2026 Trade/Waiver Targets

[tmwiese55]

Houston with only one year left seems like a long shot and as said with Houston's history I'll be surprised if they punt on the season anytime soon.

Similar level player who makes more sense would be Abrams in WAS.  They've been a fun team so far and the O is doing well but there's no way they can hang in the standing long term.  Has two years left after this so would be more worth legit prospects.   I'm not sure how his D is checking out at SS but could easily shift to 3B next year or whenever Pratt is ready.  Then of course look to trade him when has one year left. 

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, endaround said:

Yes. Pena is worth a real prospect.  Ortiz is a guy you throw in because they need someone to play out the year. If you think Pena is about a 2.5 win player you are looking around something like Williams as the headline. But as mentioned the Astros playing in the AL are far from out it right now.  Though it does get late early.

They just find a way to win though. They were 10-20... either last year or the year prior and made a playoff run. 

I still like Ortiz. I believe he'll find a role with a team in the future as a super utility player. Playing 2B, SS and 3B all at a high level... but he's got a OPS of what, .590 the last two years. I could see a veteran reliever who's been DFA for Ortiz, but his value is at an all-time low. 

If he had an option, I think you may be able to get something good for him(as in a low level arm with projection and poor command) perhaps, but there's no value.

As for Pena, this would make sense and I don't think the money would be the obstacle. I think it's a factor now that you have extended Pratt and you really have to extend Made, but not prohibitive. 
But it'd cost a guy like Dinges, Adamczewski, maybe Braylon Payne a prospect like that+ a Tate Kuehner type arm... IMO. And that may be light. 

 

If we had a lineup that was firing on all cylinders and we had just the holes on the left side of the infield, I'd be much more on board, but we're missing our 3 best power hitters, our bullpen isn't throwing particularly well. 

I'm still on the Grant Taylor train. I'd give up Adamczewski+another solid prospect for Taylor. But not Pena. 

[jay87shot]

If Megill gets it back together and can put together a couple good months what are thoughts on trading him. I would guess his value isn't what it could have been. If he can get the ERA under 4 there should be really good demand for a flamethrower with 1.5 years of control and closer experience. Would we just want to keep him, we have a lot on the IL so predicting the shape of the bullpen in July is tricky.

Would there be any interest in our 1B depth? I could see a world where someone would want Bauers, Black, or Vaughn if all are playing well in a month or so.

Note: I would be looking for a mlb upgrade at SS/3B or more controllable reliever as a main piece back in a trade.

[Brian]

Trade targets? Pitching I say is #1.

[Brian]

As part of our annual first-month executives poll, we asked 20 front-office members whom they believed would be the biggest name moved by the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline. Some of the names have been rumored trade targets for the past year or two. Others may surprise you:

Sandy Alcantara, Marlins (4 votes)
CJ Abrams, Nationals (3 votes)
Joe Ryan, Twins (3 votes)
Yordan Alvarez, Astros (2 votes)
Luis Arraez, Giants (1 vote)
Jarren Duran, Red Sox (1 vote)
Seth Lugo, Royals (1 vote)
Freddy Peralta, Mets (1 vote)
Tarik Skubal, Tigers (1 vote)
Mike Trout, Angels (1 vote)
Michael Wacha, Royals (1 vote)
Zack Wheeler, Phillies (1 vote)

[Dadbauer]

Would feel bad for Freddy if he gets traded again. CJ Abrams would look great in powder blue.

[BrewLongma34]

What would it take to trade for Carlos Correa from the Astros?   

[wallus]

1 hour ago, BrewLongma34 said:

What would it take to trade for Carlos Correa from the Astros?   

Lack of sense

[sveumrules]

59 minutes ago, BrewLongma34 said:

What would it take to trade for Carlos Correa from the Astros?   

Correa has a full no trade clause and is owed $85M through the 2028 season.

Could see him maybe waiving the NTC again for a marquee big market WS contending franchise, but not sure he'd do it for Milwaukee or that Mark A would sign off on such a big ticket expenditure even if Carlos was willing to come here.

[Brian]

History says the Brewers make a major, differance making, positive trade about once every 3 years or so.  Are we due for one in 2026?

Me thinks pitching injuries are slowly turning into an epidemic in Milwaukee. 

[BrewerFan]

On 4/30/2026 at 12:13 PM, jay87shot said:

If Megill gets it back together and can put together a couple good months what are thoughts on trading him.

So you're asking if Megill gets back to form... which, I think he's back there now as he's gone 7IP, 2H, 1BB 0 ERs and 8K with a 1.29 FIP. Even on the year he has a 2.29 FIP. 

But if you're talking about ERA... once he's back to a dominant late inning reliever...we should trade him? WHY? That's exactly what we need. A dominant back end of the bullpen. 

We don't have power arms ready in the minor leagues, we haven't signed anyone or claimed anyone who can be like Megill. 

I suppose if we're under .500 at the deadline and 10 back... fine, but we're still competitive what looks like a Sunday lineup EVERYDAY without Vaughn, Chourio and Yelich, all of whom should be back by June. 

 

On 4/30/2026 at 12:13 PM, jay87shot said:

Would there be any interest in our 1B depth? I could see a world where someone would want Bauers, Black, or Vaughn if all are playing well in a month or so.

What depth? I guess Bauers, but again, I'd prefer to keep him as his value would be minimal and we have plenty of mediocre prospects(and lots of very good ones). 

 

On 4/30/2026 at 12:13 PM, jay87shot said:

Note: I would be looking for a mlb upgrade at SS/3B or more controllable reliever as a main piece back in a trade.

We have worse relievers with lots of team control. Dominant closers who can throw an upper 90s fastball by you... those are decidedly more difficult to come by. 


Are we punting on this season? Or... I'm not sure I understand. You always want to turn a older guy like Megill into a younger version of Megill, but... for obvious reasons, teams don't tend to do that. At best they take an arm like Sproat who they don't believe is reliable enough and they trade him for an immediate upgrade because they don't have the time or the patience to wait, but you're almost certainly getting a downgrade. 

If you're saying do this AFTER the season, sure. He's in a walk year and we have all off-season to find some arms and you may have a better read on some other pitchers in the system, but I don't see how it serves any purpose to do so this year. 

 

On 5/1/2026 at 12:32 PM, Brian said:

Trade targets? Pitching I say is #1.

If I could pick a position... while accounting for price, I'd definitely look for a high leverage RHed reliever. 

Obviously I'd love a Starting pitcher, but they're really expensive if they're valuable and we had Pratt, Made, Pena, Jett, coming up pretty quickly, corner IFers(in addition to Pratt who probably ends up there), Wilken, Adams, Burke...

But I've yet to see a BP that was overburdened with power arms. 

[jay87shot]

6 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

So you're asking if Megill gets back to form... which, I think he's back there now as he's gone 7IP, 2H, 1BB 0 ERs and 8K with a 1.29 FIP. Even on the year he has a 2.29 FIP. 

What depth? I guess Bauers, but again, I'd prefer to keep him as his value would be minimal and we have plenty of mediocre prospects(and lots of very good ones). 

We have worse relievers with lots of team control. Dominant closers who can throw an upper 90s fastball by you... those are decidedly more difficult to come by. 


Are we punting on this season? Or... I'm not sure I understand. You always want to turn a older guy like Megill into a younger version of Megill, but... for obvious reasons, teams don't tend to do that. At best they take an arm like Sproat who they don't believe is reliable enough and they trade him for an immediate upgrade because they don't have the time or the patience to wait, but you're almost certainly getting a downgrade. 

 

They way I look at it is that in a couple months I don't expect the bullpen to be an issue but SS/3B probably will even if Pratt or Williams get a call up I don't see them being world burners right away. 

I think our 1B depth is great, Vaughn is back today, we have Bauers and Black looking like capable everyday players and still Adams, Burke, and probably Wilken as upper minors options later in the year. I don't think we would get a ton but if we traded Bauers (again like a month or two down the line) I don't think we lose anything having Black take his place.

Trading guys for max value is the Brewers way, I bring up the idea of possibly trading Megill becuase we have seen desperate teams way overpay for power arms with closing potential mid-season almost every year. We have also seen our organization find/make guys who can rise to the occasion in late innings. We have Uribe, Ashby as proven late innings guys with Hall and Anderson as solid mid inning guys. There are plenty of guys like Fitzpatrick, Koenig, Yoho, Drohan, Gasser, (I think on of Gasser/Drohan could be move to the bullpen, especially if Hall earns a late inning spot) Childers, Holub, Rob Z, and others who could have some late innings potential that it would make trading Megill plausible. I wouldn't trade him any time soon but this is the Brewers way explore trades and see if anyone give surplus value. 

[BrewerFan]

5 hours ago, jay87shot said:

They way I look at it is that in a couple months I don't expect the bullpen to be an issue but SS/3B probably will even if Pratt or Williams get a call up I don't see them being world burners right away. 

I don't fully understand that. The BP has been great as it stands, but if you take Megill out of there, it sure seems like it will be. Our #2 RHH would be... Grant Anderson?

And what are we getting at SS/3B(which I don't think will be a problem with Rengifo, but lets say that it is)... who is giving up a significant upgrade for a little over a year or a late inning reliever?

You'd be lucky to get a Jett Williams type. 
 

5 hours ago, jay87shot said:

I think our 1B depth is great, Vaughn is back today, we have Bauers and Black looking like capable everyday players and still Adams, Burke, and probably Wilken as upper minors options later in the year.

Ok, if Wilken, Adams or Burke can prove they can hit at AAA, then fine. Though they're different players and offer little in the way of versatility. Some 3B/1B, but if they're going to be up, the need for 3B goes down. 

And that's if Rengifo's BABIP stays at ~.200. I'm thinking it's going to go up a bit. 

 

5 hours ago, jay87shot said:

Trading guys for max value is the Brewers way

It's really not. Trading Devin Williams at the ASB before the playoffs would have been the Brewers way. 
Trading Adames before his final year would have been max value. 
Trading Burnes with 2 years to go would have been max value. 

They generally trade a guy with a year left or they let him walk. They don't trade a closer if he's throwing well and the one time they did... they openly said they made a mistake. 

 

Of course if I took that literally, Misiorowski's value is probably peak value right now. But they're not trading him. You have to have SOME balance for winning and staying competitive. 

Every year we make what generally turns out to be an ill-fated attempt to trade for a high leverage reliever. We ask about the better ones, they're too expensive, we take a lesser one. I don't see how the BP is going to fix itself, it's going to be... almost all lefties out there(especially if Koenig does come back) and a pretty big hit when your SP'ing is expected to go 5 or MAYBE 6 innings. 

5 hours ago, jay87shot said:

We have Uribe, Ashby as proven late innings guys with Hall and Anderson as solid mid inning guys. There are plenty of guys like Fitzpatrick, Koenig, Yoho, Drohan, Gasser, (I think on of Gasser/Drohan could be move to the bullpen, especially if Hall earns a late inning spot) Childers, Holub, Rob Z, and others who could have some late innings potential that it would make trading Megill plausible. I wouldn't trade him any time soon but this is the Brewers way explore trades and see if anyone give surplus value. 

That's Uribe... maybe Ashby, though he usually comes in after the starter and then just a list of pitchers we have that are in no way high leverage relievers. 

I put all the lefties in bold. 
I put the pitchers I'd trust at all late in a playoff game in Italics. 

I'm just not seeing how you can afford to trade an AS Closer AND say you're serious about competing. 

This December? Sure. 
This July if we're near the top of the division? No. 

It's like the trading pitching depth you proposed trading from. There's a lot of names, but that doesn't mean you want to count on them in big spots OR that you frankly even have enough. 

We're really at the point where if we're going to trade for someone, we should be trading for a Megill and trading the prospects. NOT the other way around. 

[cragi]

Arnold made pretty clear when they traded away Durbin/Mona/Siegler that they were expendable because they didnt want to block prospects (Pratt, Made, Fischer, Pena, etc). Then they signed Pratt, making their intent clear. Everyone else is just a very temporary fix and someone is going to be filling 3B/SS soon from within.

Brewers need starting pitching right now and not much else.

[Playing Catch]

20 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

 

On 5/4/2026 at 7:22 AM, jay87shot said:

Trading guys for max value is the Brewers way

It's really not.

Yeah. I think that some fans (not necessarily jay), see the lack of FA spending/payroll as a lack of having winning intentions, and presume that these trades reflect an eye on profit/avarice. But the Brewers have obviously eschewed spending on "stars," and have instead put an onus on real-world, on-field player-value. And not just generically valuing WAR-above-all, but valuing very specific skillsets that fill out an entire team's roster in order to win games. The front office simply doesn't behave like a team that is primarily focused on merely providing a summer's worth of entertainment.

[tmwiese55]

2 hours ago, cragi said:

Arnold made pretty clear when they traded away Durbin/Mona/Siegler that they were expendable because they didnt want to block prospects (Pratt, Made, Fischer, Pena, etc). Then they signed Pratt, making their intent clear. Everyone else is just a very temporary fix and someone is going to be filling 3B/SS soon from within.

Brewers need starting pitching right now and not much else.

Generally agree with your overall point on that its clear the long term plan on the left side of the IF.  However, if they plan on competing this year I'd say there is still a need or possibility to add at least one person who can fill in at 3b/ss to finish the year at a competent/mediocre level. That's clear top need imo.

I don't see them breaking the bank or anything but a cheap pick up to get basic competency to finish the year.  Something like the equivalent of Canha/Santana pickups from a couple years ago, but who can play one of 3b/ss.   Off the top of my head I don't know who that could be

[jay87shot]

2 hours ago, cragi said:

Arnold made pretty clear when they traded away Durbin/Mona/Siegler that they were expendable because they didnt want to block prospects (Pratt, Made, Fischer, Pena, etc). Then they signed Pratt, making their intent clear. Everyone else is just a very temporary fix and someone is going to be filling 3B/SS soon from within.

Brewers need starting pitching right now and not much else.

The starting pitching has been great and we have a ton of depth, yes injuries have worn that down but we have Gasser, Crow, and Kuehner in AAA pitching well and Drohan in the pen (CarRod if need be) as depth. Preister isn't an option but maybe could be in a couple weeks if things go right. Woody might be back shortly as well depending on circumstances. I wouldn't be against adding a veteran top of the rotation arm at the deadline but starting pitching isn't a need.

Rengifo   .188/.252/.267  ops. 520 46 ops+

Ortiz .181/.259/.181  ops .440 26 ops+

Hamilton .235/.337/.259  ops .596 70 ops+   (Good utility numbers)

I really like Pratt and Williams and do think each will get a shot however even if they play well I can't see either hitting great right away. I wouldn't advocate for a huge move but there are guys who could improve the spot and not cost much. I have brought up Edmundo Sosa and Luiz Arraez (iffy 3B) already but there are potential other options who could be cheaper options who would block anyone long term. SS/3B is clearly our biggest need at this point for next year and beyond no.

 

[cragi]

9 hours ago, jay87shot said:

starting pitching isn't a need.

That was my belief to start the season as well. However, thats not how its playing out and maybe i shouldnt have qualified it as "starting" pitching but another reliable arm somewhere.

Last year's starting pitchers were Peralta, Priester, Miz, Quintana, and Woody. Only Miz is standing right now from that group and he's even sidelined at the moment. We had high expectations for Zerpa. Koenig gone. Sproat doesnt seem to be ready.  

So yeah, lots of potential in the minors, but I think they will look for another arm that can be plugged in.

[jay87shot]

The Twins are starting to scuffle and I have been waiting but Byron Buxton would fit perfectly in our lineup. What would you all think about something like Frelick, Fischer, and Crow/Gasser for Buxton and a reliever (their options aren't great). That would be a huge upgrade and we wouldn't lose anything that isn't blocked. We could maybe the swing a lesser trade for some other pitching depth. We could probably get the Twins to chip in a little bit of money if necessary.

[TURBO]

32 minutes ago, jay87shot said:

The Twins are starting to scuffle and I have been waiting but Byron Buxton would fit perfectly in our lineup. What would you all think about something like Frelick, Fischer, and Crow/Gasser for Buxton and a reliever (their options aren't great). That would be a huge upgrade and we wouldn't lose anything that isn't blocked. We could maybe the swing a lesser trade for some other pitching depth. We could probably get the Twins to chip in a little bit of money if necessary.

Who is blocking Fischer currently?

We always have nothing at 3B, and now you want to trade away what looks to be our future 3B?

I like Buxton, but he hasn't been hurt yet this season, so you know it's coming...

It would be a risky trade, and I'm not against getting him, but a guy like Fischer is too rich for my blood.

[jay87shot]

1 hour ago, TURBO said:

Who is blocking Fischer currently?

We always have nothing at 3B, and now you want to trade away what looks to be our future 3B?

I like Buxton, but he hasn't been hurt yet this season, so you know it's coming...

It would be a risky trade, and I'm not against getting him, but a guy like Fischer is too rich for my blood.

I would guess one of Made, Pratt, Pena, or Jett will lay claim to 3B by the time Fischer is ready. Sure it isn't blocked at the moment but there are better prospects who well get to the bigs before him and likely block his spot. He probably has more upside than the 1B prospects at the moment. I really just mean losing Fischer wouldn't hurt our organizational depth, currently he has lots of value as a top 100 guy but with his strikeouts he is at a high likihood to struggle than those other prospects in my opinion.

I don't think he is a lot different than Burke or Adams as a prospect and a step ahead of Wilken and Bitonti but is ranked much higher than all of them. If we were to trade a prospect for a quality player Fischer is 1st in line in my book.

[cragi]

i dont see the brewers giving up a top-tier talent like fischer.  They can offload from a position of strength at OF/1B