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Milwaukee Brewers Are Winners In Monday’s Two Big Moves

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By @schwick26_pete

St. Louis Cardinals Shelby Miller

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The offseason is a crazy time for every baseball team. Rumors swirl for months about moves that could be made. Sometimes it is not the move that a team makes, but one that rivals make that could have a big impact on the next season. The Milwaukee Brewers did nothing on Monday that affected their roster, but they saw two moves be made that should help their chances in the 2015 season.

The first move that has great impact is the signing of Russell Martin with the Toronto Blue Jays. This move helps to get the catcher (and Brewers’ killer) out of the National League Central by keeping him away from not only the Pittsburgh Pirates, but also the Chicago Cubs, who were rumored to have strong interest in him.

Martin has torched the Brewers by hitting more home runs against them (nine) than anyone else, and his career .312 batting average against Milwaukee is better than he has fared against anyone but the Washington Nationals. Being viewed as one of the top game callers in the league, getting Martin out of the Central could have a lasting effect on the Pirates’ young pitching staff.

The other positive of Monday was the trade made by the St. Louis Cardinals to acquire Jason Heyward. In this move, the Cardinals dealt away Shelby Miller. Miller has flat out dominated the Brewers in his starts against them. In his eight career starts against them, he has looked less like a 24-year-old right-hander, and more like Cy Young, posting a 2.20 ERA with a sparkling 5-0 record. The Cardinals have plenty of able-bodied starters, but not having to face Miller every time they are in town will help the Brewers tremendously.

The Brewers have already been very active this offseason by filling out their corner infield positions and trading for a big time prospect. Today’s moves not only takes two villains out of the NL Central, but could help to move the Brewers closer to the top.

Pete Schwichtenberg is a Milwaukee Brewers writer for Rantsports. Follow @schwick26_pete, Like him on Facebook, or add him to your Google Network.

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