The Brewers desperately need a first baseman and more offense. Olson delivers, along with gold glove defense. The A's get the Brewers #3 prospect in Turang, giving them a plus-defender and a high OBP player who could battle Tony Kemp for the 2B job in Oakland; #8 prospect Aaron Ashby, who can immediately fight for a back of the rotation spot, or slide comfortably into a bullpen roll, #5 prospect Ethan Small, who appears to be near-ML ready SP depth (something the A's will need by 2023, when Bassitt and Manaea will likely be gone); and Tyrone Taylor, a solid, cost-controlled OFer with good defensive skills, who might be a starter for the A's. The A's would probably prefer a more offensively skilled ML-ready OFer, but the Brewer's top-prospect (Garrett Mitchell) looks to be at least another year away, and no one else stands out in the upper minors. Small and Turang do not need to be added to the 40-man roster this year, if the A's prefer to give them more AAA seasoning.

Thank you for posting your logic on this trade. You make some good points. This is a fair trade but I think the Brewers would say no. The Brewers would weaken 2 positions ( OF and P) in order to improve 1B. Although the Brewers have a strong rotation, 4 of the 5 are all going to get expensive in the coming arbitration years starting in 2022. Ashby and Small are set to take their place when keeping all those pitchers will get too expensive. Also, I think Ashby will be in a 6 man rotation in 2022 and I expect Small to also contribute in 2022 as a call up to be a reliever. He will be a starter in the future years. Taylor is slotted to be the starting RF. You were also spot on regarding Turang's skill set. This proposal is still a fair trade and that's maybe what the A's demand to get Olson. If the trade was made I'd be very surprised but then say "we'll see how it goes". I just don't think the Brewers are that desperate to give up all that control for those 4 players to get 2 years of Olson. '

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. First, the OF. Bradley's bat was terrible last year but his defense was good. He is slated to give the aging Cain days off in CF and as a defense replacement. You are correct about Garcia going FA and as the roster stands now, Taylor is slotted to start in RF. The Brewers actually used a 6 man rotation this year. Counsel's theory is to not wear down his starters so they won't be worn out at the end of the season. The Brewers had enough depth, Woodruff, Burnes, Peralta, Houser, Lauer, B. Anderson, Suter, and Ashby plus they also used a few AAA guys to be openers. Good point on Bradley and Cain coming off the books. My guess is the Brewers would like to trade one of those two even before that but it's probably not going to happen. As I mentioned in my first comment, this is a fair trade and it's maybe what the A's would demand. I just think Milwaukee doesn't make this trade for the reasons I've given. A counter proposal might be Mitchell, Small, Turang, and Taylor. The Brewers would have to go out and find themselves a starting RF in FA or trade. My guess the Brewers would also ask for a low level prospect. I'm not sure either team would even do that but it's fun to speculate. Thanks for the discussion. It's enjoyable. Again, I'm sorry for not replying sooner.

I appreciate the reply Spikes! Aren't Bradley, Cain and Yelich the presumed OF starters (I don't follow the Brewers closely, although I know Garcia became a FA)? From the A's standpoint, I think Taylor is pretty important to the trade, but I could see them accepting someone else in place of either Ashby or Small if trading both was a deal breaker. Are the Brewers publicly considering a 6-man rotation? It's pretty hard on the bullpen to do that for very long. Right now Ashby and Small look like depth pieces for the pitching-rich Brewers. I agree the team will get more expensive in some areas in 2022, but Bradley and Cain also come off the books, which saves a lot of dough. That's also an argument for keeping Thomas, although by then you'd think that Mitchell would be ready to step in.