Richards, like Cimber, wasnt an apparent trade prospect. He d only simply joined the Brewers in mid-May, coming by from the Rays as part of the Willy Adames trade, and is controllable through the 2024 campaign. Far in 2021, the 28-year-old has tallied 31 2/3 innings of 3.69 ERA ball while striking out 31.7 percent of his challengers versus a 9.8 percent walk rate. He gives the Jays a pitcher with adequate experience as both in the bullpen and in the rotation, having actually begun 48 games between the Marlins and the Rays from 2018-19.
The 2020 season was a miserable one for Richards, who hopped to a 5.91 ERA for Tampa Bay while publishing career-worst strikeout and home-run rates. That can be found in a sample of simply 32 innings, nevertheless, and hes bounced back perfectly through the seasons very first 3 months. In general, Richards owns a 4.34 ERA, 23.1 percent strikeout rate and 9.5 percent walk rate in 325 1/3 innings at the MLB level.
Francis, 25, was Milwaukees seventh-round choice in 2017 and has actually published a strong season in between Double-A and Triple-A therefore far. Hes worked solely as a starter, tallying 59 2/3 innings with a 3.62 ERA, a 27.3 percent strikeout rate and a 7.1 percent walk rate.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that Tellez was headed to the Brewers in exchange for Richards (Twitter link). Sportsnets Shi Davidi tweeted that Francis was also going to the Jays in the offer.

Tellez, 26, brings another effective left-handed bat to a Brewers club that recently lost very first baseman Daniel Vogelbach to a hamstring injury. Hes shuffled between Triple-A and the big leagues with the Jays in recent seasons, at times appearing like a possible long-lasting response at first base/designated player for the Jays.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.s shift across the diamond from 3rd base to very first base cut into Tellezs opportunities, and the teams finalizing of George Springer developed a four-man carousel between the outfield and DH when everyone is at complete strength; Springer, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernandez and Randal Grichuk are all in line for routine at-bats when the lineup is healthy. That, paired with the fact that Tellez hit just.209/.272/.338 in 151 plate looks previously in the year when Springer was on the injured list, most likely prompted to the Jays desire to carry on from Tellez.
Those struggles regardless of, Tellez is an appealing bat on which to buy low for Milwaukee. He mashed at a. 283/.346/.540 clip with eight homers and 5 doubles in 127 plate looks with the Jays in 2020 and belted 21 home runs for them in 2019. Entering the season, Tellez brought.250/.309/.488 batting line with 33 homers, 33 doubles, a 6.9 percent walk rate and a 25.7 percent strikeout rate in 609 journeys to the plate.
Tellez struggled in his first direct exposure to Triple-A ball as a 22-year-old back in 2017, however his production at that level has actually progressively increased; hes striking.298/.400/.638 in 55 plate appearances there up until now in 2021 and batted.366/.450/.688 in 26 games (109 plate appearances) there back in 2019 also.
The hope for the Brewers is certainly that Tellez can provide an instant increase at a position that has actually been a point of disappointment so far in 2021. Keston Hiura battled with the transfer to first base and has actually two times been optioned to Triple-A Nashville, although to his credit, Hiura has actually been striking rather well given that his newest recall. Vogelbach was assisting to solidify the position with a strong revealing for the first few weeks of June, but the aforementioned hamstring injury came with a healing timetable of at least six weeks.
Once Vogelbach is healthy– but Hiura and Tellez seemingly form an interesting squadron, its not clear simply how the Brewers will divide the playing time up– especially. Tellez can likewise be freely optioned for the remainder of the existing season, so he might be an up-and-down piece in Milwaukee in the meantime, just as he was with the Jays. Looking longer term, hes under club control for three more years beyond the present campaign and will be eligible for arbitration for the very first time this winter season.
For heaven Jays, this marks the 2nd under-the-radar reducer theyve selected up in the previous week or two. Theyre not even a week eliminated from obtaining Adam Cimber and hurt outfielder Corey Dickerson (whose left-handed bat might possibly replace Tellez on the depth chart if he makes it back this season) in a trade that sent out Joe Panik and minors righty Andrew McInvale to the Marlins.

Those battles regardless of, Tellez is an appealing bat on which to buy low for Milwaukee. Entering the season, Tellez brought.250/.309/.488 batting line with 33 homers, 33 doubles, a 6.9 percent walk rate and a 25.7 percent strikeout rate in 609 trips to the plate.
The hope for the Brewers is definitely that Tellez can provide an instant boost at a position that has been a point of frustration so far in 2021. Its not clear just how the Brewers will divide the playing time up– particularly when Vogelbach is healthy– but Hiura and Tellez ostensibly form an interesting squadron. Tellez can also be freely optioned for the remainder of the present season, so he might be an up-and-down piece in Milwaukee for now, just as he was with the Jays.

The Brewers have actually been baseballs most active group on the trade front so far, and theyve now struck up another offer to generate some infield depth. Milwaukee is trading reliever Trevor Richards and minor league righty Bowden Francis to the Blue Jays in exchange for first baseman Rowdy Tellez, the 2 groups announced Tuesday.