Rosenthal: "It's Time" For The Brewers To Go All-In At The Trade Deadline

[Brock Beauchamp]

This one isn't a rumor as much as a surprising statement from a national writer as lauded as The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. Appearing on Foul Territory, the panel points out how different this Brewers squad is to previous seasons, which relied heavily on pitching and just hoped to scrape together enough runs on offense to win.

It's a very different story in 2024. While the bullpen is still elite (and Devin Williams has yet to return), the offense is firing on all cylinders and is one of the most dynamic and multi-faceted offenses the Brewers have fielded in years. Most of the players are young and cost-controlled for years but it can (and probably should) be argued the Brewers should strike while the iron is hot. The Brewers are receiving excellent seasons from Christian Yelich, William Contreras, Brice Turang, et al and it may not be reasonable to count on similar performances in 2025.

What do you think, Brewers fans? Is it time to sacrifice a little of the future for a little more certainty today?

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[sveumrules]

11 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

the offense is firing on all cylinders and is one of the most dynamic and multi-faceted offenses the Brewers have fielded in years

Obviously arbitrary endpoints and all that, but the offense was firing on all cylinders for the first quarter or so of the season and has been decidedly more average since then...

thru May 15th
118 wRC+ | 5.19 R/G

since May 17th
100 wRC+ | 4.50 R/G

Between this essentially being the first year of a new window, the amount of perceived ground between the Brewers and teams like the Phillies/Dodgers/Braves atop the NL, and the lack of impact talent with long term control likely to be dealt at the deadline, I'm not sure the circumstances are quite right yet for the Brewers to push all their chips in.

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 minute ago, sveumrules said:

Obviously arbitrary endpoints and all that, but the offense was firing on all cylinders for the first quarter or so of the season and has been decidedly more average since then...

thru May 15th
118 wRC+ | 5.19 R/G

since May 17th
100 wRC+ | 4.50 R/G

Between this essentially being the first year of a new window, the amount of perceived ground between the Brewers and teams like the Phillies/Dodgers/Braves atop the NL, and the lack of impact talent with long term control likely to be dealt at the deadline, I'm not sure the circumstances are quite right yet for the Brewers to push all their chips in.

Oh yeah, the offense has definitely slid a little but there are going to be Dodgers and Phillies every season. While I wouldn't empty the farm for a slew of rentals, I think the Brewers can (and should) absolutely afford one premium starter at the very least. I mean really, that's all they need IMO. They can get by with the roster they have, just slot in someone behind Peralta.

[tmwiese55]

I guess there is probably something that could be added that LAD pitching is weaker this year (should be much better next), ATL is missing their best hitter and SP so the field isn't as daunting as expected.    

Still, I don't think there is a Sabathia type starting pitcher out there to even get so anything you do doesn't drastically change your odds.  So I'd vote lower level competent SP acquisition who doesn't cost you anything but money and lottery tickets.    Grabbing a better backup IF can't hurt too and shouldn't cost much, like an Ahmed Rosario type who won't kill you if due to injury he has to start a lot.

[SF70]

The Brewers have the prospect-depth to add a Garrett Crochet and stick him in the pen the rest of this year or most of the ROTY (innings limits) and start him in ‘25 & ‘26.

Then add the rental Eovaldi as a game 1 starter

Crochet-Williams-Megill-Hudson-Yoho-Koenig (post-deadline) makes this the best pen in baseball. 

Eovaldi is probably the most underrated postseason starter in the game and would give MKE a great chance to advance with a 1-2 of him and Peralta and a shutdown bullpen.

Crochet to MKE for:

Frelick or Mitchell or Black & Misiorowski & Lara or Boeve

 

Eovaldi to MKE for:

Manfredi or Blalock & Barrios or Areinamo & O’Rae or Guilarte

 

MKE has the depth of talent to handle those trades and be just fine. They just need to protect their best teenage prospects, which happen to have the most upside in the system. Pratt-Bitonti-YRod-Made-Pena-Letson-Knoth > untouchable. Same with Henderson-Wilken.

Crochet-Peralta-Woodruff-Myers-Henderson-CRod is a formidable rotation for ‘25

Then replace Woodruff in ‘26 with Gasser. 

Farm system has as good of teenage talent as there is in baseball which over the next 1-2 years will really make itself known. Add a nice return with a probable Devin Williams trade, 2 more drafts with extra draft-capital in each and continued excellence in Latin American classes and we have the makings of a truly monster farm and at the same time young and controlled big-league team.

 

 

[tmwiese55]

Eovaldi really is  a good idea I hadn't thought of before if/when TX sells.  Looks like last year of contract is this year, vesting option he might hit if he stays health (but likely comes up short). Even if he hits it he probably opts out to get a 3 year deal.   

Being last year he shouldn't cost too much other than eating money, but due to lack of good SP on the market it might drive up the prospect cost more than I'd want to do. But definitely one they should look into 

[wallus]

"Going for it" could mean many things. If there is an opportunity to turn prospects that may be redundant into pieces that can help the team, I would hope they would do it.

[BrewerFan]

18 minutes ago, SF70 said:

Crochet to MKE for:

Frelick or Mitchell or Black & Misiorowski & Lara or Boeve

I'm not giving up that package for a guy who's going to be used out of the pen and then hopefully can stay healthy and has 2 years left...unless they don't feel like Misiorowski can be the future ace we're hoping he'll be. 

You said protect the guys with the highest upsides in the system...but isn't that Miz? There's risk, but certainly the same is true with the teenagers. He's also just turned 22. I'd make Chourio, Miz, Turang and Ortiz virtually untouchable. Quero would be close. Pratt in that group. 

Wilken, Black, Boeve, those are guys I'd be more inclined to trade.

The extra wild card cuts both ways. We have more opportunities, but there are just fewer sellers. 

[SF70]

42 minutes ago, BrewerFan said:

I'm not giving up that package for a guy who's going to be used out of the pen and then hopefully can stay healthy and has 2 years left...unless they don't feel like Misiorowski can be the future ace we're hoping he'll be. 

You said protect the guys with the highest upsides in the system...but isn't that Miz? There's risk, but certainly the same is true with the teenagers. He's also just turned 22. I'd make Chourio, Miz, Turang and Ortiz virtually untouchable. Quero would be close. Pratt in that group. 

Wilken, Black, Boeve, those are guys I'd be more inclined to trade.

The extra wild card cuts both ways. We have more opportunities, but there are just fewer sellers. 

I’ll take the certainty of 2 years of Crochet in the rotation vs the upside and risk of 6+ years of Misiorowski. Personally I think Misiorowski is a future closer, so I want him moved.

Crochet has had his TJ, Misiorowski hasn’t. Crochet can give MKE the best bullpen in baseball post-deadline that with Eovaldi starting can give this team a great opportunity to advance.

He also buys time (2+ years) for the teams PDS to develop the next group of starters to replace Peralta-Woodruff and Crochet. By that time we can have Gasser back and strong, CRod established and Henderson developed.

[wallus]

To me, adding a couple of pitchers like Flaherty and Fedde would count as going for it. If you could get those guys with a combination of Lara, Black, and Uribe, then I think you do that. (Guys that are not needed in 24 or 25)

Flaherty (8.1 BTV) for Lara (8.9 BTV) 

Fedde (16.6 BTV) for Black (13.8 BTV) and Uribe

This would give us two good starters with Fedde being under contract for next season and it should fit into the budget.

Flaherty, Fedde, Peralta, Rea and Myers is much better than what we have now.

[brewmann04]

Brewers need a starter period doesn't have to be a top guy a 2-3 will do.

stay away from deadline deals for any relievers

[wallus]

Civale wasn't a guy I had on my radar but seems like a reasonable low cost move. I still think they should add another starter.

1. Flaherty (Best rental available imo)

2. Fedde (Breakout season and controlled for next year. Sox seem to overvalue their own guys though)

3. Kikuchi (Good but not great rental, shouldn't cost much to acquire)

4. Crochet (think he will cost too much in a trade and hit an innings limit)

[B.F.-rakes]

On 7/2/2024 at 3:19 PM, sveumrules said:

Obviously arbitrary endpoints and all that, but the offense was firing on all cylinders for the first quarter or so of the season and has been decidedly more average since then...

thru May 15th
118 wRC+ | 5.19 R/G

since May 17th
100 wRC+ | 4.50 R/G

Between this essentially being the first year of a new window, the amount of perceived ground between the Brewers and teams like the Phillies/Dodgers/Braves atop the NL, and the lack of impact talent with long term control likely to be dealt at the deadline, I'm not sure the circumstances are quite right yet for the Brewers to push all their chips in.

I agree,we will still have a plethora of speed,and a coach that will utilize that. Turang, Chourio, Mitchell, Black, Frelick ,Ortiz & Yelich we have for the long haul. Contreras and in 2 years tops Quero.so really only need to add right handed hitting 1st baseman down the road and maybe a shortstop when we lose Adames&Hoskins. And that's if Adams(1b), brown jr(ss), Wilken possibly at 1st don't pan out,but then we have a **** load of top tier prospects coming in '26 in Pratt(ss,3b,2b,1b),Boeve(3b,1b)& Bitonti (ss,2b) all with power.  A ton of speed and contact guys who play in the middle infield and outfield coming in  2026-2029.So imo that window doesn't shut for a while, unless u trade a bunch of it for short term rentals at the deadline which is a horrible gamble for any small market organization. We r officially the Tampa Bay rays national league team who has made the playoffs 5of6 years and r getting stronger. I honestly would prefer to sell a Megill or Koenig as they r at there peak value and going to b 31 at start of 2025 season. Even Rea who is 34 and again, at his peak value,obviously if we could get a nice return. Have d.Williams,Uribe, Hudson, Paredes, Peguero, Meyers, Hall, and Miley, Gasser, Woodruff in 2025

[jay87shot]

At this point we have 2/3 Civale starts before the deadline to see if he will be more depth or top of the rotation. If Civale looks really good I think think we don't necessarily need to do much. If he looks more like the 5 era pitcher he has been this year then we should try and add someone else.

[Brewcrew82]

13 minutes ago, jay87shot said:

At this point we have 2/3 Civale starts before the deadline to see if he will be more depth or top of the rotation. If Civale looks really good I think think we don't necessarily need to do much. If he looks more like the 5 era pitcher he has been this year then we should try and add someone else.

I would say at minimum we need one more SP you're comfortable giving the ball to in a postseason series. Right now we have Freddy and......Love what Rea and Myers have given us, but the likelihood is that they'll get hit hard against postseason lineups. You can probably get away with one or two bullpen games a series, but no more than that.

Eovaldi, Scherzer, Flaherty, Gausman etc. are all options that we should be looking into. 

[bigred]

They should definitely use their deep farm system to get upgrades now.

[BrewerFan]

On 7/4/2024 at 10:45 AM, Brewcrew82 said:

I would say at minimum we need one more SP you're comfortable giving the ball to in a postseason series. Right now we have Freddy and......Love what Rea and Myers have given us, but the likelihood is that they'll get hit hard against postseason lineups. You can probably get away with one or two bullpen games a series, but no more than that.

Eovaldi, Scherzer, Flaherty, Gausman etc. are all options that we should be looking into. 

What's that look like to you?

Black+Carlos Rodriguez for Gausman, Nate Pearson+24M? They eat half the money remaining?

The feels kinda light.

They don't have to add Henderson to the 40 for another year...right? I could see him coming up and being effective for 2-3 innings, but you could say the same for Mis and I'd guess they don't want to push either. 

 

But hey...Daniel Norris is available...

[Scooterfletcher]

1 hour ago, BrewerFan said:

What's that look like to you?

Black+Carlos Rodriguez for Gausman, Nate Pearson+24M? They eat half the money remaining?

The feels kinda light.

They don't have to add Henderson to the 40 for another year...right? I could see him coming up and being effective for 2-3 innings, but you could say the same for Mis and I'd guess they don't want to push either. 

 

But hey...Daniel Norris is available...

That deal ain’t happening.  Think Bassitt and Kikuchi for Black, Kikuchi for Bitoni, or Bassitt for Blaylock and E Brown type deals.  

[BrewerFan]

28 minutes ago, Scooterfletcher said:

That deal ain’t happening.  Think Bassitt and Kikuchi for Black, Kikuchi for Bitoni, or Bassitt for Blaylock and E Brown type deals.  

I'm not going to think about a rental for Bitonti....

And why is that deal not happening? I'd assume you'd mean the Jays wouldn't do it...but you were against Mitchell for Scherzer, so...I'm not sure which side you're saying says no. 

[rickh150]

Rentals don’t make sense to me unless we give up little….add on for this year and at least one more. 

[Austin Tatious]

If it’s someone with a bit of control, I would look at various deals including one or two of Frelick, Wiemer, Black, C Rod, maybe Wilken.  

Not dealing Hendu, Mis, Quero, Mitchell, Boeve. Pratt is untouchable   

If it’s a rental, the list of no-gos expands.  
 

[brewmann04]

No top prospects for Rentals. And stay away from Relievers 

[Playing Catch]

12 hours ago, brewmann04 said:

No top prospects for Rentals. And stay away from Relievers 

I agree with this.

In addition, I'm getting bored of the national guys* (Smoltz and his partner induced some eyerolls from me), feeding the narrative that the Brewers are some cute story about Papa Murphy and his overachieving kiddos playing for the big, bad, cheap owner who never spends money and always trades away his best players instead of trying to win in the playoffs; Poor, poor Yelich, Contreras, and Hoskins... They deserve true investment in the team, and deserve an organization that will "go for it," like it's now or never.

Pffft... The Brewers are young and good, and only getting better, both this year AND in the next couple of years. The national writers/media are going to have to find a new narrative in the next year or two after the Brewers solidify their stranglehold on the NL Central.

*It irritates me not because I care about what the outside thinks, but because I care about what casual Brewer fans think. When National guys state lazy takes, it feeds lazy narratives surrounding the organization in Wisconsin.

[Lathund]

Rosenthal has proven over and over that he doesn't understand how the Brewers operate, and what makes them successful. He's very much stuck in old-school thinking. One example of that is he was among the writers pushing the "Brewers are rebuilding" narrative hard in the offseason. 

[KeithStone53151]

On 7/4/2024 at 10:45 AM, Brewcrew82 said:

I would say at minimum we need one more SP you're comfortable giving the ball to in a postseason series. Right now we have Freddy and......Love what Rea and Myers have given us, but the likelihood is that they'll get hit hard against postseason lineups. You can probably get away with one or two bullpen games a series, but no more than that.

Eovaldi, Scherzer, Flaherty, Gausman etc. are all options that we should be looking into. 

Good post. The Brewers, with Civale, might be good enough to hold off the Cardinals or at least get into the playoffs. Winning in the playoffs is a different story. Running out Rea or Myers against the Dodgers/Phillies/Braves in that atmosphere is asking for trouble. You also need to plan for the contingency of Peralta/Civale potentially getting pulled early and needing bullpen coverage, you really can't be punting games in the playoffs...so an early hook to try and stay in the game might be necessary.

Agree with those targets as well and omitting Crochet. Someone is going to pay through the nose for Crochet, and I don't want to be that team regardless of how good he is. The price on these other guys should be much lower.