Revisiting the Yankees’ side of Jake Bauers trade with Brewers: Where are those prospects now?

Former New York Yankee Jake Bauers is having a good month. Bauers just earned an NLCS MVP trophy with the Milwaukee Brewers for helping dispatch the almighty Los Angeles Dodgers, and now he's set to play in the World Series, starting tonight at American Family Field.

Bauers' success has been an interesting watching experience for Yankees fans who remember the short stint that Bauers spent with New York in 2023. The Yankees actually acquired Bauers in June 2022, and he spent the rest of that campaign (and the start of 2023) in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he ultimately excelled.

The Yankees traded Bauers to the Brewers in November '23, however, after he played 84 games for New York at the MLB level to the tune of a .202/.279/.413 slash line. The return for Bauers was a pair of outfield prospects: Jace Avina and Brian Sánchez.

A brief "Where are they now?" update on Avina and Sánchez feels pertinent now that Bauers himself is on the precipice of championship immortality with the Brew Crew.

What are former Brewers prospects Jace Avina and Brian Sánchez up to these days?

Jace Avina

We'll start with Avina, who was the more advanced of the two prospects at the time of the Bauers deal. A right-handed-hitting outfielder with raw power, Avina worked his way up in the Yankees' system starting from High-A Hudson Valley in 2024, ultimately taking a leap this past season at Double-A with a 21-homer season.

The 23-year-old Avina is currently ranked the Yankees' 24th overall prospect by MLB Pipeline. He's a realistic candidate to be promoted to Triple-A in 2027 (he may also be used as an enticing trade chip this offseason).

Brian Sánchez

Sánchez, on the other hand, has already been traded by the Yankees. He was only 18 at the time of the Bauers trade, and while he displayed notable athleticism and some on-base ability in the lower levels for the Yanks, he didn't necessarily show consistent signs of a high-end prospect.

The Yankees traded Sánchez to the Pittsburgh Pirates in July 2025 in the package that landed David Bednar in the Bronx. Sánchez was traded 13 months later by the Pirates to the Miami Marlins. He hit .256/.343/.448 at the High-A level in 2026. Now 22, Sánchez remains very far away from MLB.

Who won the Yankees-Brewers Jake Bauers trade?

It would be difficult to argue that Milwaukee didn't "win" this deal, considering Bauers just won an NLCS MVP and they're four wins away from a championship. But to say that the Yankees unequivocally "lost" this trade would also be an oversimplification (and arguably inaccurate).

Sánchez was part of the deal for Bednar -- a very important contributor for the Yankees since then -- and Avina's provided real value in the minors, the ceiling of which we've yet to discover. The jury's still out, folks.

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