What Needs Should The Brewers Prioritize From These American League Sellers?

[Matthew Lenz]

While we are still about a month and a half away from the trade deadline, it's starting to get late early for some teams across Major League Baseball. With the trade deadline set for July 31, we are roughly a month away from the hot stove reaching its inferno. However, there are a handful of teams that we can pretty confidently say are going to be sellers around the deadline. Who are they, what do they have to offer, and how could the Milwaukee Brewers benefit? Let's dive in.

Chicago White Sox
The White Sox are 12 games below .500 and 13 games out of the playoff spot. They acknowledged a multi-year rebuild over the off-season, so it shouldn't be surprising that they are sellers once again. Potential rentals include outfielders Michael A. Taylor and Austin Slater as well as recently acquired starter Aaron Civale (the Brewers have the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever). Otherwise, intriguing players who are controlled beyond 2025 include infielder Josh Rojas and outfielder Mike Tauchman. However, it’s more realistic that teams aggressively kick the tires on outfielder Luis Robert Jr., who has been the subject of trade speculation for a while now. Robert Jr. signed a pre-arbitration extension that included $20 million team options for 2026 and 2027 that can be bought out for $2 million. Once a top prospect in baseball, the 28-year-old has had a hard time staying healthy throughout his career and has struggled at the plate over the last two seasons.

Athletics
The Athletics are in a free fall ever since they started their season 22-20. In their last 28 games they have just four wins. While they are a young team with some exciting talent, they're obviously not ready yet and have a handful of rentals that teams could kick the tires on. Most notably are utility players Miguel Andujar and Luis Urias who have both produced above average at the plate this season. Third baseman Gio Urshela is more than two years removed from his last productive season and has a mediocre glove at the hot corner, but could be an intriguing option to handle the short side of a platoon. On the mound, Jose Leclerc and T.J. McFarland are two potential reliever rentals, though Leclerc has been sidelined with a lat strain since April and McFarland has been plain bad. It seems likely that at least one of Andujar, Urias, or Urshela are traded ahead of the deadline.

Baltimore Orioles
Injuries aside, it's still pretty shocking to see the Orioles struggling this much. After winning 91 games and earning a playoff berth in 2024, they are currently 13 games below .500 and 8.5 games out of a playoff spot. The difference here is that the Orioles are not in the midst of a rebuild, so it's likely they limit their moves to players on expiring deals. Those names include: pitchers Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Gregory Soto as well as outfielder Cedric Mullins. Of those players, Eflin, Sugano, and Soto are having successful seasons on the mound and will draw significant trade interest. However, two names that have been the subject of trade rumors but are controllable beyond 2025 are first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and outfielder Heston Kjerstad. Mountcastle, who will miss the next 8-12 weeks with a hamstring strain, is having a down year with a .628 OPS and two home runs. Kjerstad, who was recently optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, has also struggled this season but has often found himself as the odd man out of a stacked group of young talent.

Brewers' Needs
Right now, the Brewers have the hot stove on medium with their recent moves. Promoting top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski resulted in Aaron Civale being forced to the bullpen, which led to the 30 year old to request a trade. Roughly 24 hours later he was traded to the Chicago White Sox for first baseman/outfielder (1B/OF) Andrew Vaughn, then made 1B/OF Jake Bauers available for trade. A bizarre chain reaction that didn't address any of their needs.

Offensively, the Brewers are average to below-average depending on which stats you consider, but that’s largely in part to two black holes on the left side of the infield. At both shortstop and third base, the Brewers collectively have the lowest OPS in the league. Moreover, their group of third basemen (mostly Caleb Durbin, Vinny Capra, and Oliver Dunn) aren't great with their gloves, whereas Joey Ortiz can at least provide a plus glove at short. They could definitely benefit from one of the three infielders the Athletics have available. The Brewers pitching staff has been mediocre as a whole, though the recent addition of Misiorowski will undoubtedly give their rotation a bump. Additionally, they may get production from starters returning from injury. However, it would make a lot of sense for the Brewers to bolster their bullpen.

The Brewers are relying on a lot of young talent, so it wouldn't be surprising to see them mostly stand pat at the trade deadline. I wouldn't write-off them acquiring a low- to- medium leverage reliever or two.

What move(s) do you think the Brewers should make to improve their roster? Or do you think they should stick with what they have? Join the conversation in the comments!

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[izzi]

None of those options, thanks. What we need isn't available. We need a corner infielder who hits for average and some power but doesn't strike out, preferably bats right-handed. Stand pat I say.

[endaround]

One player who if healthy that makes a lot of sense is Moncada. The "if healthy" is doing a lot, but he is on a one year contract with little cost and the Brewers could easily afford the prospect cost to acquire him.

[jay87shot]

Ramon Urias would be a guy I would go after. It also depends on how Mitchell and Perkins look when they come back. If those two don't look great I would be opposed to Cedric Mullins or a gamble on Robert if the price was low and the other team ate most of the salary.

I think the NL sellers maybe more interesting for us.