The Milwaukee Brewers beefed up their bullpen on Saturday by acquiring left-handed reliever Angel Zerpa from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for outfielder Isaac Collins and reliever Nick Mears, according to reports.
Zerpa posted a 5-2 record and a 4.18 ERA in 69 appearances for the Royals last season. While those numbers are relatively pedestrian, the 26-year-old Zerpa ranked in the 99th percentile among MLB pitchers by inducing grounders 63.7% of the time.
Collins, 28, played an unexpectedly large role in the Brewers’ run to the NL Central Division title and the NLCS. The switch-hitting left fielder batted .263 in 441 regular-season plate appearances while amassing nine homers and 16 stolen bases. The rookie returned primarily to a backup role in the postseason and went 0-for-9 with one walk and one run.
Mears, 29, fashioned a 5-3 record and 3.49 ERA in 63 regular-season games for the Brewers last year. In parts of six major-league seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates (2020-22), Colorado Rockies (2023-24) and Brewers (2024-25), the right-handed Mears has produced a 7-9 record and a 4.61 ERA along with 9.5 strikeouts and 4.0 walks per nine innings.
Zerpa owns a 12-7 career record and 3.97 ERA in parts of four seasons with the Royals. He is eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason while Mears is second-year eligible.
