Sources: Brewers "Starting Conversations" About Aggressive Trade Deadline Moves, But Unlikely to Make One

[Matthew Trueblood]

13 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Let's be honest. The vast majority of prospects don't work out like we think they will

Ah, but remember the corollary and caveat to that: A whole lot of glitzy trade-deadline acquisitions don't work out as hoped, either.

[Brian]

6 hours ago, Matthew Trueblood said:

Ah, but remember the corollary and caveat to that: A whole lot of glitzy trade-deadline acquisitions don't work out as hoped, either.

I agree, I still remember the hundreds of posts last year saying to get Eugeno Suasez at the deadline and replace Caleb Durbin.  Boy, what a mistake that would have been. 

[Brian]

Unlikely to make a trade sounds really stupid.  Yesterday we walked 3 batters and gave up 9 hits to a last place team.  I can't believe the Brewers are ok with that and it dosen't get any better today with Gasser pitching, the 6'  190 pound tiny pitcher. 

[Snoebird]

23 hours ago, biedergb said:

Yes. I would agree with this sentiment.  I think the 2028-2030 window of Chourio, Miz, Turang (well 2028 at least), Made/Pena, Fischer/Burke, and some of Priester/Harrison/Henderson/Sproat with Drohan/Crow/Hardin/Letson as a core, all health permitting is the best window to mortgage the future.

with the unknown of the new CBA and how it affects team control, price of free agents I see a lot of teams probably sniffing but not trading much since even a guy with control through 2027 is not helpful if there is no 2027 season (or it’s abbreviated).

Plus - unless you are the Dodgers (who spend a lot yes, but also have a remarkably well run farm system), the rosters of controllable players are (ie bottom 10-15 payrolls) are mostly outperforming the top payrolls.  So the incentive is mostly to keep using this formula for now.  The problem is the Dodgers exist and are the biggest reason the brewers seem to have diminished odds of getting to the World Series but I don’t see one player who changes that, and to get 2 top end players means sacrificing the 2028-2030 window.  And I hate the “bites at the apple” concept, but as a long suffering fan, seeing a team remain competitive for a decade is awesome.  I want a World Series appearance (and victory) more than anything but agree this may not be “our year”.  There is no mvp like in 2018-2019, and Miz may be a cy young candidate now but his innings limitations will hold him back, and this is not like 2021 when there were 5 elite pitchers (Burnes, Woodruff, Peralta, Hader, Williams). That was the year to have trade and for 2 impact bats. 

The Dodgers should have a remarkably good farm system. Andrew Friedman is the father of the Tampa Bay Model, and he was Matt Arnold's mentor for nine years. Practitioners of the Tampa Bay Model are absolute sticklers about player value, and that's why Arnold is resistant to overpaying for an acquisition. Friedman has the luxury of being able to overpay whenever it serves the Dodgers' betterment. 

[adambr2]

I feel like you can probably copy and paste the thread title here in late July every year to describe the Brewers deadline outlook and it will be relatively accurate every time. 

[Brian]

Brandon Lockridge is still on the IL, they say it will be August before he even starts his rehab. That injury must have been terrible. 

Brewers sure miss him. 

[brewerfan82]

53 minutes ago, Brian said:

Unlikely to make a trade sounds really stupid.  Yesterday we walked 3 batters and gave up 9 hits to a last place team.  I can't believe the Brewers are ok with that and it dosen't get any better today with Gasser pitching, the 6'  190 pound tiny pitcher. 

Brewers 2026 P rankings in MLB:

• 3.56 xFIP (2nd in MLB, better than LAD's 3.85)
• .218 AVG (2nd, LAD: .214)
• 1.17 WHIP (T-2nd, LAD: 1.13)

Brewers past 30 days P rankings in MLB:

• 3.64 xFIP (3rd in MLB, better than LAD's 4.03)
• .214 AVG (4th, LAD: .225)
• 1/11 WHIP (T-3rd, LAD: 1.24)

Brewers 2026 P vs. above .500 teams rankings in MLB:

• 3.72 xFIP (1st in MLB, better than LAD's 3.92)
• .197 AVG (1st, LAD: .222)
• 1.10 WHIP (1st, LAD: 1.15)

I'm not too worried about how yesterday's game went in the grand scheme of things. I also don't think they're "unlikely to make a trade". I think they may be "unlikely to make a blockbuster trade despite looking into them", but they always make some sort of bolstering moves.

The biggest key to the offseason is getting everyone there healthy and with as much stamina left as possible. If they do that, they can play with anyone in a short series (and unfortunately vice versa, but that's how the postseason goes).

[formerlybis]

1 hour ago, Brian said:

Unlikely to make a trade sounds really stupid.  Yesterday we walked 3 batters and gave up 9 hits to a last place team.  I can't believe the Brewers are ok with that and it dosen't get any better today with Gasser pitching, the 6'  190 pound tiny pitcher. 

Yesterday was our 5th starter (when Harrison returns) and two arms not in the top 5 of bullpen options. We need these guys to make it to the end of the season, but they’re unlikely to be featured performers in the postseason. I would still like them to go get a top starter, but using yesterday’s performance as a justification is disingenuous.

Also, despite their horrific record, Colorado has a better than average offense. If you want to be concerned about anything from yesterday, it should be the rather anemic effort against the league’s worst pitching, by far.

[Michael Trzinski]

1 hour ago, adambr2 said:

I feel like you can probably copy and paste the thread title here in late July every year to describe the Brewers deadline outlook and it will be relatively accurate every time. 

Probably true lol

[JoeyWiemerTruther]

2 hours ago, Brian said:

Brandon Lockridge is still on the IL, they say it will be August before he even starts his rehab. That injury must have been terrible. 

Brewers sure miss him. 

He started his rehab yesterday got 3 ABs with Nashville. Probably back on the MLB team in a week

[TURBO]

11 minutes ago, JoeyWiemerTruther said:

He started his rehab yesterday got 3 ABs with Nashville. Probably back on the MLB team in a week

In all seriousness, we might as well send Lara back down to Nashville.  Lockridge being back is probably going to cut Lara's playing time down even more.

There is no sense in having Lara on the roster if he gets 2-3 starts a week, and gets pinch hit for in the later innings in the games he does start.

[LouisEly]

On 7/24/2026 at 9:02 AM, Brian said:

But if Miz and Harrison are having arm issues wouldn't you want to persue another decent starting pitcher to relieve some of the workload? I expect a starting pitcher at the deadline. 

I don't think they're saying that they're not going to make a move.

I think they're saying that they are unlikely to trade for one of the big name SPs.  They will acquire a SP or two, but I think it will be along the lines of a Wacha, Perlata, Bieber, Robbie Ray, a 2nd-tier guy who won't cost any of their top prospects.

[adambr2]

3 hours ago, Brian said:

Brandon Lockridge is still on the IL, they say it will be August before he even starts his rehab. That injury must have been terrible. 

Brewers sure miss him. 

They were 20-16 with him and are 44-23 without him. He’s fine, he’s had a nice season but he’s totally replaceable. 

Basically just fills the Blake Perkins role and I hope he isn’t starting 3-4 times a week in place of other guys. 

[wibadgers23]

6 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

Basically just fills the Blake Perkins role and I hope he isn’t starting 3-4 times a week in place of other guys. 

Trust me - Murphy will find a way to start him over Lara.

[Brian]

42 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

I don't think they're saying that they're not going to make a move.

I think they're saying that they are unlikely to trade for one of the big name SPs.  They will acquire a SP or two, but I think it will be along the lines of a Wacha, Perlata, Bieber, Robbie Ray, a 2nd-tier guy who won't cost any of their top prospects.

I hope it's not Freddy, personally I think his arm is in its twilight years, kind of like Scherzer's arm. 

[adambr2]

11 minutes ago, wibadgers23 said:

Trust me - Murphy will find a way to start him over Lara.

I don’t doubt it and this is why I suggested in another thread that they may as well just option Lara because Murphy clearly has no real plan to involve him this season. 

[Frisbee Slider]

It probably does not help the Brewers bargaining position If they go on the record saying they will pay any price for any needle mover.
 

[homer]

12 hours ago, Brian said:

Brandon Lockridge is still on the IL, they say it will be August before he even starts his rehab. That injury must have been terrible. 

Brewers sure miss him. 

He played in AAA today

[markedman5]

Yes we all know Murphy has no idea what he’s doing……..relax folks.

[rickh150]

9 hours ago, adambr2 said:

I don’t doubt it and this is why I suggested in another thread that they may as well just option Lara because Murphy clearly has no real plan to involve him this season. 

I don't see this at all. If he continues to play well, he'll play more.  It's just crammed with Bauers in the OF too, and I'm glad it's this way.  

Mitchell and Yelich could and probably will have more off days in August...or one will be hurt.  I am glad Lara is up and getting the time that he is getting. When Sal and Lockridge both come back, then I get more concerned about who plays. 

[DonBarclay]

21 hours ago, Snoebird said:

The Dodgers should have a remarkably good farm system. Andrew Friedman is the father of the Tampa Bay Model, and he was Matt Arnold's mentor for nine years. Practitioners of the Tampa Bay Model are absolute sticklers about player value, and that's why Arnold is resistant to overpaying for an acquisition. Friedman has the luxury of being able to overpay whenever it serves the Dodgers' betterment. 

Friedman has the luxury of being able to hoard prospects because he can throw any number he wants to free agents. He can have the Tampa/Milwaukee philosophy in the minors, and the Steinbrenner philosophy in the majors. Hard not to win when you get the best of both worlds. 

[Brian]

On 7/24/2026 at 9:30 AM, wibadgers23 said:

This is just the reality of how this front office works. We haven't seen Matt Arnold trade away any blue chip prospects yet. Esteury Ruiz was the closest. This is why I'm done getting my hopes up every trade deadline. If we do something big then great. If not, then it's just par for the course. 

I agree, we always seem to get players that are comming off injured list or at the tail end of there career. 

Year	Very brief summary
2025	Added minor bullpen and bench depth. - TRADED AARON CIVALE for Andrew Vaugn
2024	Acquired Frankie Montas for rotation help and Nick Mears for bullpen.
2023	Added Carlos Santana, Mark Canha, and Andrew Chafin for playoff push.