MILWAUKEE, WI — The Milwaukee Brewers made a Thanksgiving-eve trade with the San Diego Padres — a curious move that shores up the team's infield prospects and starting rotation. The cost? Another starting pitcher and outfield depth.

On Wednesday, the Brewers shipped starting pitcher Zach Davies and backup outfielder Trent Grisham to the Padres in exchange for second baseman/shortstop Luis Urias and left-handed starting pitcher Eric Lauer. In Urias, the Brewers get the Padres third-ranked prospect and a dynamic infielder. In 2019, the 22-year-old split time between the big-league club and the team's AAA affiliate. In 73 games at AAA, Urias struck 19 home runs, batted in 62, and hit .315 with a .398 on-base average. In 71 games with the Padres, the youngster struggled a bit, hitting .223 with a .329 on-base average. The San Diego Union Tribune characterized Urias as an infielder of the future, yet said he really struggled with big-league pitching in his first foray into the world of major league pitching.

The move could mean any number of things for the Brewers. While Milwaukee has generally been happy with incumbent shortstop Orlando Arcia's defense, his prowess as a hitter has been notably lacking. Here's what Milwaukee General Manager David Stearns said about the shortstop position, as posted on Twitter by Journal Sentinel sportswriter Tom Haudricort: "We did not have good shortstop production last year, and we have been open about that. For us to ultimately do what we want to do and be the type of team we want to be, production from that position needs to improve." On the surface, I like this move. Urias could be what Brewers hoped Arcia would be... https://t.co/CvYxGcQOPF

— Drew Olson (@DrewOlsonMKE) November 27, 2019 Another thing to consider is that the Brewers traded Mauricio Dubon - a player who profiled a lot like Urias - to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for reliever Ray Black, and fellow pitcher Drew Pomeranz. Pomeranz would prove to be a major part of Milwaukee's relief corps in 2019 down the stretch.