Brewers reportedly interested in Yankees’ Joey Gallo

The slugger is a change-of-scenery candidate after struggling in New York.

The Brewers have been linked to another trade candidate with the August 2 deadline just a couple of days away.

Bob Nightengale reported this morning that Milwaukee is interested in Joey Gallo. Jon Heyman corroborated this report by stating that the Brewers and Yankees have discussed Gallo.

Gallo is known for his extreme three-true outcomes approach. For his career, 37.1% of his plate appearances have ended in a strikeout, 15% in a walk, and 6.4% in home runs. Gallo owns just a lifetime .201 batting average, but the walks and home runs have helped him post a solid 111 OPS+. He has also provided value in the field, grading as a plus outfielder.

Things have gone downhill since a midseason trade to the Yankees last year. Gallo was authoring perhaps the best year of his career at the time of the trade, slashing a strong .223/.379/.490 (138 OPS+) in 95 games with the Rangers. Since then, he has hit just .159/.291/.368 in New York, including a disastrous .159/.282/.339 line this year.

After acquiring outfielder Andrew Benintendi, the assumption across the league has been that the Yankees will move Gallo.

While the past year has demonstrated how low his floor is, Gallo is perhaps the most intriguing bat on the trade block because he still has plenty of upside as a change of scenery candidate. If he can get hot down the stretch for a new team, he could be one of this year’s better deadline acquisitions.

This makes him an especially interesting option for the Brewers, who have fielded average or decent hitters at almost every position this year. Players like Ramon Laureano and Michael A. Taylor have been cited as realistic trade targets, but neither represents much of an upgrade from their existing options. If Gallo could get close to his form from the first half of last season, he would arguably be Milwaukee’s best offensive player.