Nestor Cortes Jr. Reportedly Traded to Padres from Brewers After Miller, O'Hearn Deals

The San Diego Padres acquired left-handed starting pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr. from the Milwaukee Brewers right before Thursday's 6 p.m. ET deadline, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

San Diego has been very busy before the trade deadline, previously adding closer Mason Miller and starting pitcher JP Sears from the Athletics as well as outfielder Ramon Laureano and first baseman Ryan O'Hearn from the Baltimore Orioles. In addition, the Padres added catcher Freddy Fermin from the Kansas City Royals and infielder Will Weaver from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres acquired Cortés for outfielder Brandon Lockridge, who is currently in the minors hitting .291 (.877 OPS) for Triple-A El Paso. The 28-year-old has played 59 big league games over the 2024 and 2025 seasons, hitting .210 with a homer and six RBI in 107 plate appearances. Lockridge has also stolen 10 bases.

Milwaukee is also adding minor league shortstop Jorge Quintana. The 18-year-old just hit .264 (.752) with three homers, 23 RBI and 19 stolen bases over 50 games for the Brewers in the Arizona Complex League (rookie ball).

Cortés has been on the 60-day injured list since April 21 due to a left elbow flexor strain. However, he's on his way back to the bigs after making four rehab starts. The 30-year-old southpaw has fared quite well, allowing just two earned runs in 18.0 innings while striking out 18 and walking only three.

He also threw 93 pitches in his most recent rehab start on July 24 for Triple-A Nashville, going 5.2 innings in the process. Cortés notably struck out nine in that game while allowing just one earned run.

He's due $2.4 million for the remainder of the 2025 season, per Acee.

The left-hander's season got off to a disastrous start after he allowed five home runs over two innings en route to giving up eight earned runs in a 20-9 road loss to his former team, the New York Yankees.

However, he bounced back in his next start, allowing just one hit and no runs while striking out six in six innings, picking up the win in a 1-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Prior to joining Milwaukee, Cortés pitched seven big league seasons, including five for the Yanks (2019, 2021-2024). He enjoyed much success in his second Yankee stint, going 28-19 with a 3.33 ERA (1.08 WHIP) and a 9.1 K/9 rate. Cortés made the American League All-Star team in 2022 and finished eighth in the Cy Young race.