MLB Insider Names Brewers' Single Biggest Trade Priority Ahead of Deadline

After beginning the 2022 MLB season 32-19, the Milwaukee Brewers have cooled off. The Brewers have gone 15-16 since the beginning of June and while they still lead the NL Central by three games, it's clear that the club could benefit from exploring the trade market ahead of August's deadline.

ESPN's David Schoenfield has the Brewers adding a low-cost starting pitcher as their top priority ahead as the deadline approaches. More specifically, the MLB insider has Milwaukee targeting Detroit Tigers righty Michael Pineda.

Brewers Trade Rumors

The Brewers' starting rotation has been a bit of a mess this season between injuries to key starters like Freddy Peralta while others have been inconsistent at best. Acquiring a proven veteran like Pineda could help smooth things out, especially as starters return from the injured list.

The 33-year-old hurler has played well during his first season in the Motor City. While a 1-3 record paces him for his first sub-.500 performance since 2016, he's still pitched to a 3.62 ERA while racking up a 1.134 WHIP over six starts.

Pineda won't dominate games with strikeouts (only 15 Ks over 27.1 innings), but he's still a useful depth piece. It's proven every year that pitching depth is needed for a World Series run and Pineda is the type of back-end arm that can eat five to six innings when needed, especially if injuries strike again.

Another positive in a potential Pineda deal is that he's a free agent at the end of the season, meaning Milwaukee likely won't have to lose a top prospect. That's great news considering that the Brewers prospect cupboard is a bit bare, ranking as the No. 25 farm system on MLB.com before the 2022 season began.

Brewers World Series Odds

Improving the starting rotation depth by adding Pineda could improve the Brewers' already-solid 2022 World Series odds. Milwaukee is listed at +1800 (No. 8) to win the championship this fall, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.