Milwaukee Brewers Acquire Andrew Chafin in Trade With Arizona Diamondbacks

The Brewers sent reliever Peter Strzelecki to the Diamondbacks in order to reel in Chafin, who has spent eight of his 10 major league seasons in Arizona.

The Arizona Diamondbacks traded left-hander Andrew Chafin to the Milwaukee Brewers just ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline, according to multiple reports. Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix's John Gambadoro reported that the Brewers would be sending right-hander Peter Strzelecki back to the Diamondbacks as part of the deal.

The 33-year-old Chafin is 2-3 with eight saves, a 4.19 ERA, a 1.427 WHIP and 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings through 43 appearances in 2023. Before he got lit up for five runs against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 24, though, Chafin had a 2.97 ERA and 1.260 WHIP with a .216 batting average against.

Chafin is a 10-year MLB veteran, having spent eight seasons with the Diamondbacks. 

In his first stint with the Diamondbacks from 2014 to 2020, Chafin put up a 3.68 ERA and 1.318 WHIP. He spent parts of the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers, posting a 2.30 ERA and 1.038 WHIP during his brief journeyman era.

Chafin returned to Arizona on a one-year, $5.5 million deal in February, although he has a $7.25 million team option for next season with a $750K buyout.

The Brewers are adding Chafin to a bullpen that ranks No. 15 in ERA and No. 10 in WHIP this year. Right-hander Devin Williams is coming off his second-straight All-Star appearance as the Brewers' primary closer, while right-hander Joel Payamps and left-hander Hoby Milner and sub-3.00 ERAs and right-hander Elvis Peguero and Bryse Wilson have sub-4.00 ERAs.

To bring Chafin into the mix, Milwaukee had to part ways with Strzelecki, who had emerged as a promising, controllable reliever over the past two seasons. The 28-year-old made his debut in 2022, and is 5-6 with a 3.69 ERA, a 1.203 WHIP and 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings over 66 career appearances.

Strzelecki is not scheduled to hit free agency until after the 2028 season, and he isn't even arbitration eligible until after the 2025 season.

Welcome to the #Dbacks, @_PistolPete11!

The #Dbacks acquired the right-handed reliever from the Brewers for Andrew Chafin. pic.twitter.com/rtMnGZHDeE

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 1, 2023

Milwaukee is in the midst of a playoff push, currently sitting 1.5 games behind the Cincinnati Reds for first place in the NL Central at 57-50. The Diamondbacks have an identical win-loss record, but are in third place in the NL West, tied for the third and final NL Wild Card spot with the Brewers and Miami Marlins.

This is the second significant trade the Brewers have made ahead of the trade deadline, which is set for 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday. On Monday, they traded for New York Mets outfielder Mark Canha.

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