2:17pm: The teams have announced the deal.
2:02pm: The Brewers have reached a deal to acquire right-hander Jordan Lyles from the division-rival Pirates, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Milwaukee will send Double-A right-hander Cody Ponce to Pittsburgh in return, tweets Robert Murray of The Athletic.
It’s the second straight season that Brewers general manager David Stearns has acquired Lyles, as the Brewers also picked him up in an August waiver deal a season ago. He tossed 16 1/3 innings of 3.31 ERA ball out of the Milwaukee ’pen down the stretch last season before hitting free agency and inking a one-year, $2.05MM deal with the Pirates as a free agent. He’s still owed about $705K of that sum between now and season’s end.
That contract looked like a steal for the first couple months of the season, as Lyles pitched to a 3.09 ERA with a 61-to-19 K/BB ratio in 57 innings through the end of May. He missed time with a hamstring injury last month and has struggled mightily with control issues dating back to early June, however. In 27 innings across his past seven outings, Lyles has been torched for 30 earned runs on 46 hits (including 11 home runs) and 14 walks. He’s still whiffed 34 hitters in that time, maintaining his career-best strikeout tendencies, but the Brewers will obviously be looking for a way to bring back the April/May Lyles rather than the June/July iteration that has manifested.
Clearly, the Brewers aren’t putting much stock in Lyles’ earned run average — few, if any, front offices do at this point — and are instead betting on the career-best strikeout rates and Lyles’ increased reliance on his curveball. It’s a relatively low-profile pickup but one that’ll give Milwaukee a much-needed arm to help stabilize an increasingly worrisome rotation. Brandon Woodruff will be out until September with an oblique strain, and Jhoulys Chacin just hit the injured list within the past few days due to a lat strain. Jimmy Nelson is also on the shelf due to an elbow issue.
Ponce, 25, was the Brewers’ second-round pick back in 2015 but isn’t regarded among the organization’s top tier of prospects. He is, however, in the midst of a strong season in Biloxi, having pitched to a 3.29 ERA with a 44-to-12 K/BB ratio and a 56.5 percent ground-ball rate in 38 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. The 6’6″ inch, 240-pound Ponce ranked as the Brewers’ No. 27 prospect on the offseason, per Baseball America, and BA pegged him 25th among Brewers farmhands on their recent midseason update of their farm system.
what a move. maybe get a new baseball for him? not even a whole bag.
That makes no sense at all and has never been funny.
Oh, that is funny
“i hATE it when people make jokes grrrrrrrrrr stop. having. fun!”
i’ll never understand why people feel the need to denounce a joke because they did not personally find it amusing
Did YOU find it amusing. THAT is tragic.
Not everyone is as easily entertained by low brow, repetitive comments, like you Beg.
You have a blessed day.
Bengamin, maybe because it’s overused and only funny to people with juvenile senses of humor. It gets really annoying seeing the same dumb post on every trade write up.
+sigmanj
+clepto
Never said i thought the comment was personally amusing. Nice assumptions, you pretentious wads.
+myaccount
I mean, the message of the comment was clearly that he doesnt think Jordan Lyles is good. He was just expressing his thoughts on the matter and he did so through the medium of a common joke. Just because you dont find it funny doesnt mean it should cease to exist.
This “community” is full of debbie downers.
He has a 5.39 ERA? Are you kidding? I can think of other righthanders that would be better.
Chances are they will put him back in the bullpen, where he excelled for them last year.
You may be right, especially if Houser gets moved back into the rotation. Otherwise this is just a Band-aid kind of move, low risk and cost but probably little reward. Hope I’m wrong.
He was having a great first half so…
The Pirates have certainly been a major disappointment for their fans.
No one talks or cares about Pirates in Pittsburgh.
Everyone loved them for 2 years during the Cutch era, then MGMT decided it wasn’t worth it.
Time to pretend
Congratulations on that comment. These Kids won’t get it.
The Handshake always consummates the trade
It’s just a case of Flash Delirium
I got an Electric Feel-ing about this trade
I think the Pirates
are feeling rough and wrong.
@ Freddy H Yes people do talk about the Pirates and care about them Idiot talking heads in Pittsburgh are worse that some of the commenters here and say things just to say things with no knowledge of what they say. 4 of the 5 SP who were in the opening rotation.for the Pirates missed starts due to injury.. Brault settled in and was doing a good job once he was stretched back out to start then he got hurt. Dickerson and Polanco playing with injuries. Has been a tough year. We do still talk baseball here in the Burgh.
Thank you. It’s getting pld how some think that their opinion is or should be universal. I’ve been following them since the Lumber and Lightning days. Sure….not crazy about the ownership or the front office….who is?
For their fans, yes.
I’ve never seen the “fans” happier, though.
Oh no. Cubs and Cards are shaking in their boots about this “big” acquisition…
Yeah derek holland was a game changer for the cubs. Clearly made them ws favorites w that move.
Holland DOMINATES lefties, so he’s a specialist. Lyles cant even do that!
Dominates LOL
No, “DOMINATES”
Hey he did get Yelich to fly out before his teammates blew the game.
Yeah how weird that lyles, a righty, cant dominate lefties.
But his .234/.294/.454 against righties is just fine to use him in relief against righties.
This just in. Cubs overpay for a pitcher that underperforms in the twilight of his career
They have a #3 pitcher now. Instead of four #4d and a dx 5.
Yeah clearly Holland isn’t their only deadline deal, thanks tho.
Banesays, ya, because that Martin Maldanano trade REALLY scared the Brewers and Cardinals….
Here we go…
Yeah, because a depth option at catcher is suppose to scare teams. Oh no!
I never liked the Maldonado trade I hated it from the second it was announced. I don’t need worthless brrewes castaway players on my team. Cubs were better off with signing a kid out of high school than to trade for a worthless Maldonado that’s worse than geovany soto on defense. That’s says alot because for 10+ years Soto was one of the worst catchers of all time. When you allow benji Molina to steal 2nd. you have got to go
And if you’re not down wit dat we got two words for ya
Back to where he came from
Didn’t they get him at last years deadline too?
No. The Pirates signed him on December 17, 2018.
Yeah he was a free agent from the brewers
But…the Brewers acquired him from the Padres in a waiver deal last August. After the season, he went to Pittsburgh as a free agent signing.
So then the answer to his question is yes, they did acquire him at last year’s deadline too. Doesn’t matter if he came from the Padres or if he went to Pittsburgh as a free agent, the answer to his question is yes.
Yeah I’m prety sure on that one
Boom goes the dynamite
Dray you the man
not a bad return for a pitcher with an era over 5.00
ERA around 5. he will fit right in.
5th place organization with no desire to win made the first move. And that is only the beginning.
Wtf! Ponce is going to be a good major leaguer! Lyles sucks!
You’re really going to be attached to a middle of the road AA reliever?
sarcasm?
If these are the joke acquisitions that we are going to make, might as well go ahead and trade Moose and Grandal. This does absolutely nothing to bolster the pitching. Congrats we have Chacin 2.0 now while Chacin 1.0 is on the IL.
CrewBrew this is a move to bring in a decent arm to help us bridge the gap around these injuries. Lyles isn’t great but he’s capable of having a good start and that’s what we need. I suspect Stearns has other moves in the works
Its just frustrating if this is all thats done. Hope you are right though.
Lets wait to cast judgement util 4:00 on Wednesday.
Not possible. All morons are compelled to comment before reading entire story, waiting for eventual update, and/or pausing to think.
You know who else has just as good of a shot at plugging a hole in the rotation?
Ponce and Diplan.
I guess they figured if Lyles got bombed again tonight, they wouldn’t be able to move him at all.
Who is starting now?
I’m surprised they managed to move him anyways, and get something more than cash considerations.
McRae is starting in his place, buckle your seatbelts.
Not good, but then…can’t be worse than Lyles.
Mitch Keller had better be in that spot 5 days from now, though.
I hope you’re right. He last pitched on 7/27.
My apologies to Jordan Lyles. Evidently, it can be.
You didn’t knock on wood, did you? And they brought Montana to take the empty roster spot. Brutal.
Probably a very good point.
as a former pirates fan I’m shocked they traded Lyles. He is only owed 700,000 and he fits their save money over improve the team strategy.
His contract is up at the end of the season….
As a brewer fan, we aren’t even close to being contenders this year. I wish the brewers would move some of their players that are free agents in the offseason for some minor league help. My thought is trade for players that will be helpful when Yelich wil be nearing free agency…. not that he won’t be traded in the final year of his contract anyway.
We are 1 game out of first place. That makes us contender. There have been very few seasons in our history where we have a shot at the playoffs so we have to go for it when we can.
The reality is that the Brewers pitching isn’t good enough to contend for a world series. The bullpen isn’t what it was last year. The starters are way worse than last year as well. I would rather try actually contending for a world series than hovering around .500 hoping to sneak into the playoffs just to get routed.
You might be right. But if u get into the playoffs, there’s no guarantee they’d be routed. We were competitive in our series we played with the dodgers and the braves this season. Surly we’d be underdogs but it’s possible for a team to get hot for a couple weeks and make a run
i know what you meant, but you cant say they are not even close to contending when they are only 1 game out of 1st a couple days away from august. it just doesnt make sense
Literally every team in that division sucks. Brewers are contenders
Good move Pittsburgh. Ponce is an ML-Ready reliever who fits into their hopes of contention in 2020.
So, the Brewers’ system is so deep that an MLB ready reliever doesn’t make their top 36 prospects on Fangraphs, nor any of the honorable mentions?
Lyles isn’t very good. He’s a 4.81 FIP guy who will probably slot as a long reliever in Milwaukee eventually. He’s the type of guy who we would have seen traded in August prior to the rule change. The fact that Pitt got a guy who actually looks likely to see the majors is a win for them. They signed Lyles cheap over the offseason with that in mind.
You don’t have to tell me that Lyles isn’t very good. Two innings into most of his past few starts, I’ve wondered whether MLB has a forfeit rule.
Never heard of Ponce and him being unranked gives off a “warm body” vibe to the trade, especially since Lyles has no value.
Here is to hoping he was someone that was just kind of forgotten about by the Brewers and he was struggling because of it. Maybe a change of scenery will set a fire and Ponce pitches out of his mind………Always hope until reality sets in…….
you mean he fits their “find the cheapest possible player” strategy. there is never any hope to contend
ML-ready reliever? It’s only his second season in AA and until half way through last year he was a starter. He’s not even close to ready.
Pirates sold way to low. Gotta get at least 1 ranked prospect
I’m even a brewers fan and I hope this is sarcasm. Lyles has been trash this year. The brewers are probably hoping he can be a cheap arm to fill innings in the pen like he was last year for us. I would still like to assume we get a legit SP as well
When did you jump on when yelich won the MVP in the last 6 weeks of 2018
*Brewers re-acquire Jordan Lyles
Nickel and dime Stearns at it again!
Yeah you’re dumb.
Not a bad return for a rental with an ERA above 5.
Instead of making this move… why not just call Ponce up to the ML? Honestly he’s probably just as effective (if not more so) than Lyles. I mean Ponce has decent numbers in AA right now and he’s 25 so it’s not like you’d be ruining some top prospect by bringing him up ‘too early’ — idk seems like a strange move to pick up a guy who’s really kind of sucked this season for anyone/thing let alone a P who honestly might already be as good if not better than Lyles to begin with…
I think it was more about stability for them. Lyles may not be great, but he’s established and was better last year in a long relief role. They’re getting him banking on the fact that they can use him in long relief resulting in a return to form from 18,
They are in too crowded of a race to just bank on a kid with no experience beyond Double-A, Pittsburgh can assign him to AAA Indy and use him next year.
Should’ve kept Ponce and given Derby a chance. Wouldnt have been any different and plus you keep Ponce. I know the Brewers have a lot of players they will need to protect from the rule 5 draft and he was one .
First acquisition for the Brewers.
Ponce was Brewers #33 ranked prospect!
LOL, what a useless and stiupid pick up. That’s going to change Milwaukee fortunes!
what a stupid and useless comment. That’ll change FO decisions.
Another hostile poster. Yawn. Grow up and accept other people’s comments. And get out of your mom’s basement.
Ill take your commentary serious when you actually matter.
Wow I know this is a little off topic but the vitriol in the comments is getting crazy, on every article, every joke, comments about ownership, fans, the teams is at like an 11 outta 10. Everybody chill out abit, Not every move is earth shattering, not every fanbase and team is a joke. It is like everyone is trying to drop the mic.
In other words : Can’t we all just get along?
Maybe we need to post a picture of a Dachshund…you know, we should get a long little doggy.
Was Ponce on the 40 man? If not, what is the corresponding move for the 40 and the 25?
The move for the 40 was designating Marcos Diplan, but as for the 25 we’ll probably have to wait until tomorrow as I believe the Brewers are off today.
Bob Nutting just saved the $700,000 remaining on Lyles’ contract this season. WINNING!
Wow! So now we see Brewer deadline strategy: give up prospect to acquire the worst pitcher on the division’s worst team.
What could St. Louis & Chi possibly do to counter this bold strategy?
you must have missed the cubs derek holland pickup. they already beat the brewers to the punch on that strategy
Holland wasn’t a bad pickup. He’s a loogy. And he’s funny and I miss him on the south side
Holland has the 2nd best OPS against lefties in the MLB. That was the reason he was acquired. It was a good acquisition as that is exactly what they needed.
Theo
Trade for a 3rd string catcher?
good trade for the pirates, Since going to the pen has really improved. an older minor league player that might get a spring invite.
Wasn’t there a player a while back who the same team signed two years in a row and also flipped him to the same other team at the deadline in both years? This isn’t exactly the same as that but close.
Jed Lowrie. Houston and Oakland
Kelly Johnson used to go between the Braves and Mets every year.
People are forgetting how good Lyles was for the first half of the year, he started struggling when he got hurt. He was throwing ace numbers before the old hammy gave out. If he comes back to full health, this is going to be a great move for the Brewers.
With that said, I hope he stays hurt and sucks it up the rest of the year. Lol
Milwaukee’s farm system has been raided the last two years. That’s what happens when you make acquisitions as a contending club. They don’t have a great deal to offer in terms of prospects.
I don’t suspect Hiura is going anywhere so what can they do? Anyone that believes they can get an established game changer without including him or eating a huge salary is fooling themselves. Let’s face it, this is the kind of move they are looking at this year.
The GM said it a few weeks ago, improvement must come from within.
Maybe the White Sox can add him next year and trade him to Milwaukee for a third straight year.
Who would have ever thought there would be over 100 comments on a freakin Lyles for Ponce trade????
It never understood the Lyles signing to begin with. Only conclusion I came up with, was hopes of “lighting in the bottle”. The Pirates used that mentality when they were “rebuilding”. I still don’t agree with the signing after trading Nova. I put that signing as one of the worst signings/trades over the last 4 years. It goes Along side the trades of Cole and Archer. Pirates should just tear down everything and rebuild.
Vazquez, Marte, Dickerson, and Frazier would get the Pirates some prospects for 2020 and beyond. Melky May get you a prospect as well. Marte and Dickerson are gold glove winners and should get a decent return. Vazquez is a Top 10 RP in the game and should get a decent return. As for Frazier, he can be a utility guy on a contender. He can play OF, 2nd base, 3rd base, and SS. He might get the Pirates a decent prospect. But with this ownership and front office, they will find away to blow these trades and leave the Pirates with scrubs.
I’m all for trading Frazier out of the NL Central. He tears up Milwaukee pitching, even more than others this year.
One of the worst signings on the last 4 years? Really? It was a one year deal for like 2 million. He was only brought in to be a stopgap until Keller was ready. Unfortunately Keller hasn’t panned out yet. Lyle’s was one of the best pitchers in baseball the first month or so of the season. Don’t get me wrong,I think they should have gone out and signed someone better but we all know that’ll never happen. It’s the Pirates!