The Brewers have acquired infielder Oliver Dunn from the Phillies, per an announcement from the latter club. Dunn has been added to Milwaukee’s 40-man roster, per Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, bringing their count to 37. In exchange, the Phillies receive outfielder Hendry Mendez and infielder Robert Moore. Notably, Dunn was set to be Rule 5 eligible but the other two players were not. Today is the deadline for selecting players to prevent them from being eligible in the Rule 5 draft.
Dunn, 26, was an 11th-round selection of the Yankees in 2019 but went to the Phillies last year. He was the very last pick in the minor league phase of last year’s Rule 5 draft, with the Phils making three more selections after every other team gave up.
He then played 119 Double-A games in the Phillies’ organization in 2023, hitting 21 home runs and stealing 16 bases. He struck out in 27.5% of his plate appearances but also walked 16.2% of the time. His .271/.396/.506 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 148 while playing second base, third base and left field. He then went to the Arizona Fall League and hit .343/.455/.616 in 88 plate appearances there.
Dunn would have been Rule 5 eligible again next month but it seems the Phils didn’t have a spot for him, or perhaps were debating the decision until they were able to work out this deal, nabbing a couple of guys who won’t be Rule 5 eligible until 2025.
Mendez, 20, was an international signing out of the Dominican Republic, getting a bonus of $800K from the Brewers in 2021. Prior to this deal, he was considered the #25 prospect in the Brewers’ system by Baseball America, who note that he has strong approach at the plate but a concerning lack of power. He has nine home runs so far in his 856 minor league plate appearances, including three this past season.
Moore, 22 in March, was just selected 72nd overall in the 2022 draft. The son of executive Dayton Moore, he got into 123 High-A games in 2023 and hit .233/.321/.361 for a wRC+ of 94. He played second base, third base and shortstop. BA has him ranked #20 in the system.
For the Brewers, they’re giving up a couple of long-term prospects coming off underwhelming seasons in order to add a guy who can bolster their infield depth immediately. They are set to have Willy Adames at shortstop, though his name has come up in trade rumors. They also have Andruw Monasterio, Brice Turang, Rowdy Tellez, Abraham Toro, Owen Miller, Jahmai Jones and Vinny Capra as options on the 40-man to cover the infield spots, with Dunn now added into that mix.
