By Anthony Franco | July 28, 2021 at 6:04pm CDT

After picking up shortstop Willy Adames and first baseman Rowdy Tellez in earlier trades, the Brewers have made another addition to the infield. Milwaukee announced the acquisition of All-Star Eduardo Escobar from the Diamondbacks this evening. Catcher Cooper Hummel and infielder Alberto Ciprian are going to the D-Backs in return.

Escobar has been one of the game’s most obvious trade candidates for months now. The 32-year-old was an impending free agent on the league’s worst team, making him a virtual lock to be moved so long as he performed reasonably well. Escobar has done so, hitting .246/.300/.478 with 22 home runs over an even 400 plate appearances this season. Escobar is making $7.5MM in the final year of his deal, with around $2.8MM still to be paid out. The Brewers are reportedly picking up the entirety of that remaining salary.

The switch-hitting Escobar was a productive player throughout the majority of his time in the desert. He’s been an above-average bat in three of the past four years, doing a surprising amount of damage at the dish. In addition to his strong power numbers this season, he popped 35 home runs and slugged .511 back in 2019. Escobar doesn’t draw many walks, leading to generally low on-base percentages, but he’s also fairly tough to strike out — particularly for a player with a power-focused profile.

While Escobar saw some time at shortstop earlier in his career, he’s mostly been limited to third and second base since he’s entered his 30’s. Advanced defensive metrics have generally pegged him around average at both positions, so he gives the Brew Crew some cover at a couple spots on the infield. He has never played first base in the majors, although it doesn’t seem unreasonable to think he could also handle that position given his other experience around the diamond.

Kolten Wong figures to handle most of the workload at second base. He’s had a few stints on the injured list this year, though, so it’s certainly reasonable for the front office to look to build depth at the position. Luis Urías has played fairly well at third base, but Escobar could also work in there and at first. There’s not necessarily a clear need on the Milwaukee infield, but there’s enough broad opportunity around Adames that manager Craig Counsell should have no trouble finding at-bats for Escobar.

In addition to salary relief, the D-Backs add a pair of young players to the organization, one of whom could be a big league option this season. Hummel has spent the entire campaign with Triple-A Nashville, hitting .254/.435/.508 with six home runs and a massive 24.4% walk rate against a solid 15.5% strikeout percentage.

A former 18th-round pick, Hummel has mashed throughout his entire minor league tenure. Nevertheless, the 26-year-old was left unprotected for and went unselected in last winter’s Rule 5 draft. That seems largely due to trepidation about his receiving ability behind the plate. Hummel has seen a good bit of time at first base and in the corner outfield throughout his professional career, and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN suggests he’s unlikely to be a viable regular defensive catcher unless MLB adopts an automatic strike zone (thereby negating the value of a catcher’s pitch framing ability).

Even if Hummel isn’t a future regular catcher, he seems likely to get a shot as an offense-first utility option before long. He’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft again this winter if not selected to the 40-man roster. He doesn’t have much more to prove against minor league pitching, so the D-Backs front office seems likely to give him a look soon enough.

While Hummel could be at Chase Field in 2021, Ciprian’s years away from the big leagues. The 18-year-old has made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League this season. Ciprian signed with Milwaukee during the 2019-20 international signing period for $500K. Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote at the time that above-average raw power was the right-handed hitting third baseman’s most impressive tool.

Robert Murray of FanSided was first to report the Diamondbacks and Brewers had agreed upon a trade. Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported Escobar was involved. Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reported the D-Backs were receiving two players. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported Hummel’s inclusion, while Zach Buchanan of the Athletic was first to report Ciprian’s involvement. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported the Brewers were assuming all of Escobar’s remaining salary.

Share 0 Retweet 8 Send via email0

Arizona Diamondbacks Milwaukee Brewers Newsstand Transactions Alberto Ciprian Cooper Hummel Eduardo Escobar

171 comments
Show all
    Top Stories

    Astros To Promote Brice Matthews

    Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

    Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help

    Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays

    Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu

    Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Yordan Alvarez Shut Down Due To Setback With Hand Injury

    Recent

    Poll: Which Teams Should Make The Biggest Push For Jarren Duran?

    MLB Finalizes Home Run Derby Field

    Astros To Promote Brice Matthews

    Giants Outright Sergio Alcántara

    Joe Coleman Passes Away

    Dodgers Outright CJ Alexander

    Trade Deadline Outlook: New York Yankees

    Clarke Schmidt To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Atlanta Braves

    Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version