Report: Padres Acquire Zach Davies in Multi-Player Trade with Brewers

The Padres have reportedly made their first move of a pressure-filled offseason, acquiring right-hander Zach Davies from the Brewers along with outfielder Trent Grisham. In exchange, Milwaukee will receive second-base prospect Luis Urias and lefty starter Eric Lauer, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi was first to report on the trade.

Davies has been one of the Brewers' most consistent pitchers since his rotation debut in 2016, posting a 3.55 ERA and a 10–7 record in 31 starts for Milwaukee in 2019 while totaling 102 strikeouts and an ERA+ of 125 in 159.2 innings. The Padres rotation is starved for consistent innings, and Davies hit 160 or better in each of his three full seasons while keeping his ERA under 4.00 in all of them.

In Grisham, San Diego addresses another key offseason need–outfield depth. Though Grisham only moonlighted in an August call-up last season, he slashed .231 with six home runs and 24 RBIs in 51 games to pair with a .328 OBP and a .738 OPS. He took a major leap hitting the ball last season and tore up AAA, tapping into considerable power at the minor league level.

But it's an upside-for-upside trade, as the Brewers acquire an extremely promising, albeit light-hitting, middle infield prospect in Urias. At just 20 years old, he hit just .223 in 152 games at second base last season with 15 home runs and 59 RBIs. Milwaukee may decide to play Urias at short while they wait for him to flash the hitting skill he showed in the minors (.315, 19 HRs, 50 RBIs in 73 games in AAA).

As for Lauer, the Brewers have obtained a lanky lefty and former 2016 first-rounder who struggled a bit in his second big league season in 2019. Still, he started 30 games (8–10) and posted a 4.45 ERA with 138 strikeouts, a 1.396 WHIP and an ERA+ of 95.