Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies Swing a Trade Involving Minor League Prospects

The Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers swung a trade involving a trio of prospects on Tuesday.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers swung a trade involving a trio of prospects on Tuesday.

Per Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

On a crazy news day for the Brewers, they also pull off a trade, receiving Class AA infielder Oliver Dunn from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for minor-leaguers Robert Moore and Hendry Mendez. 

Dunn joins the 40-man roster, moving the Brewers to 37 there.

On a crazy news day for the Brewers, they also pull off a trade, receiving Class AA infielder Oliver Dunn from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for minor-leaguers Robert Moore and Hendry Mendez.

Dunn joins the 40-man roster, moving the Brewers to 37 there.

— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) November 14, 2023

The issue at hand was that Dunn was going to be Rule 5 draft eligible. The Phillies evidently weren't ready to bring him to the 40-man roster, so they traded him.

Moore and Mendez were not going to be Rule 5 draft eligible, so the Phillies were able to bring them in without issue.

As for Dunn, he immediately gives the Brewers' infield depth. He is now the No. 23 prospect in the organization.

Per a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

Though Dunn is old for a prospect at age 26, he excites his new organization as a potential infielder whose whole profile can be greater than the sum of his parts. While his 27.5 percent K rate was on the high side in 2023, he doesn’t swing-and-miss as much as that would indicate, and he makes solid impact with a good ability to find the barrel. Similarly, it can be easy to discount Reading power numbers, but Dunn’s home (10 homers, .545 SLG) and road splits (11, .466) weren’t abnormally off either.

Dunn can showcase above-average-to-plus speed and was at his most aggressive on the basepaths in the AFL, where he went 12-for-12 in steal attempts in 19 games. His lack of arm strength has long made his best fit at second base, but both the Phils and Yanks gave him looks at third and left field too. Given his age and recent upswing, Dunn could be a left-handed bench option for the Brewers as early as next spring.

Dunn hit .271 at Double-A this season and posted an impressive .396 on-base percentage.

The Brewers won the National League Central in 2023 and will have a new manager in 2024, as they also hired bench coach Pat Murphy on Tuesday.

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