BIG TRANSACTION ON 4-1-21: BREWERS TRADE VOGELBACH AND GARCIA TO ANGELS FOR OHTANI, BRAUN RETURNS

[clancyphile]

News breaking on a trade... the Brewers and Angels are making a major deal.

 

The Angels will get outfielder Avisail Garcia and first baseman Daniel Vogelbach, sending the Brewers RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani.

 

Filling the spot on the 26-man roster opened by the two-for-one trade... Ryan Braun is re-signing with the Brewers.

 

How will this change things? Ohtani will get a lot of playing time at first, as opposed to holding down a rotation spot, and Keston Hiura will spend a lot more time at second base, with Kolton Wong moving to play shortstop. Lorenzo Cain becomes the primary right fielder.

 

The Brewers did say Ohtani being the primary first baseman will mean he doesn't start, but promise he will be used on the mound in "high leverage" situations. One insider says, "we'd have won game four of the 2018 NLCS with Ohtani on the roster."

 

Plans for Braun include using him at third base against tough lefties, given his career .989 OPS against them, compared to Shaw's .683. He will also spell Ohtani, Yelich, and Lorenzo Cain at times, and be a bat off the bench.

 

Word has is Ohtani and the Brewers are close to agreeing on a major contract extension, and that one is in the works for Hirua as well.

 

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You folks know what today is... although I think a lot of us wouldn't mind if this were for real...

[MrTPlush]

Should have just made the April Fools joke "MLB adds DH for 2021"

 

That would have got some people good.

[Roderick]

Yeah, this one was too unrealistic. I didn't remember it was april fools day, but the lead made me remember it right away

[AKCheesehead]

I took a look just to see if there was any mention of Braun at 3b. Not leaving disappointed.

[FVBrewerFan]

Dissapointed Cooper Hummel wasn't called up to start in the place of Garcia.