Padres Trade Colten Brewer To Red Sox For Esteban Quiroz

The Padres had 40-man roster spots to clear and a need for players who can get on base. On Tuesday afternoon, they swung a trade that accomplished both goals.

The Padres traded righthanded reliever Colten Brewer to the Red Sox for 26-year-old second baseman Esteban Quiroz roughly six hours before the 40-man roster deadline. Brewer vacates one roster spot the Padres needed to clear while giving the Red Sox, who had six available spots on their 40-man roster, a reliever with big league experience.

RED SOX ACQUIRE

Colten Brewer, RHP
Age: 25

Originally a fourth-round pick of the Pirates in 2011, Brewer signed with the Padres last offseason and pitched well at Triple-A El Paso before making his big league debut, posting a 5.59 ERA in 11 appearances with the Padres. Brewer has swing-and-miss stuff but lacks control. His 92-94 mph cutter and low-80s, power curveball are both swing-and-miss pitches when he spots them, but he often leaves them over the plate to get hit. If the Red Sox can improve his control, he has a chance to settle into a bullpen spot.

2018 MLB Trade Central

MLB trade tracker for the 2018 offseason.

PADRES ACQUIRE:

Esteban Quiroz, 2B
Age: 26

Quiroz is a 5-foot-7 veteran of the Mexican League who the Red Sox signed last November. Though short, the stocky lefthanded hitter packs serious thump for a little guy. He swings hard, squares up fastballs and consistently sends long flies to the right-center field gap. He hit a double and two home runs in three games for Mexico at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, hit five doubles and seven home runs in 24 games at Double-A Portland in 2018 and just had three doubles and two home runs in 14 games for Mesa in the Arizona Fall League, putting together an overall .267/.452/.511 slash line.

Quiroz manages the strike zone expertly, recording nearly as many walks as strikeouts at almost every level. While his big swing doesn’t yield high averages, he gets on base and makes impact contact from the left side—two traits the Padres need. Quiroz projects to share time with fellow Mexican and 2017 WBC teammate Luis Urias at second base, and he has some previous experience playing shortstop as well.