Gabe Gross scores game winning run in 12th inning, gets traded

TUESDAY, April 22, 2008, 5:32 p.m.
By Tom Haudricourt

Brewers deal Gross to Tampa Bay

The Milwaukee Brewers made a pre-emptive strike to clear an upcoming logjam in the outfield by trading Gabe Gross to Tampa Bay for right-handed pitching prospect Josh Butler.

Oddly enough, Gross scored the winning run in the 12th inning as the Brewers topped St. Louis, 9-8, in 12 innings.

With Tony Gwynn Jr. ready to come back from a minor league rehab assignment and Mike Cameron scheduled to join the team after a 25-game suspension next week, the Brewers were going to have a glut of outfielders. Thus, they dealt Gross, who was batting only .209 but had started to swing the bat in recent games.

"It was a little bit out of the blue," said Gross. "Something had to give (in the outfield)."

Butler, a second-round pick in 2006 out of the University of San Diego, was assigned to Class A Brevard County.

Gwynn, who had seven hits in 13 at-bats at Class AAA Nashville, will rejoin the club Wednesday.