Padres swing deal with Brewers for former Yankees starter

Matt Sullivan

•
Padres swing deal with Brewers for former Yankees starter image

The San Diego Padres have been busy at the trade deadline and are making another move, this time, acquiring a veteran pitcher to bolster the rotation.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Padres are trading with the Milwaukee Brewers for Nestor Cortes. The former New York Yankees starter has not found a solid role in the majors and is now heading to San Diego.

Cortes, this season, has a 9.00 ERA in two starts for the Brewers this season. In 2024, he was a much better player. He threw 174.1 innings with a 3.77 ERA and a 9-10 record. He struck out 162 batters, one shy of his career high from 2022 when he was an All-Star.

While he's struggled this season and is well known for allowing the walk-off home run to Freddie Freeman in the 2024 World Series, he's a solid depth piece for the Padres amid their plethora of moves this trade deadline.

MORE: Padres considering 'big' move at trade deadline, according to Jeff Passan

The 30-year-old right-hander is a free agent after this season in his eighth year in the Majors. He's currently on the injured list with an elbow issue, but has had some rehab starts, including a nine-strikeout performance in his latest outing.

As Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports, the Padres are sending Brandon Lockridge to the Brewers for Cortes. He's an unranked prospect for the Padres, but is another prospect on his way out of San Diego at the deadline.

Preller has been busy on deadline day, swinging a lot of deals involving the team's top prospects. While this Cortes deal isn't as dramatic as the Mason Miller trade, it's still one that could play a role for the team in the second half of the season.

MORE MLB NEWS:

Matt Sullivan

Matt Sullivan is a freelance writer for The Sporting News, predominantly covering MLB. Matt is a native of Pennsylvania and has worked with Athlon Sports, Last Word on Sports, and other outlets.