Before the Los Angeles Dodgers landed Tarik Skubal, the Milwaukee Brewers made a strong push to land him.
The Brewers have a loaded farm system and should have been able to put together a very strong offer. According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, they did have a strong offer, but refused to include some players.
"The Brewers immediately told Detroit they wouldn't include 19-year-old shortstop Jesús Made, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, but Milwaukee's minor league depth ran far deeper," wrote Passan on Friday. "Going into deadline season, ESPN prospect analyst Kiley McDaniel's top 100 list featured seven Brewers. Two AL executives said their internal lists included seven, too. Accordingly, the Brewers' list of untouchables went beyond Made. They wouldn't move shortstop Cooper Pratt or outfielder Luis Lara, both of whom signed long-term contracts before their major league debuts. Right-hander Logan Henderson, with five more years of club control, was off-limits as well."
It's no surprise the Brewers did not want to include Made. He is the top prospect in baseball, and the Dodgers did not include their top prospect, so it should not have been a deal breaker. Pratt and Lara also should not have been deal breakers. Lara is the No. 3 prospect in the organization and he and Pratt have already signed extensions.
Henderson, however, is an interesting case. He is not a prospect, but has just 15 big league starts under his belt. He is a part of the Brewers' current rotation, and has over five years of control. A cost-effective starter is very valuable, especially to a team like Milwaukee. However, the chance to pair Skubal with Jacob Misiorowski and chase a World Series may outweigh that value.
Henderson has a 2.70 ERA in 10 starts this year, and a 2.39 career ERA. Skubal has a 2.81 ERA in 17 starts this year, and has two Cy Young Awards to his name. However, he would not be a Brewer next year, and may have wound up in Los Angeles anyway. Henderson has the fourth-best strikeout rate in baseball among starters with a minimum of 50 innings pitched.
Henderson has the makings of a star, and keeping him in Milwaukee was the right move. If the Brewers don't win the World Series, it won't be because they didn't have enough starting pitching. Believe it or now, Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison and Henderson are about as good as any three pitchers the Dodgers may throw out in a postseason series. The name values are not the same as Blake Snell, Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Tyler Glasnow, but the stuff is undeniable.
The Brewers pivoted to get Dustin May, who had a quality start in his Brewers debut. Getting May in the Brewers pitching lab could set him up to be their No. 4 starter in October.