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Brewers kick off deadline moves by sending Yoho, Perkins to Cleveland
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- Brewers kick off deadline moves by sending Yoho, Perkins to Cleveland
The Milwaukee Brewers kicked off their trade-deadline weekend moves early Aug. 1 by working out a deal with the Cleveland Guardians .
The Brewers will acquire catcher Bo Naylor and reliever Codi Heuer for reliever Craig Yoho and outfielder Blake Perkins . The deal became official early Aug. 1.
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Naylor and Heuer were both in Class AAA for Cleveland at the time of the deal and will start in Class AAA Nashville for Milwaukee. Naylor, 26, has been in the majors for parts of five seasons and is a career .199 hitter with a .651 OPS. Heuer, 29, has made eight appearances for Cleveland with a 4.66 ERA this year.
In 15 games and 20 innings this year, Yoho has a 2.15 ERA and 18 strikeouts to eight walks.
Perkins, a beloved clubhouse presence, has struggled to find playing time while battling through a tough year on offense, batting .157 with a .508 OPS in 55 games.
"It was very emotional," manager Pat Murphy said of bidding Perkins farewell. "I was happy for him that hopefully he gets a better shot than he got here this year. You think 2024 and 2025, he was a huge part of that, and what he endured last year and all that he went through during the season.
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"I just love Perk, and I'll never lose touch with him. It was a hard night because of that. We lost two major-league players."
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Craig Yoho (48) pitches during the ninth inning of the game against the Colorado Rockies at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 24, 2026.
Yoho, a high-upside reliever who was the organization's minor-league pitcher of the year in 2024, represents the key piece that the Brewers are surrendering.
On the surface, it may seem surprising to deal a high-performing and still somewhat raw and young arm, but the move has a little more nuance than that.
Yoho never seemed to find consistent footing in his usage, role or development at the MLB level with the Brewers, and comments from Murphy hinted at such. His pitch movement is significant, including his signature changeup, but the Brewers are not always big fans of pitch shapes that involve that volume of movement.
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Yoho's struggles throwing strikes during his brief stints in the majors last year as a rookie kept him from getting more than eight appearances after debuting in April.
This season, while Yoho performed well overall, his ability to attack the zone was an ongoing issue. It was a challenge issued to him in spring training, leading to a friendly coffee wager related to strikes thrown during camp, and also a message relayed strongly by Murphy the two times he was optioned.
Naylor, 26, a former top prospect in his own right, has struggled with the bat, including a .143 average that got him optioned this year, but he has graded out as a solid pitch framer for most of his career and is worth 4.4 WAR across 346 games.
"I talked to Stephen Vogt today," said Murphy. "Great conversation. He loves the kid."
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Heuer, 30, gets great extension down the mound and features a four-seam, slider and changeup arsenal.
Both incoming players will be under team control beyond the 2026 season.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers kick off deadline moves by sending Yoho, Perkins to Cleveland
