Rockies Trade Nick Mears to Brewers for Two Pitching Prospects

Nick Mears celebrating an out
Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

Rockies Trade Nick Mears to Brewers for Prospects

The Colorado Rockies have traded reliever Nick Mears to the Milwaukee Brewers, the team announced Saturday afternoon. In exchange, the Brewers sent them right-handers Bradley Blalock, 23, and Yujanyer Herrera, 20.

Additionally, the Rockies have made three other moves. They have recalled right-handed reliever Jake Bird from the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, selected the contract of right-hander John Curtiss from the Isotopes, and designated left-hander Ty Blach for assignment.

Rockies Get Bradley Blalock, Yujanyer Herrera

Bradley Blalock has appeared in one major league game, that coming when he pitched one scoreless relief inning for the Brewers on June 20. With the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers in 2024, he has tossed 75 innings across 16 starts. He is 5–2 with a 4.08 ERA, 64 strikeouts, 27 walks, and a 1.280 WHIP. In addition, he has a 2.8 HR%, a 20.2 K%, an 8.5 BB%, and an 11.7 K–BB%. Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt told Thomas Harding of MLB.com that he’ll start in Double-A but is close to pitching in Triple-A.

Yujanyer Herrera will join the High-A Spokane Indians of the Northwest League, according to Schmidt via Harding. Herrera has split his 2024 time with the Single-A Carolina Mudcats and the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, making four relief appearances with the Mudcats before his promotion. With the Timber Rattlers, he has tossed 51 innings across nine starts and three relief appearances. He has gone 6–1 with a 3.18 ERA, 50 strikeouts, 17 walks, and a 1.294 WHIP. Additionally, he has a 0.5 HR% (one homer out of 219 batters faced), a 22.8 K%, a 7.8 BB%, and a 15.0 K–BB%.

Brewers Get Nick Mears

Multiple teams asked the Rockies about Nick Mears, manager Bud Black told reporters Saturday afternoon. They liked his fastball as well as his improving curveball and slider. He pitched 41 games for the Rockies in 2024, all in relief. He has gone 1–4 with a 5.56 ERA, 57 strikeouts, 21 walks, and a 1.500 WHIP in 45 1/3 innings across 41 appearances.

In addition, he has a 1.0 HR%, a 28.1 K%, a 10.3 BB%, and a 17.7 K–BB%. Opponents failed to score an earned run against him in 70.7% of his appearances, slightly lower than the NL average. One strength for Mears is his ability to strand inherited runners. During 2024 in the NL, 35% of all inherited runners have gone on to score. Against Mears, that clip is 18%.

Mears goes from the NL West basement to one of the top contenders in the National League. The Rockies are 38–66, 23.5 games behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. Conversely, the Brewers sit atop the NL Central at 59–44, six games ahead of the second-place St. Louis Cardinals and five games behind the NL-leading Philadelphia Phillies.

 

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Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief

Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief

Evan is the owner and sole contributor of Thompson Talks, a website discussing the Big Four North American Pro Sports as well as soccer. He also is a credentialed member of the Colorado Rockies press corps. His first and biggest love is baseball.

Evan lives in Gilbert, Arizona and loves history, especially of sports. He is the treasurer for the Hemond Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and also is a USSF and AIA soccer referee. He released his first book, Volume I of A Complete History of the Major League Baseball Playoffs, in October of 2021.

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