Yhonathan Barrios to Brewers: Trade Details, Scouting Report, Reaction

Beginning the process of acquiring future assets to make something of a lost season, the Milwaukee Brewers shipped Aramis Ramirez to the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-handed prospect Yhonathan Barrios on Thursday. 

Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports first reported that Ramirez was going to Pittsburgh. The Brewers' official Twitter later confirmed that Barrios was returning to Milwaukee in the deal. 

The Brewers have been a mess all season, though a hot streak late in the first half has pushed their record up to 42-53 entering play on Thursday. The only gratification is that Cincinnati is playing so badly there's a battle for last place in the National League Central. 

Even though Barrios isn't going to transform Milwaukee's farm system, he does make for an intriguing addition to what is an otherwise volatile group of players.

That doesn't mean Brewers general manager Doug Melvin didn't have a plan, as he told Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel it was all about finding the best player in return for Ramirez. 

"We just tried to make the best deal we could. We talked to a few other clubs. There weren't many clubs that had a big need for third basemen. You just try to get the best deal you can with the dollars and everything. Pittsburgh had a little more of a need than other teams," Melvin said.

Before the season started, Baseball Prospectus had the Brewers' system ranked 26th overall because of a lack of impact talent in the upper levels:

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Shortstop Orlando Arcia and outfield Tyrone Taylor represent the system’s best chance to find impact big-league talent, and if the club is to rise in the organizational rankings, lower-level talent will need to step forward to fortify the upper reaches of the Brewers prospect list. The only member of the current top-10 who could impact the major-league club in 2015 is Corey Knebel, acquired in the Yovani Gallardo trade, and even that’s assuming his elbow is healthy.

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Barrios doesn't address that problem. He's a 23-year-old who had a 4.60 ERA with 17 walks and 21 strikeouts in 13 games at Triple-A before the deal. 

While those numbers paint an alarming picture, Barrios does have some things working in his favor that teams will always take a chance on. 

Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs ranked Barrios as the Pirates' No. 30 prospect coming into 2015 and highlighted some of the reasons for optimism with the young right-hander:

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The 5’11/180 Dominican reliever converted to the mound late in 2013 and played at both A-Ball levels in 2014. His delivery is low effort for a reliever, he sits 94-98 and hits 100 mph with above average life and also mixes in a solid average changeup and a fringy slider. His command isn’t that bad, given the conversion and arm speed, and he’s still learning to pitch, so there’s more upside here.

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Barrios spent his first four professional seasons as a position player before converting to the mound. Given how short his development time as a pitcher has been relative to his overall minor league experience, the Brewers may see something to work with. 

Baseball America's J.J. Cooper called Barrios a "big lottery ticket" after the deal was announced:

Given how much pitching the Pirates have at the big league level and throughout the minors, Barrios wasn't the kind of arm they needed to keep around. He throws really hard without any sense of how to control his stuff yet. 

The Brewers are the perfect franchise to work with Barrios as he learns to hone this new craft. Their current staff ranks 24th in ERA, though the bullpen is ninth with a 3.22 mark. Yet a team in rebuilding mode should be working with a low-cost relief corps. 

Milwaukee's front office and ownership spent a franchise-record $102.3 million on this year's roster. That's not a good return on investment, nor does it make sense to be paying Francisco Rodriguez $3.5 million to close games for a last-place team. 

Barrios may not be ready to help the big league club right away, but his combination of stuff and potential puts him in a good spot to help the Brewers soon. The small moves lead to bigger ones, so this deal is a smart way for Milwaukee to start over.