Brewers' payroll discussion

Soupy · January 22, 2025

Correct MA doesn’t owe us anything

Correct he’s not in it to lose money

But it is sports and the expectation is that you are trying to win a championship. You can argue spending money in and of itself doesn’t win that. But there are a lot of numbers that show a higher payroll is important in achieving that. That is where fans frustrations stem from.

sveumrules · January 22, 2025

7 minutes ago, Soupy said:

But it is sports and the expectation is that you are trying to win a championship. You can argue spending money in and of itself doesn’t win that. But there are a lot of numbers that show a higher payroll is important in achieving that. That is where fans frustrations stem from.

Using the numbers from the OP there have been five World Series teams in the Brewers general salary range the last ten years - #17, #18, #19, #20 and #28.

There have only been two teams to reach the World Series in the higher teens - #11 and #13.

The other thirteen World Series teams over the last ten seasons have ranked #8 or higher.

Using the current Cot's projections for 2025 the Brewers would have to add about $100M to reach the #8 payroll (Padres currently) and around $70M to reach the #13 payroll (Cubs currently).

Neither of those seem like realistic amounts of payroll to add. Even adding $40M to get to #17 (Mariners currently) feels pretty fantasyland.

No doubt the Brewers could spend more money, but it isn't really going to make much of a dent. Even an extra $25M would be pretty immaterial relative to the competition.

tmwiese55 · January 22, 2025

1 hour ago, sveumrules said:

Using the numbers from the OP there have been five World Series teams in the Brewers general salary range the last ten years - #17, #18, #19, #20 and #28.

There have only been two teams to reach the World Series in the higher teens - #11 and #13.

The other thirteen World Series teams over the last ten seasons have ranked #8 or higher.

Using the current Cot's projections for 2025 the Brewers would have to add about $100M to reach the #8 payroll (Padres currently) and around $70M to reach the #13 payroll (Cubs currently).

Neither of those seem like realistic amounts of payroll to add. Even adding $40M to get to #17 (Mariners currently) feels pretty fantasyland.

No doubt the Brewers could spend more money, but it isn't really going to make much of a dent. Even an extra $25M would be pretty immaterial relative to the competition.

So a number like that basically lets us keep Adames or Burnes. Does that really noticeably change our percent once they reach playoffs? You go into the playoffs with a 5-10% chance regardless. The format and nature of the game really is a big equalizer and in spite of LADs massive advantages they are not unbeatable.

What the money does is give a massive massive increase in odds of making the playoffs. Once in things really get evened out quite a bit, though of course its still an advantage to be the better team. In baseball teams at that level are really never more than like 60% chance to win any individual game

tomwopat · January 23, 2025

On 1/21/2025 at 7:01 PM, liveforoctober said:

I guess I just don't know what we are wanting them to do? We have the 6th most wins in MLB over the last 5 years ... do fans want them to add $80million/yr to payroll? Or do they think an extra $7mil for a 1WAR 3B is going to win us a world series?

Even if we have longer odds per postseason appearance than richer teams, I still think it's the right strategy. But I also think the ownership has to do something to retain interest and create excitement in the fanbase as they've reached the point of diminishing returns when it comes to just making the postseason.

Maybe it is a new owner coming in and dumping boatloads of cash into the payroll, but we should be realistic that move would put the run of sustained competitiveness we've had at risk.

Frisbee Slider · January 24, 2025

Which free agent signings from this off-season do we wish the Brewers would have made? And would that free agent reasonably have chosen Milwaukee if offered a similar dollar amount?

umphrey · January 25, 2025

16 hours ago, Frisbee Slider said:

Which free agent signings from this off-season do we wish the Brewers would have made? And would that free agent reasonably have chosen Milwaukee if offered a similar dollar amount?

Adames

Frisbee Slider · January 25, 2025

31 minutes ago, umphrey said:

Adames

Fair. Adames would have chosen Milwaukee for similar amount.

You would really want Adames for seven years, though?

Devinep · January 25, 2025

17 hours ago, Frisbee Slider said:

Which free agent signings from this off-season do we wish the Brewers would have made? And would that free agent reasonably have chosen Milwaukee if offered a similar dollar amount?

There are many contracts where I think “that’s an overpay and the Brewers could use that money better” so in general avoiding FA overpays is a good thing. However, if the choice is between an overpay for 1 year vs doing nothing, I’d take a 1 year overpay. I wouldn’t be surprised if berlander is not worth $15million, but I’d rather have Verlander than nothing

bigred · January 25, 2025

On 1/19/2025 at 12:16 PM, Frisbee Slider said:

Everyone should agree Milwaukee having a higher payroll would be nice. It is suspect to want the Brewers to commit a quarter billion or half billion dollars to brand name free agents. That’s just poor decision making in many cases.

I would rather root against MLB teams that spend too much money unwisely than watch a product that is mediocre by design like the NFL. I loved rooting against Dallas and San Francisco in the early 90’s but those teams don’t exist in the NFL anymore since 1994 salary cap.

Nobody ever said we expect MA to spend anywhere near $250M on their payroll. We've simply said when it looks we have a 1-3yr window to really do some damage in the playoffs, especially the years when winning the division looks likely, then they should spend some $$ to make a move or 2 to try and get over the hump. Especially when we have a deep farm system to make deals with.

bigred · January 25, 2025

On 1/20/2025 at 4:52 PM, Soupbone said:

I'm not sure MLB wants the small teams to win it all. More money in revenue when big market teams are there. Just a lot of lip service to the bottom 20 teams to pacify them and the fan base with " WE MADE THE PLAYOFFS AND ONE OR TWO OF THE BIG MARKET TEAMS DIDN'T" WHOOPEE

MLB definitely doesn't want small market teams to win a WS. If they had their way, they'd prefer small market teams not making the playoffs at all.

bigred · January 25, 2025

On 1/21/2025 at 6:01 PM, liveforoctober said:

I guess I just don't know what we are wanting them to do? We have the 6th most wins in MLB over the last 5 years ... do fans want them to add $80million/yr to payroll? Or do they think an extra $7mil for a 1WAR 3B is going to win us a world series?

And we fizzle out miserably in the playoffs, almost every year. Regular season win totals don't mean jack squat, if/when we promptly get bounced from the playoffs almost every year.

bigred · January 25, 2025

On 1/22/2025 at 1:47 PM, Jopal78 said:

My question would be does increased payroll directly correlate to increased franchise value or even increased profits?

They’re professional baseball teams after all, and not some entity that has any sort of fiduciary duty to their fans.

I think the Brewer’s owner has done a fantastic job with the product he has put out on the field compared to the last 10 years before buying the team, and in comparison to similarly situated franchises: Pittsburgh Cincinnati, Cleveland, Kansas City, Detroit, etc.

Attanasio doesn’t owe me anything, and is unpopular as it may be doesn’t owe any of you anything either. I don’t understand why people think someone should invest more money in payroll without a direct correlation to it benefiting him somehow, especially if it means running his team at a loss or investing more revenue (his own money) than his market will bear.

Most fans here know he doesn't owe us anything. All we've ever said, is then MA and the front office should stop claiming they truly want to bring a championship to Milwaukee.

bigred · January 25, 2025

2 hours ago, Frisbee Slider said:

Fair. Adames would have chosen Milwaukee for similar amount.

You would really want Adames for seven years, though?

I'm willing to bet he would've taken a shorter deal, with a similar yearly average.

Frisbee Slider · January 25, 2025

58 minutes ago, bigred said:

All we've ever said, is then MA and the front office should stop claiming they truly want to bring a championship to Milwaukee.

Every team in every sport says we aim to win a championship. It is as true for Milwaukee as it is for most other teams in the world.

liveforoctober · January 25, 2025

1 hour ago, bigred said:

And we fizzle out miserably in the playoffs, almost every year. Regular season win totals don't mean jack squat, if/when we promptly get bounced from the playoffs almost every year.

Two things about that..

1) If only we had spent the money to go get the best closer in baseball last year so we could have closed out the Mets we could have made a run at it, right?

2) What is your number to be satisfied? If a big payroll is what you need to feel like we are trying ... is that number $130? $150? Top 10 in the league? Do you think an extra $20mil/yr will get us over the hump?

We gave Hoskins $17 last year and he arguably made us worse. To be safe we probably need to sign 3 or 4 of these $15-20mill guys to make sure one of them plays up the money, no?

brewerfan82 · January 25, 2025

@bigred Do you have an example of a team under similar circumstances as the Brewers (ie. not a megamarket) that operated in a way that you would like to see the Brewers operate?

I did some compiling of key free agent and trade acquisitions of the past 5 World Series participants that were in the bottom half of the league in payroll along with the past three Brewer seasons to get a better feel for how we operate in comparison. It ended up pretty lengthy so I put it in an expandable spoiler below.

But in summary, we have not been very fruitful in free agency even when we do spend (you could argue that we need to spend a little more to get better results), we have been very effective in pulling off trades in the offseason and early season, and trade deadline deals have been a bit hit or miss but similar to the other teams that went on to have a World Series appearance.

Spoiler

Looking at the initial post, here are the five teams not in the top half of the league in payroll that have made it to the World Series the past 10 years ("trade deadline" acquisitions in bold and italic):

2023 Diamondbacks ($116M payroll)

2022-23 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:
- 1/4/23 - SP Zach Davies (1 yr, $5M - 4.79 xFIP, 0.8 WAR, 82.1 IP)
- 2/11/23 - RP Andrew Chafin (1yr, $6.5M - 3.32 xFIP, 0.7 WAR, 34.1 IP)
2022-23 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):
- 12/23/22 - C Gabriel Moreno (102 wRC+, 2.3 WAR, 380 PAs)
- 12/23/22 - OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (105 wRC+, 1.9 WAR, 592 PAs)
- 8/1/23 - RF Tommy Pham (91 wRC+, 0.5 WAR, 217 PAs)

2020 Tampa Bay Rays ($28M payroll)

2019-20 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:
- None
2019-20 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):
- 1/9/20 - LF Randy Arozarena (177 wRC+, 0.7 WAR, 76 PAs)
- 1/9/20 - 1B Jose Martinez (101 wRC+, 0.0 WAR, 76 PAs)
- 2/8/20 - RF Manuel Margot (94 wRC+, 0.5 WAR, 159 PAs)

2017 Houston Astros ($138M payroll)

2016-17 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:
- 11/16/16 - SP Charlie Morton (2 yr, $14M - 3.58 xFIP, 3.1 WAR, 146.2 IP)
- 11/17/16 - RF Josh Reddick (4 yr, $52M - 127 wRC+, 3.8 WAR, 540 PAs)
- 12/3/16 - DH Carlos Beltran (1 yr, $16M - 76 wRC+, -1.2 WAR, 509 PAs)
2016-17 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):
- 11/17/16 - C Brian McCann (103 wRC+, 2.5 WAR, 399 PAs)
- 8/14/17 - RP Tyler Clippard (4.33 xFIP, -0.1 WAR, 14.0 IP)
- 9/1/17 - SP Justin Verlander (2.94 xFIP, 1.0 WAR, 34.0 IP)

2016 Cleveland Guardians ($105M payroll)

2015-16 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:
- 12/16/15 - C Mike Napoli (1 yr, $7M - 111 wRC+, 1.2 WAR, 645 PAs)
- 12/17/15 - CF Rajai Davis (1 yr, $5.25M - 83 wRC+, 1.2 WAR, 495 PAs)
2015-16 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):
- 12/18/15 - RP Dan Otero (2.88 xFIP, 1.6 WAR, 70.2 IP)
- 7/31/16 - RP Andrew Miller (0.99 xFIP, 1.1 WAR, 29.0 IP)
- 8/1/16 - LF Brandon Guyer (150 wRC+, 1.0 WAR, 96 PAs)

2015 Kansas City Royals ($126M payroll)

2014-15 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:
- 12/3/14 - RP Luke Hochevar (2 yr, $10M - 4.19 xFIP, 0.2 WAR, 50.2 IP)
- 12/11/14 - DH Kendrys Morales (2 yr, $17M - 131 wRC+, 2.1 WAR, 639 PAs)
- 12/15/14 - RF Alex Rios (1 yr, $11M - 72 wRC+, -0.2 WAR, 411 PAs)
- 12/17/14 - SP Edinson Volquez (2 yr, $20M - 4.26 xFIP, 2.7 WAR, 200.1 IP)
2014-15 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):
- 7/26/15 - SP Johnny Cueto (4.13 xFIP, 1.1 WAR, 81.1 IP)
- 7/28/15 - 2B Ben Zobrist (124 wRC+, 1.5 WAR, 264 PAs)

For comparison, here are the Brewers acquisitions the past three seasons:

2024 Milwaukee Brewers ($114M payroll)

2023-24 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:
- 1/23/24 - 1B Rhys Hoskins (2 yr, $34M - 100 wRC+, 0.1 WAR, 517 PAs)
- 2/5/24 - Jakob Junis (1 yr, $7M - 3.91 xFIP, 0.0 WAR, 26.0 IP)
- 2/19/24 - Brandon Woodruff (2 yr, $17.5M - DNP)
2023-24 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):
- 1/3/24 - RP Bryan Hudson (3.60 xFIP, 0.7 WAR, 62.1 IP)
- 2/1/24 - 3B Joey Ortiz (104 wRC+, 3.1 WAR, 511 PAs)
- 2/1/24 - RP DL Hall (4.48 xFIP, 0.2 WAR, 43.0 IP)
- 7/3/24 - SP Aaron Civale (4.47 xFIP, 0.5 WAR, 74.0 IP)
- 7/27/24 - RP Nick Mears (2.82 xFIP, -0.2 WAR, 12.1 IP)
- 7/29/24 - SP Frankie Montas (3.56 xFIP, 0.5 WAR, 57.1 IP)

2023 Milwaukee Brewers ($115M payroll)

2022-23 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:
- None
2022-23 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):
- 11/23/22 - RP Elvis Peguero (4.09 xFIP, 0.6 WAR, 61.1 IP)
- 12/12/22 - C William Contreras (125 wRC+, 5.7 WAR, 611 PAs)
- 12/12/22 - RP Joel Payamps (3.65 xFIP, 1.2 WAR, 70.2 IP)
- 4/30/23 - RP Trevor Megill (3.14 xFIP, 0.8 WAR, 34.2 IP)
- 7/27/23 - 1B Carlos Santana (107 wRC+, 0.7 WAR, 226 PAs)
- 7/31/23 - LF Mark Canha (120 wRC+, 0.9 WAR, 204 PAs)

2022 Milwaukee Brewers ($131M payroll)

2021-22 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:
- 3/14/22 - DH Andrew McCutchen (1 yr, $8.5M - 98 wRC+, 0.6 WAR, 580 PAs)
2021-22 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):
- 11/13/21 - 3B Mike Brousseau (118 wRC+, 0.6 WAR, 160 PAs)
- 12/1/21 - RF Hunter Renfroe (124 wRC+, 2.4 WAR, 522 PAs)
- 8/1/22 - RP Taylor Rodgers (3.09 xFIP, -0.3 WAR, 23.0 IP)
- 8/2/22 - RP Matt Bush (3.44 xFIP, -0.3 WAR, 23.0 IP)

Here are how those teams rank when adding up WAR added by free agency, early trades, and deadline trades:

Free Agency:

2017 Astros (5.7 WAR, 3 players, $36M spent)
2015 Royals (4.8M, 4 players, $34.5M spent)
2016 Guardians (2.4 WAR, 2 players, $12.25M spent)
2023 Diamondbacks (1.5 WAR, 2 players, $11.5M spent)
2022 Brewers (0.6 WAR, 1 player, $8.5M spent)
2024 Brewers (0.1 WAR, 3 players, $32.75M spent, incl. $8.75M for Woodruff)
2020 Rays (no acquisitions)
2023 Brewers (no acquisitions)

Early Trades:

2023 Brewers (8.3 WAR, 4 players)
2023 Diamondbacks (4.2 WAR, 2 players)
2024 Brewers (4.0 WAR, 3 players)
2022 Brewers (3.0 WAR, 2 players)
2017 Astros (2.5 WAR, 1 player)
2016 Guardians (1.6 WAR, 1 player)
2020 Rays (1.2 WAR, 3 players)
2015 Royals (no acquisitions)

Deadline Trades:

2015 Royals (2.6 WAR, 2 players)
2016 Guardians (2.1 WAR, 2 players)
2023 Brewers (1.6 WAR, 2 players)
2017 Astros (0.9 WAR, 2 players)
2024 Brewers (0.8 WAR, 3 players)
2023 Diamondbacks (0.5 WAR, 1 player)
2020 Rays (no acquisitions)
2022 Brewers (-0.6 WAR, 2 players)

Total:

2023 Brewers (9.9 WAR, 6 players)
2017 Astros (9.1 WAR, 6 players)
2015 Royals (7.4 WAR, 6 players)
2023 Diamondbacks (6.2 WAR, 5 players)
2016 Guardians (6.1 WAR, 5 players)
2024 Brewers (4.9 WAR, 9 players)
2022 Brewers (4.2 WAR, 5 players)
2020 Rays (1.2 WAR, 3 players)

bigred · January 25, 2025

2 hours ago, Frisbee Slider said:

Every team in every sport says we aim to win a championship. It is as true for Milwaukee as it is for most other teams in the world.

Most actually try and do it though, or if they don't, their fan base finally catches on to their lies, and find other teams to root for.

bigred · January 25, 2025

2 hours ago, liveforoctober said:

Two things about that..

1) If only we had spent the money to go get the best closer in baseball last year so we could have closed out the Mets we could have made a run at it, right?

2) What is your number to be satisfied? If a big payroll is what you need to feel like we are trying ... is that number $130? $150? Top 10 in the league? Do you think an extra $20mil/yr will get us over the hump?

We gave Hoskins $17 last year and he arguably made us worse. To be safe we probably need to sign 3 or 4 of these $15-20mill guys to make sure one of them plays up the money, no?

Don't need a number. Simply attempting to make a meaningful move or 2 would be nice. They don't though.

bigred · January 25, 2025

1 hour ago, brewerfan82 said:

@bigred Do you have an example of a team under similar circumstances as the Brewers (ie. not a megamarket) that operated in a way that you would like to see the Brewers operate?

I did some compiling of key free agent and trade acquisitions of the past 5 World Series participants that were in the bottom half of the league in payroll along with the past three Brewer seasons to get a better feel for how we operate in comparison. It ended up pretty lengthy so I put it in an expandable spoiler below.

But in summary, we have not been very fruitful in free agency even when we do spend (you could argue that we need to spend a little more to get better results), we have been very effective in pulling off trades in the offseason and early season, and trade deadline deals have been a bit hit or miss but similar to the other teams that went on to have a World Series appearance.

Reveal hidden contents

Looking at the initial post, here are the five teams not in the top half of the league in payroll that have made it to the World Series the past 10 years ("trade deadline" acquisitions in bold and italic):

2023 Diamondbacks ($116M payroll)

2022-23 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:

1/4/23 - SP Zach Davies (1 yr, $5M - 4.79 xFIP, 0.8 WAR, 82.1 IP)

2/11/23 - RP Andrew Chafin (1yr, $6.5M - 3.32 xFIP, 0.7 WAR, 34.1 IP)

2022-23 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):

12/23/22 - C Gabriel Moreno (102 wRC+, 2.3 WAR, 380 PAs)

12/23/22 - OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (105 wRC+, 1.9 WAR, 592 PAs)

8/1/23 - RF Tommy Pham (91 wRC+, 0.5 WAR, 217 PAs)

2020 Tampa Bay Rays ($28M payroll)

2019-20 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:

None

2019-20 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):

1/9/20 - LF Randy Arozarena (177 wRC+, 0.7 WAR, 76 PAs)

1/9/20 - 1B Jose Martinez (101 wRC+, 0.0 WAR, 76 PAs)

2/8/20 - RF Manuel Margot (94 wRC+, 0.5 WAR, 159 PAs)

2017 Houston Astros ($138M payroll)

2016-17 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:

11/16/16 - SP Charlie Morton (2 yr, $14M - 3.58 xFIP, 3.1 WAR, 146.2 IP)

11/17/16 - RF Josh Reddick (4 yr, $52M - 127 wRC+, 3.8 WAR, 540 PAs)

12/3/16 - DH Carlos Beltran (1 yr, $16M - 76 wRC+, -1.2 WAR, 509 PAs)

2016-17 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):

11/17/16 - C Brian McCann (103 wRC+, 2.5 WAR, 399 PAs)

8/14/17 - RP Tyler Clippard (4.33 xFIP, -0.1 WAR, 14.0 IP)

9/1/17 - SP Justin Verlander (2.94 xFIP, 1.0 WAR, 34.0 IP)

2016 Cleveland Guardians ($105M payroll)

2015-16 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:

12/16/15 - C Mike Napoli (1 yr, $7M - 111 wRC+, 1.2 WAR, 645 PAs)

12/17/15 - CF Rajai Davis (1 yr, $5.25M - 83 wRC+, 1.2 WAR, 495 PAs)

2015-16 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):

12/18/15 - RP Dan Otero (2.88 xFIP, 1.6 WAR, 70.2 IP)

7/31/16 - RP Andrew Miller (0.99 xFIP, 1.1 WAR, 29.0 IP)

8/1/16 - LF Brandon Guyer (150 wRC+, 1.0 WAR, 96 PAs)

2015 Kansas City Royals ($126M payroll)

2014-15 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:

12/3/14 - RP Luke Hochevar (2 yr, $10M - 4.19 xFIP, 0.2 WAR, 50.2 IP)

12/11/14 - DH Kendrys Morales (2 yr, $17M - 131 wRC+, 2.1 WAR, 639 PAs)

12/15/14 - RF Alex Rios (1 yr, $11M - 72 wRC+, -0.2 WAR, 411 PAs)

12/17/14 - SP Edinson Volquez (2 yr, $20M - 4.26 xFIP, 2.7 WAR, 200.1 IP)

2014-15 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):

7/26/15 - SP Johnny Cueto (4.13 xFIP, 1.1 WAR, 81.1 IP)

7/28/15 - 2B Ben Zobrist (124 wRC+, 1.5 WAR, 264 PAs)

For comparison, here are the Brewers acquisitions the past three seasons:

2024 Milwaukee Brewers ($114M payroll)

2023-24 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:

1/23/24 - 1B Rhys Hoskins (2 yr, $34M - 100 wRC+, 0.1 WAR, 517 PAs)

2/5/24 - Jakob Junis (1 yr, $7M - 3.91 xFIP, 0.0 WAR, 26.0 IP)

2/19/24 - Brandon Woodruff (2 yr, $17.5M - DNP)

2023-24 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):

1/3/24 - RP Bryan Hudson (3.60 xFIP, 0.7 WAR, 62.1 IP)

2/1/24 - 3B Joey Ortiz (104 wRC+, 3.1 WAR, 511 PAs)

2/1/24 - RP DL Hall (4.48 xFIP, 0.2 WAR, 43.0 IP)

7/3/24 - SP Aaron Civale (4.47 xFIP, 0.5 WAR, 74.0 IP)

7/27/24 - RP Nick Mears (2.82 xFIP, -0.2 WAR, 12.1 IP)

7/29/24 - SP Frankie Montas (3.56 xFIP, 0.5 WAR, 57.1 IP)

2023 Milwaukee Brewers ($115M payroll)

2022-23 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:

None

2022-23 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):

11/23/22 - RP Elvis Peguero (4.09 xFIP, 0.6 WAR, 61.1 IP)

12/12/22 - C William Contreras (125 wRC+, 5.7 WAR, 611 PAs)

12/12/22 - RP Joel Payamps (3.65 xFIP, 1.2 WAR, 70.2 IP)

4/30/23 - RP Trevor Megill (3.14 xFIP, 0.8 WAR, 34.2 IP)

7/27/23 - 1B Carlos Santana (107 wRC+, 0.7 WAR, 226 PAs)

7/31/23 - LF Mark Canha (120 wRC+, 0.9 WAR, 204 PAs)

2022 Milwaukee Brewers ($131M payroll)

2021-22 Free Agent Signings >= $5M per year:

3/14/22 - DH Andrew McCutchen (1 yr, $8.5M - 98 wRC+, 0.6 WAR, 580 PAs)

2021-22 Trade Acquisitions (min. 90 wRC+, max: 4.5 xFIP):

11/13/21 - 3B Mike Brousseau (118 wRC+, 0.6 WAR, 160 PAs)

12/1/21 - RF Hunter Renfroe (124 wRC+, 2.4 WAR, 522 PAs)

8/1/22 - RP Taylor Rodgers (3.09 xFIP, -0.3 WAR, 23.0 IP)

8/2/22 - RP Matt Bush (3.44 xFIP, -0.3 WAR, 23.0 IP)

Here are how those teams rank when adding up WAR added by free agency, early trades, and deadline trades:

Free Agency:

2017 Astros (5.7 WAR, 3 players, $36M spent)

2015 Royals (4.8M, 4 players, $34.5M spent)

2016 Guardians (2.4 WAR, 2 players, $12.25M spent)

2023 Diamondbacks (1.5 WAR, 2 players, $11.5M spent)

2022 Brewers (0.6 WAR, 1 player, $8.5M spent)

2024 Brewers (0.1 WAR, 3 players, $32.75M spent, incl. $8.75M for Woodruff)

2020 Rays (no acquisitions)

2023 Brewers (no acquisitions)

Early Trades:

2023 Brewers (8.3 WAR, 4 players)

2023 Diamondbacks (4.2 WAR, 2 players)

2024 Brewers (4.0 WAR, 3 players)

2022 Brewers (3.0 WAR, 2 players)

2017 Astros (2.5 WAR, 1 player)

2016 Guardians (1.6 WAR, 1 player)

2020 Rays (1.2 WAR, 3 players)

2015 Royals (no acquisitions)

Deadline Trades:

2015 Royals (2.6 WAR, 2 players)

2016 Guardians (2.1 WAR, 2 players)

2023 Brewers (1.6 WAR, 2 players)

2017 Astros (0.9 WAR, 2 players)

2024 Brewers (0.8 WAR, 3 players)

2023 Diamondbacks (0.5 WAR, 1 player)

2020 Rays (no acquisitions)

2022 Brewers (-0.6 WAR, 2 players)

Total:

2023 Brewers (9.9 WAR, 6 players)

2017 Astros (9.1 WAR, 6 players)

2015 Royals (7.4 WAR, 6 players)

2023 Diamondbacks (6.2 WAR, 5 players)

2016 Guardians (6.1 WAR, 5 players)

2024 Brewers (4.9 WAR, 9 players)

2022 Brewers (4.2 WAR, 5 players)

2020 Rays (1.2 WAR, 3 players)

Like I and others have said before, and will continue to say, then they need to stop lying to our fan base by claiming they're trying to bring Milwaukee a championship.

Frisbee Slider · January 25, 2025

15 minutes ago, bigred said:

Most actually try and do it though, or if they don't, their fan base finally catches on to their lies, and find other teams to root for.

The Browns, Lions, Texans and Jaguars have really never been very close to winning a Super Bowl.

They still have millions of fans. (tying this topic to people who wish major-league baseball was more like the NFL).

CheeseheadInQC · January 25, 2025

6 minutes ago, bigred said:

Like I and others have said before, and will continue to say, then they need to stop lying to our fan base by claiming they're trying to bring Milwaukee a championship.

The problem is you are turning your opinion into an unimpeachable fact. If you want to argue that bites of the apple isn’t the right strategy to win a championship, that is fine. There is ample debate to be had. The thing is, many people disagree with you. If the Brewers believe it is the best strategy based upon the limitations they face, then they aren’t lying or gaslighting, they simply have a different team building philosophy than you.

bigred · January 25, 2025

12 minutes ago, Frisbee Slider said:

The Browns, Lions, Texans and Jaguars have really never been very close to winning a Super Bowl.

They still have millions of fans. (tying this topic to people who wish major-league baseball was more like the NFL).

Completely different sport. C'mon now. That's because NFL football is now our national sport. Baseball isn't anymore.

bigred · January 25, 2025

10 minutes ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

The problem is you are turning your opinion into an unimpeachable fact. If you want to argue that bites of the apple isn’t the right strategy to win a championship, that is fine. There is ample debate to be had. The thing is, many people disagree with you. If the Brewers believe it is the best strategy based upon the limitations they face, then they aren’t lying or gaslighting, they simply have a different team building philosophy than you.

How many more years of that very thing happening is it going to take, before you finally realize it's been a very frustrating trend? To the point that it starts forming a very obvious picture? Well, to those fans that aren't in complete denial at least.

bigred · January 25, 2025

19 minutes ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

The problem is you are turning your opinion into an unimpeachable fact. If you want to argue that bites of the apple isn’t the right strategy to win a championship, that is fine. There is ample debate to be had. The thing is, many people disagree with you. If the Brewers believe it is the best strategy based upon the limitations they face, then they aren’t lying or gaslighting, they simply have a different team building philosophy than you.

Then, and I'll say it again, they shouldn't keep saying their trying to actually win a championship, because they obviously aren't. We've had a deep farm system for how many years now? 3-4? Yet they continue to not make serious attempts to use even a few of our prospects, to make a meaningful attempt to get over the hump to win one.

wiguy94 · January 25, 2025

45 minutes ago, bigred said:

Most actually try and do it though, or if they don't, their fan base finally catches on to their lies, and find other teams to root for.

Go root for another team then

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