The Milwaukee Brewers' front office believes it may have offered Detroit a better trade package for Tarik Skubal than the one the Tigers accepted from the Los Angeles Dodgers, sources told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
Milwaukee's initial proposal reportedly included three hitting prospects, at least two of whom were among MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects.
Shortstop Luis Peña was one of the players the Brewers offered, although MLB's No. 1 prospect, Jesús Made, was not part of discussions, sources told McCalvy. Detroit reportedly wanted a controllable major-league pitcher in the deal, although it's not clear who the Tigers had in mind.
Peña is ranked as the No. 18 prospect in baseball, seven spots ahead of Zyhir Hope on MLB Pipeline's list. Hope was the centerpiece of the Dodgers' package for Skubal, along with No. 68-ranked prospect River Ryan and pitching prospect Brady Smith (unranked).
"We were prepared to push a lot of chips in. And look, I think we did," Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said Monday night.
Instead of landing Skubal, the Brewers traded for three players (Dustin May, JoJo Romero, and Antonio Senzatela) who could help their major-league club.
While missing out on Skubal could be perceived as a disappointment, the Brewers said they remain focused on trying to win with the squad they have.
"Obviously, no (other) guy like that is out there. But I don't think anybody in this room is like, 'We need something.' Or like, 'Please, please.' No one feels that way," outfielder Sal Frelick said.
The Brewers enter Tuesday with a slightly better winning percentage (.616) than the Dodgers (.611).
