MLB trade: Texas Rangers send Matt Bush to Milwaukee Brewers

In a surprising move Monday night, the Texas Rangers traded reliever Matt Bush to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Antoine Kelly and utility man Mark Mathias.

MLB trade deadline deal: Texas Rangers send Matt Bush to Milwaukee Brewers

While the move caught both Bush and many Texas Rangers fans off guard, the addition of yet another top prospect arm to the farm system was simply more than general manager Chris Young could pass up. There are a number of relievers at the Triple-A level who can pick-up the workload for the remainder of this season.

Matt Bush, the 2004 first overall pick of the San Diego Padres, has had quite a rough road to get to where he is now. Poor choices and a severe alcohol problem that led to him hitting motorcyclist Tony Tufano in 2012 looked to derail Bush’s dreams of making it to the show. Fortunately for Bush, the Rangers had already had success with Josh Hamilton, and were willing to send a scout to watch the one-time shortstop throw. What they saw, was a 5-foot-9 athlete with mid 90s velocity — all while wearing an ankle tracker.

Bush made his debut for the Rangers in 2016, had to navigate some injuries, but has been a solid pitcher when healthy for the club. The Brewers are getting a 36-year-old pitcher with a big arm and battle scars from life that should serve them well in their push to the playoffs.

For the Rangers, this move fits right into the path that the organization has been heading since the arrival of Chris Young as GM. The team has gone from one that had very few pitching prospects to one that has amassed one of the top farm systems in all of baseball.

Antoine Kelly is a 22-year-old, 6-foot-5 southpaw that has a plus fastball and slider and is working on his changeup and breaking ball. The development of those pitches will more than likely determine if Kelly ends up as a middle of the rotation guy or a reliever. He was selected in the second round of the 2019 draft and has put up solid numbers this year in High-A. According to Jon Daniels, Kelly will head straight to Double-A Frisco.

Mark Mathias is a 28-year-old utility man and has put up some solid numbers in Nashville, the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate this year. Hitting right-handed, his slash line for 2022 is .318/.421/.518 with a 152 wRC+. Mathias can play all over the field and will more than likely have an opportunity to seize a utility role in Arlington.

It is always hard to see long-time players being traded, but Bush is heading to the first-place Brewers, so it will be fun to watch him make a potential playoff run this year. Mathias is a solid player that may be able to contribute, but the addition of yet another strong pitching prospect should be extremely exciting for Rangers fans. With the number of arms that the club is compiling, there will be some that rise to the big-league rotation in the near future, and others that will allow for trades for proven MLB players.

The first move at the trade deadline for the Rangers appears to be a win for the organization.