The Milwaukee Brewers didn't quite match the huge move made Thursday by the Cubs but they did add a left-hander to their pitching depth by acquiring Tyler Webb from the New York Yankees.
The Brewers sent Colorado Springs first baseman Garrett Cooper to New York in the deal. Cooper, 26, was having a big year for the Sky Sox but was blocked at first base at the big-league level by Eric Thames and Jesus Aguilar.
The Brewers will decide before resuming the second half Friday night whether to add Webb to their bullpen or assign him to Colorado Springs.
"We're working through our bullpen options," said general manager David Stearns, who has an open roster spot after putting starter Junior Guerra on the 10-day DL Sunday with a bruised shin.
"Some of it has to do with the open roster spot and how we want to balance position players with pitchers over the next week to 10 days, and some of it has to do with how we want to construct our bullpen from a left-right perspective in the coming series."
Stearns said the hope was that Guerra would be able to make the fifth start coming out of the break next week in Pittsburgh but there is a possibility he could be out longer.
Webb pitched twice against the Brewers last weekend in New York, so they must have liked what they saw. Webb, 26, pitched seven times for the Yankees this season, posting a 4.50 ERA over six innings.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Webb was a 10th round draft pick in 2013 out of South Carolina by the Yankees. In 150 minor league games, all but five in relief, he is 15-14 with a 3.45 ERA, 19 saves and 312 strikeouts.
Webb has spent most of this season at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, going 3-1 with a 3.24 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 331/3 innings. He was selected by Pittsburgh last December in the Rule 5 draft of unprotected minor leaguers but the Pirates sent him back to the Yankees at the end of spring training.
"He's a young left-handed reliever who has thrown strikes throughout his minor-league career. He has shown an ability to miss bats, both left-handed hitters and right-handed hitters. He has three options remaining, which gives us flexibility over the next couple of years, and we think he has the ability to help us in the near term as well.
"We've been looking, in general, to improve our depth and potentially upgrade our relief pitching as a whole. Those guys, we've used them a lot, asked a lot out of them. That group has stabilized nicely over the last three or four weeks but the ability to add a guy like Webb, who has options, increases our flexibility, and the numbers we have available."
Cooper, sent to the Yankees in the deal, was leading the Pacific Coast League with a .366 batting average and ranked second with 82 runs batted in and 1.080 OPS. He was a sixth-round draft pick out of Auburn in 2013.
"Garrett did a tremendous job this year evolving into prospect status," Stearns said. "Unfortunately for him, we have a situation here where first base is pretty well covered. Our corners, in general, are pretty well covered, so he wasn't able to get an opportunity at the major league level. He's going to an organization where he is likely to get a little more of an opportunity."
Earlier in the day, the Cubs gave warning that they are coming after the first-place Brewers by acquiring left-handed starter Jose Quintana from the White Sox for a package of prospects. One report indicated the Brewers also were interested in acquiring Quintana but Stearns would not confirm it.
"I'm not going to comment on any specific player, other than to say we do our work on every player who's potentially available who could be a fit," Stearns said. "I'm not going to get into the specifics of any trade discussion."
As for what the trade does for the Cubs, Stearns said, "It doesn't necessarily surprise me. We all figured the Cubs were going to be active. They were heavily rumored to be in the marketplace for a starting pitcher. Quintana is going to help them."
Asked if he felt obligated to make a reciprocal move to hold off the Cubs, Stearns said, "I think that can be a little bit dangerous. We have to make moves that make the most sense for our franchise, regardless of what a particular rival or another team in our division is doing.
"Obviously, the Cubs improved their starting pitching today. We're aware of that. Because of that, they will be a more formidable team going forward throughout the second half."
Stearns said he did not consider the Cubs' move a specific shot across the Brewers' bow.
"Not necessarily," he said. "The Cubs are doing what they think they need to do to improve their team. We're going to continue to look at the market and see if there is a fit for us down the road."
