Rays trade Mike Brosseau to Brewers for relief prospect Evan Reifert

The Rays have traded utility infielder Mike Brosseau to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Evan Reifert, a high spin rate reliever who signed as an undrafted free agent after the 2020 season.

Mike Brosseau was a postseason hero in the team’s 2020 run to the World Series, hitting a legendary homerun against Aroldis Chapman that will not be forgotten by any living Rays fan.

The homerun alone could have been enough to etch Brosseau in the annals of Rays history, but the added context of Chapman attempting to throw at Brosseau during the regular season, and that moment birthing “The Stable” comment from Kevin Cash, place him in the pantheon of Rays greats.

Mike Brosseau would not factor into the 2021 season, and his trade indicates he was part of the team’s 40-man roster crunch this season. The pitcher returning is an A-ball reliever out of college with the Brewers who qualified for the team’s top prospect list at FanGraphs last year, who clocked his fastball at 98 mph and his slider at an impressive 2,800 rpm.

Here are the details on Evan Reifert, per the team press release:

Reifert, 22, went 3-3 with a 2.10 ERA (60-IP, 14-ER) and 103 SO (15.45 SO/9 IP) in 37 apps, all in relief, between Low-A Carolina and High-A Wisconsin in 2021, his first professional season. He ranked among Brewers minor leaguers in strikeouts (6th) and saves (8, tied for 4th). He was named the Brewers Minor League Pitcher of the Month for August, with a 2.51 ERA (14.1-IP, 4-ER) and 24 SO in 9 apps for Wisconsin. He signed with the Brewers as a non-drafted free agent out of the University of Central Missouri following the 2020 Amateur Draft, which was shortened to five rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to joining Central Missouri, he played two seasons at North Iowa Area Community College and was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 30th round of the 2018 Amateur Draft but did not sign.