The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired Ryan Cordell from the Texas Rangers as the player to be named later in the Jonathan Lucroy deal.
The Jonathan Lucroy trade received some closure yesterday. The Milwaukee Brewers announced that they acquired Ryan Cordell from the Texas Rangers as the player to be named later. As Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors reported, the final package heading north in exchange for both Jonathan Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress was Lewis Brinson, Luis Ortiz, and Cordell.
In Cordell, the Brewers will gain a solid prospect with decent upside. MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathon Mayo have rated him as the Texas Rangers’ 6th best prospect, although Baseball America was a little less optimistic in his skills during their midseason update, ranking him 9th. Still, he represents a quality prospect with the potential to make an impact at the major league level.
The 24-year-old has played fairly well this season on the Rangers’ Double-A affiliate, although he has exhibited greater success in the past. Through 107 games, the outfielder’s .264 batting average and .484 slugging percentage are clearly positives. Even better, he brings speed to complement his power, with several statistics rating his speed as a clear plus.
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The biggest knock on his abilities so far is his walk rate, which is okay but certainly could use improvement. If he can become a little more patient and develop a better eye at the plate, he could maximize his speed by gaining the extra base on a walk. Furthermore, he has shown elevated strikeout levels when facing tougher competition. Should these problems persist in Triple-A and the major leagues, he will be of no use to the Brewers.
Another interesting aspect of Cordell’s inclusion in the trade is that he has been injured for a little over a month. Adam McCalvy noted on Twitter that he has not played a game since the 2nd of August after sustaining a knee injury. While the Brewers are clearly not too concerned about any long-term impacts of this issue, it is still notable nonetheless.
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All in all, the trade continues to provide value to both teams. For the Brewers, they will walk away with three of the Rangers’ top ten prospects, per Baseball America’s midseason ranking. As for the Rangers, Jonathan Lucroy has been on a power streak since arriving. In just 26 games, he has slugged eight home runs along with an excellent on-base percentage. Jeremy Jeffress, on the other hand, has been a bit disappointing, but he should still be a useful piece down the stretch. That is, if he can get himself back on track and get over his issues with alcohol.