In a period of just 45 minutes, the Milwaukee Brewers turned from a playoff hopeful into an instant World Series contender.
General Manager David Stearns pulled the trigger on two of the boldest moves in the history of the Brewers in the early evening hours of January 25, 2018.
At about 5:40 p.m. that night, he dealt outfielder Lewis Brinson, infielder Isan Diaz, outfielder Monte Harrison and pitcher Jordan Yamamoto to the Miami Marlins for All-Star outfielder Christian Yelich.
At about 6:25 p.m., Stearns inked a deal with free agent outfielder Lorenzo Cain.
On that day, the Brewers gave up four players who have combined for a .186 average, 16 home runs and 80 RBI at the plate and a 4-5 record with a 4.46 ERA on the mound in the last two seasons, and the Marlins have won a combined 120 games in two seasons.
Meanwhile, Yelich and Cain have done…um…a bit better. OK, a LOT better.
As in combined stats including:
– .305 average
– 101 home runs
– 293 RBI
– 1 Gold Glove (Cain, 2019)
– 3 All-Star Team selections
– 3 combined top 10’s MVP voting
– 1 MVP (Yelich, 2018)
As in the Brewers winning 185 games, making the playoffs twice (tying a franchise record) and coming within five victories of their first World Series championship in 2018.
Not bad for 45 minutes of work.