If Brewers Trade a Young Outfielder, Which Teams Might Be Suitors?

[Matthew Trueblood]

With their payroll unlikely to rise this winter, the Brewers will have to be creative in building their roster to sustain their recent success. One way to do that is via the trade market, and their best trade chips are in the outfield.

Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

No one is talking about moving Jackson Chourio or Christian Yelich this winter, but the Brewers do need to consider the option of offloading their current surplus of young outfielders to shore up other areas of their roster, like the impending vacancy on the left side of the infield or the back half of the starting rotation. Spending big money in free agency probably isn't a viable way to do so, given the escalating contractual commitments to some members of the team next year and the likely decrease in local TV revenue after the team parted ways with Bally Sports and the Diamond Sports Group.

That means, in all probability, trading one of Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, or Blake Perkins. The good news about that prospect is that the team can weather it, and that each of those guys has relatively sound value on the market right now. Unlike Joey Wiemer, whose regression compelled the team to let him go in the Frankie Montas trade this summer, Frelick, Mitchell, and Perkins have all shown two-way competence in the big leagues, and all three can play any outfield position asked of them.

The downside, of course, is that trading them will feel bittersweet, since each is well-liked and versatile, and each had a series of huge moments this season that endeared them to the fan base. It would be possible to keep all three and continue the carousel the team employed in the outfield last year, but they need a new starting infielder, and they need better depth in the starting rotation. Those are radically expensive things to acquire in free agency, and they only have speculative options in-house to address those needs in the short term. Everyone likes Carlos F. Rodriguez, Jacob Misiorowski, and Oliver Dunn. No one is eager to see the Brewers go to spring training next year depending on those players to have big roles and deliver consistent performances.

Obviously, the team is also likely to trade Devin Williams this winter, but they need to keep their market for his services as flexible as possible. It's not only Williams who will be available to teams in the market for relief aces. The Cardinals are likely to trade MLB saves leader Ryan Helsley. The Athletics might revisit discussions about the controllable Mason Miller. The Twins face a tougher money crunch than the Brewers, and have two relief aces (Jhoan Durán and Griffin Jax) reaching arbitration for the first time this winter, thereby becoming much more expensive. Top-tier arms Carlos Estévez and Tanner Scott will headline a deep free-agent class. If the team approaches negotiations about Williams with a specific positional need in mind, they're unlikely to find the kind of value they want on the other side of the table.

No, the easy way to attack this problem is to trade Williams for the best return they can find, whatever shape it might take. They could fill their specific positional needs by trading from their own farm depth, counting on the return for Williams and an impressive amount of 2025 Draft capital to replenish the system, but that risks leaving a glaring hole in the upper levels of the farm for the short term, and this team thrives on its ability to call up players and improve from within during a season. The cleanest way to find an infielder or a starter who can help the team is by dealing one of Mitchell, Frelick, or Perkins to a team more in need of outfielders.

Which teams fit that description, though? Here are a few to keep in mind.

Blue Jays
Daulton Varsho is a star-caliber center fielder, if only because he's arguably the best outfield defender in the sport. Around him, though, the options are few and unappealing. Toronto still has two more years and $45 million committed to George Springer, but his time as a star-caliber outfield slugger is over. He'll be 35 years old next season, was already a below-average hitter in 2024, and stays on the field more out of toughness than due to real health. Their other outfield spot is currently a mix-and-match proposition, and their ability to spend big this winter is in doubt.

They would make good suitors on a bit of a challenge trade, perhaps involving former top prospect Addison Barger. At 24, Barger is still very much young and in possession of some upside, but he struggled mightily in his first partial season in the majors. He's a left-handed batter who primarily plays third base, which would make him an excellent complement to Andruw Monasterio or even Brock Wilken in 2025, but a deal centered on him would have to reflect the Brewers believing that he can mature into a solid everyday infielder in short order. Barger isn't the only Jays player who might fit, though. He's just one example.

Royals
Anyone who watched Kansas City valiantly tangle with the Orioles and then the Yankees this fall knows that they're a team on the upswing, but they also saw the glaring weakness in that roster on full display. The best outfielder on the team, by the end of the year, was last-minute waiver claim Tommy Pham. They need an upgrade worse than almost any other team in the league, and they don't even have the plausible minor-league promise that some of the other laggards can boast. 

What the Royals do have, suddenly, is an interesting collection of arms. Since dismissing Cal Eldred and hiring Brian Sweeney and ex-Twins coordinator Zach Bove as the heads of their pitching coaching tree in the majors almost two years ago, Kansas City has remade its pitching development for the better, and there are a number of interesting hurlers the Brewers could target in a trade.

Marlins
No team seems poised for a broader-scale overhaul this offseason than the Marlins, who started that project by firing everyone they could get into a meeting room or onto a Zoom call during the first week of October. It would be shocking if that aggressive renovation didn't extend to the roster, which was a mess even when they snuck into the back door of the playoffs last fall and got much, much worse in 2024. As they always seem to, though, the Fish have a bevy of interesting players, be it too many talented (if frustrating and thus-far unactualized) starters for one rotation or position players whose raw ability has found no outlet in one of the most backward organizations in the league.

The Brewers have a lot of viable options this winter. Their shopping list is a little longer than you'd like, given the tightness of their budget, but they have a number of interesting potential paths to solving the problems that predicament poses. Trading any of Frelick, Mitchell, or Perkins would hurt, but each of them deserve at least a shot at playing every day in the majors, and the team and the players might be best served by a trade that displaces one of them to strengthen another part of the Milwaukee roster.

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[sveumrules]

I don’t see the Brewers being too motivated to move an OF this offseason with Yelich and Mitchell having varying degrees of injury concerns they’ll need the depth, plus none of the trade candidates make any money yet so it wouldn’t help with payroll and there’s no one on the cusp ready to backfill the spot.

Also not sure the Brewers have much of a rotation vacancy that needs addressing via trade capital.

Peralta, Myers, Civale, and Rea are four spots. Woodruff and Gasser coming back from injury. Ashby and Hall will likely prepare for potential SP usage next year too.

Misio, Logan Henderson, Chad Patrick, Carlos Rodriguez, KC Hunt and Shane Smith might line up as the best rotation in the International League.

[Devinep]

All 3 of Mitchell, Frelick, and Perkins derive their greatest value by being able to play CF. Having all 3 on the riser just means you have a relatively weak-hitting corner OF albeit with plus-plus defense. But one of those guys should hold ore value to a teaM in need of CF help than being a backup/corner OF in Milwaukee. That is why I see one being traded. I’d guess Frelick 

[sveumrules]

11 hours ago, Devinep said:

All 3 of Mitchell, Frelick, and Perkins derive their greatest value by being able to play CF. Having all 3 on the riser just means you have a relatively weak-hitting corner OF albeit with plus-plus defense. But one of those guys should hold ore value to a teaM in need of CF help than being a backup/corner OF in Milwaukee. That is why I see one being traded. I’d guess Frelick 

Last two years the Brewers +58 DRS and +43 FRV from their outfielders are both 2nd best in MLB. I think they prefer having multiple CFers out there for run prevention purposes.

Perkins and Frelick derive most of their value from being plus OF defenders, but Mitchell hit for a 126 wRC+ last year and is at a 123 wRC+ for his career so he has plenty of bat for the other corner spot opposite Chourio when Yelich is DHing. 

[jay87shot]

With Mitchell and Yeli injury issues and Sal and Perk not being top notch bats (lack of power) I wouldn't trade anyone. When one of the guys hits arbitration and costs a little more ok, especially since Lara and Yophery will be close by then.

The only way I would trade Sal, Perk, or Mitchell is for a top tier pitcher like Crochet, Alcantara, McClanahan and that is assuming the rest of the package isn't crazy.

[Joseph Zarr]

Not to mention the Brewers currently no longer have any truly meaningful depth in the upper levels. They are no longer playing with House Money. 

OF Carlos D. Rodriguez? Free Agent to Be. Very adept on base and contact guy but with very average defense and a non-factor arm.

OF Chris Roller? Free Agent to Be. Incredible defender but average arm and extremely streaky at the dish - closed 2024 extremely strong after struggling the majority of the season (while spending a good deal of time on the 40-Man)

Are these men returning? We currently don't know.

Beyond that? You are looking at Phillies release and pick-up Connor Scott who faded once injured down the Shuckers stretch and who is also an impending FA. Dylan O'Rae who wasn't shown any demonstrable ability to hit Double-A pitching at his young age with his very early call-up and resulting sub-par performance overall. Then you are looking at the dynamic but very young and unproven CF Luis Lara followed by CF Yophery Rodriguez. Both extremely unproven and inexperienced. 

In other words: they absolutely need the high-quality and cheaper MLB depth they have. Most likely, they are going to need to sign more outfielders in Minor League Free Agency to simply acquire the players they are going to need at the Triple-A level. This is no longer 2022/2023.

[wiguy94]

The young player to trade is Tyler Black. Send him and a couple other pieces to Colorado for McMahon with the Rockies retaining about 33% of his remaining salary.

[brewmann04]

Black has no position  i kinda agree and think they will keep their OF together

[Devinep]

12 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Last two years the Brewers +58 DRS and +43 FRV from their outfielders are both 2nd best in MLB. I think they prefer having multiple CFers out there for run prevention purposes.

Perkins and Frelick derive most of their value from being plus OF defenders, but Mitchell hit for a 126 wRC+ last year and is at a 123 wRC+ for his career so he has plenty of bat for the other corner spot opposite Chourio when Yelich is DHing. 

Right, that’s another reason to trade Frelick for example. He has more value as a starting CF to the Phillies or someone rather than a corner OF/ 4th OF in Milwaukee (who doesn’t provide the bat you’d want for LF/RF). Because you have one of Mitchell/Perkins as your 4th OF if they platoon in CF. Yelich will do some DHing but I am hoping they see the need to get a better bat for 1B/LF. But maybe that’s Black’s role.