The trade deadline chaos kicked off early Saturday when Jon Heyman reported the Brewers were sending reliever Craig Yoho to Cleveland for catcher Bo Naylor. Within minutes the full scope of the deal came into focus.
Brewers acquiring Bo Naylor in trade for Craig Yoho
It didn't stay a two-player swap for long. Heyman quickly followed up that reliever Codi Heuer was also headed to Milwaukee, with outfielder Blake Perkins going back to Cleveland and getting sent down to Triple-A.
Codi Heuer also goes to Brewers in deal and Guardians receive Blake Perkins, who will go to Triple-A @ByRobertMurray 1st on Perkins
On paper this isn't a blockbuster, but it's a real swing for a Brewers team trying to solve their catcher problem without mortgaging the farm. Naylor, Cleveland's first-round pick back in 2018, has started for the Guardians in five straight seasons and logged over 100 games behind the plate in both 2024 and 2025. The bat just never came around — he's hitting around.199 this year, and Cleveland had already benched him after bringing in Patrick Bailey. Milwaukee is betting there's still a useful everyday catcher in there if you get him away from Cleveland's lineup and expectations.
The Brewers have acquired Bo Naylor and Codi Heuer from the Guardians for Blake Perkins and Craig Yoho.
Both Naylor and Heuer were immediately added to the 40-man and shipped to Triple-A Nashville rather than joining the big-league club right away, which tells you this is about organizational depth more than an instant fix. Heuer, a well-traveled reliever who's now played for five teams since 2020, gives the Guardians' return package some bullpen swing-man depth even though he'd mostly been in Triple-A this year himself.
For Cleveland, the return is Perkins and Yoho — a former Gold Glove finalist outfielder who's scuffled at the plate, and a reliever whose changeup never developed the way Milwaukee hoped. The Brewers could stomach moving Perkins in part because Brandon Lockridge is coming back from injury and can fill that outfield spot. It's a low-drama, value-for-value deal, but it's also a signal both front offices are treating Monday's deadline as a real inflection point rather than something to sit out.
MLB Trade Rumors framed it as two clubs that simply lined up on need, and that's about the size of it — no star headliners, just two sides betting they can get more out of what they're getting than what they gave up.
The real test comes fast. If Naylor starts hitting in a lineup change of scenery, this looks like a shrewd buy-low move for Milwaukee. If not, it's just August roster churn ahead of the bigger names still expected to move before Monday's deadline.