Milwaukee Brewers general manager Matt Arnold’s first big trade was parting ways with Hunter Renfroe.
In return, the Brewers received three pitchers. This trade has caused much controversy among Brewer fans. Arnold went on the record saying that this was not a payroll dump but a baseball move.
A day later, Renfroe gave his thoughts on the trade. He cited money as the reason behind him being traded to the Angels.
Hunter Renfroe was not surprised about being traded by the Brewers.
“I could see the writing on the wall as far as how much money the Brewers were going to have to put into arbitration guys. Being a middle-market team, knowing they have a place they like to be money-wise.”
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) November 23, 2022
Just spoke to Hunter Renfroe, who indicated he had a sneaking suspicion he’d be moving on from Milwaukee.
“Unfortunately, we were kind of expecting it. The nature of the beast is you get too expensive type deal for a team like Milwaukee.”
— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) November 23, 2022
MLB trade rumors have Renfroe projected to make $11.2M in 2023. This was the highest salary projection of all of Brewer position players. Of the arbitration class, just Corbin Burnes came in higher at $11.4M. Brandon Woodruff was third at $11M.
2023 is also Renfroe’s last year of club control. He has now played on five different teams over the past five seasons. That is unusual for a player in arbitration, but nonetheless, Arnold and the Brewers elected to get a return package for him rather than have him play one final year in Milwaukee.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!