Brewers trade reliever Broxton to Cardinals

Broxton, in his 11th season, recorded a career-high 36 saves with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2009 and owns 118 saves in his career.

Broxton is a big man at 6’4, 305 pounds. However, Broxton has not displayed that dominance since those years. Broxton won’t capture the headlines that some other star players will, but when the Cardinals need a deeper bullpen at points down the stretch, it could be looked at as a move that changes the Cardinals’ season.

This trade could signal some concern about the health of right-hander Jordan Walden, who’s been making his way back from a bicep strain that he suffered in April.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Broxton will provide additional late-game support.

Billy Pierce, a seven-time All-Star pitcher who played in two World Series and retired after spending most of his 18 years in the majors with the Chicago White Sox, has died at the age of 88. He is 1-2 with a 5.89 ERA in 40 apperances with the Brewers this season.

The Brewers will receive outfielder Maik Collymore in return, but are also sending some cash to the Cardinals. Another thing to watch is how his remaining salary is handled. Despite the unsightly ERA, his average fastball velocity still sits over 94 miles per hour, as noted by MLBTradeRumors.

Earlier this week the Cardinals acquired another relief pitcher in Steve Cishek from the Miami Marlins. Collymore is a 20-year-old prospect now playing rookie-ball as an outfielder after beginning his time in the Cardinals’ system as a middle infielder. Broxton has 37 strikeouts in 36.2 innings pitched. Hitting. 328 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs in 100 games for the Brewers in 2015, Parra became a valuable trade piece for teams in the hunt for the playoffs, and reportedly had drawn plenty of interest from teams around the league.