How Caleb Durbin Trade Keeps Looking Better and Better for Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers swung two different major trades ahead of the 2026 Major League Baseball season. The biggest — and most unsurprising — deal involved sending Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets.

Peralta was a year away from free agency. Over the last few years, Milwaukee has shown over and over that it's not afraid to trade a star a year early, rather than losing them in free agency for nothing. The deal that did come as a surprise was when the Brewers traded Caleb Durbin to the Boston Red Sox. Unlike Peralta, Durbin had years of team control left. He was a fan favorite in 2025, but the Brewers traded him, along with Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Seigler and a Competitive Balance Round B Draft pick, in exchange for Kyle Harrison, David Hamilton and Shane Drohan.

The deal has been a win-win for both sides and continues to get even better for Milwaukee. The Brewers are four wins away from winning their first World Series title in franchise history. These three guys have had fingerprints all over the place on the success of the 2026 team. In the playoffs, it has been Hamilton who has made the biggest difference.

David Hamilton Has Been Great In The Playoffs

Oct 15, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Milwaukee Brewers third baseman David Hamilton (6) celebrates after a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning in game four of the NLCS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Hamilton has played in four playoff games and is slashing .455/.500/.727 with a 1.227 OPS, one home run, two RBIs, three stolen bases and five runs scored. Hamilton specifically had a big impact on the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In Game 2, he went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two stolen bases in the 7-4 win. In Game 4, Hamilton went 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs and a stolen base in the 6-4 win. Hamilton has made a massive impact on this playoff run and there's still time for him to add to his heroics.

Harrison hasn't pitched in the playoffs yet, but he was the Brewers' No. 2 starter for the vast majority of the 2026 season, before he started to struggle down the stretch. At the end of the day, Milwaukee wouldn't have been where it was at the end of the regular season if Harrison wasn't helping to carry the rotation all season.

Drohan is another guy who played a big role in the regular season. The rookie appeared in 33 games, including 19 starts, and logged a 4.19 ERA in 124 2/3 innings pitched. Drohan has pitched in one game in the playoffs so far and allowed one run in one inning in Game 4.

The Peralta deal may have gotten the most buzz at the time, but it was the Durbin deal that has had the biggest impact on this World Series run.

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