Brewers trade Broxton to Mets for 3 prospects

The Milwaukee Brewers traded outfielder Keon Broxton to the New York Mets in exchange for pitching prospects Bobby Wahl and Adam Hill, and infield prospect Felix Valerio, the teams announced Saturday.

Broxton provides speed and elite defense in center field. He lost his starting spot in the Brewers' outfield after he regressed at the plate in 2017, prompting the team to sign Lorenzo Cain and trade for Christian Yelich. As a result, he spent most of 2018 in Triple-A and only made 51 big-league appearances, mostly as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner in September.

In New York, Broxton will likely have a spot on the Mets' roster as a fourth outfielder and pinch-runner, while also providing insurance for another defensive specialist in oft-injured center fielder Juan Lagares.

The 28-year-old Broxton hit a combined .251/.322/.412 with 10 homers, 37 RBIs, and 29 stolen bases in 85 games across three levels in 2018.

Of the three prospects the Mets are sending to Milwaukee, only Wahl - who was ranked as the Mets' No. 28 prospect by MLB Pipeline - has big-league experience, appearing in 14 games since 2017 with the Mets and Oakland Athletics. The 26-year-old right-hander put up a 2.20 ERA and 0.87 WHIP with 73 strikeouts and 12 saves over 38 appearances split between Triple-A and the majors last year.

Brewers general manager David Stearns told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com that Wahl will have an opportunity to win a bullpen job out of spring training.

The Mets drafted Hill in the fourth round of last June's draft out of the University of South Carolina. The 21-year-old averaged just over 15 strikeouts per nine in 15 1/3 innings with Class-A Brooklyn last summer.

Valerio also recently finished his first professional season. The 18-year-old slashed .319/.409/.433 and stole 16 bases in 67 games for the Mets' Dominican Summer League affiliates.