The Red Sox trades Hunter Renfroe to the Brewers, asking Jackie Bradley Jr. in a four-player deal

NS Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers made a notable four-player trade just before the lockdown triggered by the owner of Major League Baseball on Wednesday night. Exchange for shipping agent Renfroe Hunter to Milwaukee, the Red Sox get three players: midfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and infielders David Hamilton and Alex Binelas.

Renfroe, 29, is having a rough season in Boston. He hit .259/.315/.501 (112 OPS+) with 31 home runs and 33 doubles in 144 competitions. He has two years left in control of the team and is expected to earn close to $8 million through arbitration. Renfroe came in to replace Avisaíl García off the field of Milwaukee; García recently signed a four-year pact with Miami Marlins as a freelance agent.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox are reunited with Bradley Jr, 31, just a year after he left Boston through freelance agency. His one season at Milwaukee has been awful, as he hit .163/.236/.261 (34 OPS+) in 134 games with the Brewers. Bradley Jr., who spent the first eight years of MLB career in Boston, was owed $9.5 million in the final season of a two-year contract. (He also owes $8 million to buy a team pick.) He’s still a capable defensive center and at least he’s possibly Boston’s most-day starter there.

As for Hamilton and Binelas, they are the Brewers’ recent draft picks.

Hamilton, mostly a short, was picked in the eighth round of the 2019 draft. He split last season between High- and Double-A, beating .258 / .341 / .419 by eight runs. on home ground and 52 bases stolen after 61 attempts. (The latter can be credited for rule changes made at the level.) American Baseball ranks Hamilton as the 15th best prospect in Milwaukee’s system mid-season.

Binelas, for its part, was drafted in the third round over the summer. He hit .309 / .390 / .583 with nine home runs after failing to perform well in his first game in the spring. He is considered a limited defender who will have to attack to have a major league career. American Baseball had Binelas ranked as the 20th best prospect in Milwaukee’s system at mid-season.