The Milwaukee Brewers acquired All-Star catcher William Contreras from the Atlanta Braves as part of a three-team trade with the Oakland Athletics.
The Brewers also acquired right-handed pitcher Joel Payamps from Oakland and right-handed pitcher Justin Yeager from Atlanta in the deal. As part of the deal, Milwaukee sent outfielder Esteury Ruiz to Oakland.
Brewers Senior Vice President and General Manager Matt Arnold said "we are excited to welcome one of the top young catchers in baseball to the Brewers. William adds a power bat to our lineup, was an All-Star last season, and we believe he will only improve going forward. We are also excited to add Joel to our bullpen and a young quality arm in Justin to our farm system."
Contreras started the All-Star Game for the National League last season as the designated hitter. He turns 25 on December 24th and batted .278 with 20 HR and 45 RBI in 97 games last season.
Contreras is the younger brother of St. Louis Cardinals catcher Wilson Contreras.
Payamps (acquired from Oakland) owns a career 3.35 ERA in 82 appearances.
Yeager (acquired from Atlanta) was selected by the Braves in the 33rd round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Southern Illinois University. He is 10-5 with a 3.21 ERA and 16 saves in 94 games, all in relief, during his Minor League career (2019-22).
Listen to Arnold discuss the trade below.
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