Shortly after the Winter Meetings concluded, the Milwaukee Brewers acquired additional pitching help by trading outfielder/infielder Isaac Collins and right-hander Nick Mears to the Kansas City Royals for left-hander Angel Zerpa. 

The move provides Milwaukee with a 26-year-old southpaw who can deliver heat. Recently, ESPN’s David Schoenfield and Bradford Doolittle graded the trade and gave the Brewers the edge with a B-minus, while the Royals received a C-plus. 

“This is a prototypical off-the-radar move for the Brewers, one that has little downside, a good bit of upside and costs relatively little in the payroll department,” they wrote. “Zerpa is a hard-throwing lefty who was developed as a starter during his slow rise through the Royals' system before transitioning to a mid-leverage bullpen role once he finally stuck in The Show.” 

“Zerpa can dial it up to 99 mph or so when he's revved up but doesn't miss as many bats as elite relievers with that kind of top-end velocity do. He does feature elite vertical movement on his slider and that, combined with the hard sinker he throws to hitters on both sides of the plate, allowed him to produce groundballs at a 99th percentile rate last season, per Statcast.” 

Zerpa appeared in 69 games for Kansas City last season and made two starts. In those appearances, he went 5-2 with a 4.18 ERA. 

“Zerpa can be maddening. His command wavers, a tendency that manifests less in his walk rate than in the homer column -- he can take a batter or two to find his release point and until that happens leaves pitches in the meatball zone. (Four of the seven homers Zerpa gave up in 2025 were to the first batter he faced.) But he's got that old starter's arsenal -- four-seamer, sinker, hard-dropping slider and a changeup -- which makes him a versatile member of any staff.” 

“The Brewers have a tremendous track record of extracting more out of pitchers like Zerpa than they've shown before, and they have plenty to work with here. The Milwaukee bullpen is currently heavy on southpaws, and while that doesn't mean they can't use another, it also wouldn't be a shock if Milwaukee ends up experimenting with a back-to-the-rotation project with Zerpa.” 

According to Schoenfield and Doolittle, Mears is another example of the Brewers’ prowess in maximizing the capabilities of their players. 

“When we refer to the Brewers' success in getting more from other teams' players, Mears is a classic example. An undrafted journeyman who bounced from the Pirates to the Rockies to the Brewers, Mears had 107 1/3 innings yielding a 5.20 ERA in his career entering last season. Then he emerged as a key member of a Milwaukee bullpen made populous because of so many injuries, posting a 3.49 ERA over 56 2/3 innings an earning his first career save at age 28.” 

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