Jacob Misiorowski rallies Brewers past Cubs in Game 1 of series
Jacob Misiorowski pushed through a rough first inning but rallied the Brewers in an eventually win over the Cubs at American Family Field in Milwaukee on July 28, 2025.
As part of their trade deadline dealings, the Milwaukee Brewers solved their logjam of big-league arms by sending Nestor Cortes along with minor-league infielder Jorge Quintana to the San Diego Padres for 28-year-old outfielder Brandon Lockridge.
With a rotation of Freddy Peralta, Jacob Misiorowski, Quinn Priester, Brandon Woodruff and José Quintana, there was no spot for Cortes, whose minor-league rehab assignment was set to expire August 1.
Lockridge is a speedy outfielder who has appeared in 59 games for the Padres but slashed just .210/.258/.261.
He was on the Padres’ Class AAA roster at the time of the trade and appeared to likely be optioned to Class AAA Nashville, but a pending stint on the injured list for Jackson Chourio leaves Lockridge bound for Washington with the Brewers.
Lockridge, who tied for third in all of Class AAA with 46 stolen bases in 2024 and has accounted four outs above average in 59 major-league games, fits the mold of a standard speed-and-defense Brewers outfielder, though his bat still needs development.
Cortes ultimately made only two starts for the Brewers after being acquired for all-star closer Devin Williams, the first of which was his disastrous outing in the second game of the season at Yankee Stadium in which he allowed homers to the first three New York Yankees batters he faced in his return against his former club.
His second was a six-inning shutout performance against the Cincinnati Reds, after which it was revealed he was still pitching with inflammation in his elbow.
Quintana, 18, was the recipient of the highest bonus in the Brewers’ 2023 international signing class that included Jesús Made and Luis Peña.
Ranked as the Brewers’ No. 31 prospect by the Journal Sentinel in the mid-season update, the infielder hit .264 with a .752 OPS and three home runs in 50 games in the Arizona Complex League this year. He is a solid left-side infielder who has flashed some impressive bat speed and power, though he still has plenty of development left.
Lockridge and catcher Danny Jansen, acquired from the Rays on July 28, were the only position players added by the Brewers at the deadline.
“We had that on our radar, but it was something that just didn’t come together,” general manager Matt Arnold said. “It’s something that we were looking at and, again, anytime you take on a bat on its own, there’s a lot of components to the game, and it’s not just the bat.
“Our team embodies a lot of that and I think that adding someone like Lockridge definitely fits that mold. A premium athlete, a guy that fits us really well athletically and will fit in very well on a Pat Murphy style of team. Certainly there were options we were looking at that were bat-first.
“Obviously, it takes two to tango on those types of deals and we weren’t able to come up with anything with that type of profile. But we’re certainly excited to have somebody like Brandon Lockridge here.”
Do the Brewers, who rank ninth in the majors in runs scored but only 21st in slugging percentage, have enough power post-deadline to win in October?
Time will tell, but Arnold believes so.
“I do. I think we win games in a lot of different ways,” he said. “That’s certainly part of it. We have the ability to do that and we have the ability to do a lot of other things as well. I think we have a really dynamic group. These guys are a really strong-knit culture down there.
“That’s super important, and adding somebody like Danny Jansen adds to the culture and adds to the power component we have. We feel good about the well-balanced offense we have.”
This story was updated to add a gallery.