The trade that brought William Contreras, MVP candidate, to Milwaukee
Brewers’ William Contreras is an MVP candidate, and the trade to acquire remains a shocker. Todd Rosiak and JR Radcliffe discuss it on Microbrew.
Speedy outfielder Esteury Ruiz, the prospect the Oakland Athletics acquired in the deal that sent William Contreras to Milwaukee, has been designated for assignment and could be done with the Athletics.
Ruiz, 26, will be exposed to waivers, and each of the 29 other clubs have a chance to add him to their 40-man roster. It’s more likely Ruiz will clear waivers, and the Athletics could keep Ruiz and outright him to the minors.
Ruiz, acquired by the Brewers from the San Diego Padres in the trade that sent Josh Hader to San Diego in 2022, was flipped to the A’s that offseason.
The three-team deal with the Atlanta Braves involved catcher Sean Murphy moving from Oakland to Atlanta and Contreras, who was with Atlanta, landing in Milwaukee along with former Oakland reliever Joel Payamps. Ruiz, who briefly played with Milwaukee in 2022, was the only player Milwaukee surrendered in the exchange.
Contreras became arguably the best catcher in baseball, now with two Silver Sluggers as a member of the Brewers. He took fifth in the National League MVP voting in 2024.
Murphy, seen as the best player in the trade, made the all-star team in 2023 but has battled injuries in Atlanta. Ruiz, meanwhile, has struggled, and the trade will be remembered as one of the great heists in Brewers franchise history.
Payamps, who had a 2.78 ERA over 137 appearances with Milwaukee over the past two seasons, would have alone been a great return in the deal for Ruiz.
Ruiz hit just .121 in spring training this season and fell well back of breakout players Lawrence Butler and JJ Bleday in the Athletics’ outfield pecking order.
Ruiz stole 67 bases in 2023, setting an American League rookie record that had stood since 1992, but he only had a .654 OPS and struggled on defense that season. In 2024, he played in only 29 games (with 65 plate appearances) and was limited to five stolen bases.
The Ruiz move enabled the Athletics to sign a former Brewers relief pitcher, Angel Perdomo, who appeared in 22 games for Milwaukee in 2020 and 2021. He hasn’t pitched in the Major Leagues since 30 games with Pittsburgh in 2023.
