The Mets and Brewers struck a deal on Saturday. Outfielder Keon Broxton is headed to New York while right-handed reliever Bobby Wahl, right-handed pitching prospect Adam Hill, and infield prospect Felix Valerio will head back to Milwaukee in return.
Broxton, 28, surfaced in just 51 major-league games during the 2018 and finished the year batting .179/.281/.410 with four home runs, five stolen bases (in six chances) and a .691 OPS through 89 PA. His lapsed skills at the plate may just be the direct result of decreased playing time — he hit 20 homers and 21 stolen bases with the Brewers in 2017, and surpassed the latter total at Triple-A Colorado Springs in 2018 — but it’s his superlative defense that makes him such a get for the Mets. He’ll get another chance to distinguish himself on both fronts as he backs up center fielder Juan Lagares in 2019.
The Brewers, meanwhile, will add righty Bobby Wahl to a bullpen that ranked fourth-best in the majors last season. The hard-throwing 26-year-old was included in a package deal for Jeurys Familia at the trade deadline and logged just 5 1/3 innings in the majors by the end of the year. In back-to-back campaigns for the Athletics’ and Mets’ Triple-A teams, he pitched to a combined 3.40 ERA, 3.8 BB/9, and 14.6 SO/9 across 45 frames.
Milwaukee also netted a pair of young prospects in the trade. Hill, 21, was taken in the fourth round of the 2018 draft and completed his first run-through with short-season Brooklyn, to the tune of a 2.35 ERA, 4.1 BB/9, and 15.3 SO/9 in 15 1/3 innings. Valerio, 18, batted .319/.409/.433 with three home runs, 16 stolen bases (in 22 chances), and an .843 OPS through 303 PA in the Dominican Summer League.
