SF Giants ship high-leverage reliever to the Brewers in quirky move

Hopefully, you saved the receipt for that Trevor Rosenthal jersey. On Tuesday, the SF Giants shipped the hard-throwing reliever to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for outfield prospect Tristan Peters.

SF Giants ship high-leverage reliever to the Brewers in quirky move

The Giants just signed Rosenthal to a one-year, $4.5 million contract a couple of weeks ago. He was dealing with a hamstring strain, so the Giants knew that it would be a couple of weeks before he was ready.

However, his Giants tenure ends without ever throwing a pitch for the organization. Rosenthal will join a Brewers team that is sitting in first place in the AL Central with a 57-46 record. After trading Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres on Monday, the Brewers will need another reliable reliever.

The 32-year-old reliever has been that throughout his eight-year career as he has posted a 3.36 ERA, 2.75 FIP, 1.32 WHIP, 12.1 K/9, and a 2.77 SO/W ratio with 132 career saves. He has battled some major injuries in recent years including Tommy John surgery and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery. He has not pitched in a major league game since 2020, so there is an element of mystery surrounding the bullpen arm.

The Giants received an outfield prospect in Tristan Peters. What an interesting day for the 22-year-old outfield prospect. The Brewers had promoted him to Double-A, then he was traded to the Giants a couple of hours later. It is a lateral move for Peters as he will remain in Double-A with San Francisco.

The left-handed bat is having a fine season in his first full season as a pro. Peters was slashing .306/.386/.485 (140 wRC+) with seven home runs, 51 RBI, and 61 runs in 383 plate appearances in Single-A before the promotion. This includes an 11.7 percent walk rate against a 15.9 percent strikeout rate.

Reaching Double-A one year after being drafted is an impressive accomplishment. Baseball America (subscription required) ranked Peters as the No. 26 prospect in the Brewers farm system prior to the trade and believes he has some good tools:

"...he does have good strike-zone judgment and a knack for putting the barrel to the ball. He might not ever have enough impact to become a regular in left field, but at least in High-A he is showing the bat control to continue to earn a shot to prove himself at the upper levels"

Similar to many players that the Giants target, Peters has a patient approach and makes good swing decisions. He has some pro experience in center field, but he has been limited to the corner outfield positions in 2022. That is likely his defensive role going forward.

In a quirky way, the Giants add a quality prospect by trading a reliever who never threw a pitch for the organization. There are plenty of valid criticisms regarding the front office, but they are a creative bunch.