Brewers Almost Traded For Legendary Cy Young Winner, Recounts Ex-Milwaukee Exec

This would have been an all-time wild move

July 7, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Milwaukee Brewers hat and glove in dugout during a game against the Houston Astros in the third inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers' history is filled with memorable trade deadline moments.

Who could forget the move that brought C.C. Sabathia to Milwaukee for a legendary half-season in 2008? Or on the flip side, the deadline deal that shipped closer Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres despite the Brewers being in first place at the time?

However, a whopper that nearly occurred at some point in the late 2000s or early 2010s might have topped them both.

ESPN's Jesse Rogers published a piece Monday chronicling Major League Baseball executives' most memorable trade deadline moments, and there was a noteworthy anecdote from a former Brewers assistant who now holds a general manager position.

In the piece, San Francisco Giants GM Zack Minasian, who spent 14 years in the Brewers organization (2004-2018), recalled that at some point, the Brewers nearly pulled off a deal with the Seattle Mariners to acquire ex-Cy Young winner and six-time All-Star staring pitcher Felix Hernandez.

"Jack (Zduriencik) and Doug (Melvin) were talking about a trade that would have sent Felix Hernandez to Milwaukee," Minasian recalled. "At one point, we thought Jack had agreed to it but he needed to make one other move before we could finalize it.

"It didn't happen, but for an hour we thought we were getting Felix Hernandez. We were nervous, anxious, excited and just waiting."

Zduriencik held his role in Milwaukee from 2008 to 2015; Melvin held the Brewers' GM title from 2002 to 2015. Hernandez pitched in Seattle from 2005 to 2019.

Baseball history is littered with what-ifs, which makes the fan experience all the more fascinating. What if the Brewers had indeed landed Hernandez? Would he be gunning for a Hall of Fame placque in a Milwaukee hat instead of Seattle?

And while Milwaukee has had plenty of good starting pitchers throughout its history, a prime Hernandez might have taken the cake.

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