Brewers Lose 8-Year MLB Veteran to Diamondbacks in Free Agency

The end of the second Luis Urías era...

Arizona Diamondbacks spring training cap at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick near Scottsdale on Feb. 20, 2024. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Milwaukee Brewers fans are quite familiar with the name Luis Urías, but some might not have been aware he'd come back to their favorite team.

Urías played 330 games for the Brewers from 2020 through 2023, racking up a more-than-respectable 6.3 bWAR. He was traded to the Boston Red Sox in the summer of 2023, then moved on to the Seattle Mariners in 2024 and the Athletics last year.

After the A's cut him loose last summer, Urías wound up signing back with the Brewers on a minor-league contract. But what could have become a fun reunion story instead passed by without an appearance in a big-league game.

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Urías moves on to Diamondbacks after missing WBC

Mar 4, 2026; Glendale, AZ, USA; Team Mexico infielder Luis Urias against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

On Monday, Urías signed a minor-league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, per the Reno Aces' official X account. The Aces are the Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliate in the Pacific Coast League.

Urías was supposed to participate in the World Baseball Classic for Team Mexico, which would have been the third time he'd been on the roster. Unfortunately, he was taken off the roster due to injury in between the team's final exhibition game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 4 and their tournament opener on March 6 due to injury.

With the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate in Nashville, Urías posted a .731 OPS in 13 games last season. He never saw a spot on the major league roster open up in front of him, as the Brewers stayed committed to Caleb Durbin at third base, Joey Ortiz at shortstop, and Brice Turang at second base down the stretch.

Of course, Durbin wound up getting traded in February, but Urías was a free agent by then and even if he'd been brought back, he wouldn't have been on the 40-man roster, and wouldn't have likely been in serious consideration for the opening day roster.

Instead, he now gets a clean break, and the Brewers have to hope the infielders they've replaced him with over the last three years can avoid a similar drop-off to the one he once experienced.