The Brewers acquired Jonathan Ornelas from the Athletics for cash considerations on August 15, 2026, and planned to make him active that night against the Dodgers. Jihwan Bae was designated for assignment to clear the way.
That made Ornelas the kind of late-August roster shuffle that usually does not happen. The trade deadline passed on August 3, and players already selected to a 40-man roster are typically off the board after that point. Ornelas was not on a 40-man roster under his current contract, though, which is what opened the door.
He had been designated for assignment on August 10, cleared waivers, and was outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas before electing free agency. Then came the part that made the deal look almost like a reset button: Ornelas signed a minor-league contract with the Athletics on August 14, only to be moved again the next day.
That sequence is what made the trade work. MLB Trade Rumors noted that veterans who spend the season on a minor league contract, and never have that deal selected to the 40-man roster or land on the Major League injured list, are still fair game to be traded. In that reading, Ornelas had become movable again because he had re-signed on a minor-league deal rather than sitting on a protected roster spot.
The move also came with a dry joke from the site: “Let’s all RELAX. Not like they traded for Ohtani.” The point was clear enough. This was not a blockbuster. It was a rules-driven transaction, a cash deal for a player who had already been through waiver, outright, free agency and a fresh minor-league signing in the span of five days.
For Milwaukee, the immediate plan was simple: select Ornelas and have him available that evening. For the Athletics, the return was cash and a quick turn of a player they had just brought back. The open question is not whether the move happened, but why both sides chose to make it again so quickly after he returned to the organization.
