Hoskins has been out of action since early July when he sustained a left thumb sprain while making a tag at first base. He was originally expected to be back in the lineup by mid- to late-August, but the most recent updates suggest that he isn't expected to start his rehab assignment until then.
Milwaukee did (sort of) hedge against this by acquiring Andrew Vaughn from the White Sox, and he has been playing incredibly well so far, almost suspiciously so. Since joining the team, he's slashing .375/.439/.771 across a sample of 57 plate appearances, which is way above his career norms of .250/.306/.414. It's unclear as to whether the front office truly saw something in him worth making him the Brewers' starting first baseman down the stretch, but if they just saw him as a holdover that has worked out far better than expected, they'll have to start looking for more reinforcements.
Ryan O'Hearn stands out as one of the only options at the position that could give the lineup a real boost. With a .456 slugging percentage and 133 OPS+, he's a hitter with qualities that compensate for the current lack of pop. As it stands, Jackson Chourio is the only hitter with a slugging percentage over .450 and the team's combined slugging percentage of .387 places them 23rd in MLB.
The only move Milwaukee has made so far is to acquire Danny Jansen to serve as their backup catcher, which does make the team better, but perhaps not enough to push them past their typical first round exit. In an ideal world, Andrew Vaughn would maintain his 234 OPS+ through the end of the season but reality will likely set in before long. Will is true abilities still be enough to take the Brewers to the next level or should they seek more help before it's too late?
Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy made official what has seemed obvious: right-handers Jacob Misiorowski and Chad Patrick will be in the Opening Day rotation. It will be the first Opening Day for Misiorowski, while it will be the second straight for Patrick. Both made their MLB debuts last season.
Misiorowski, an All-Star after less than three weeks in the majors in 2025, is also the leading candidate to start Opening Day. That is because right-hander Brandon Woodruff, the likely Opening Day starter entering camp, is being brought along slowly this spring following a strained lat that ended his season early. The other top candidate is right-hander Quinn Priester, who has been dealing with inflammation in his right wrist and slowed his progress toward Opening Day. It is likely that Priester begins the season on the 15-day injured list.
Woodruff is hoping to avoid the same fate, but could be limited if he is available on Opening Day. That could lead to a tandem starter situation or a six-man rotation. The Brewers have plenty of candidates for the other three spots regardless of the setup, with Kyle Harrison, Logan Henderson, Brandon Sproat, Robert Gasser, and Shane Drohan. Harrison, Gasser, and Drohan are left-handers, while Henderson and Sproat are righties. Left-handers Aaron Ashby and DL Hall can also provide multiple innings out of the bullpen.
With the Timber Rattlers' season now over, Jesus Made will be making his way to Double-A Biloxi to help with their playoff run starting next week. Of course, this is more than a throwaway move and signals yet another major milestone for the 18-year-old.
Made needed just 123 plate appearances with High-A Wisconsin to prove that he was ready for a step up in competition. Since being promoted in August, he has slashed .343/.415/.500 for a wRC+ of 157. Other than his walk rate, nearly every aspect of his offensive profile was an improvement from what he did with Single-A Carolina earlier in the year.
While in High-A, his top-notch bat-to-ball were on full display as he had a swinging strike percentage of just 9.2% and a contact rate of 78.9%. His walk rate did dip slightly but was still at a respectable 10.6% while his strikeout rate of 17.9% was also a slight improvement over his performance in Single-A.
We likely won't get a very meaningful sample of what he can do in Double-A given the small amount of remaining games but it could give fans a glimpse of what's to come starting next year. He's seemingly ahead of what's already a pretty accelerated schedule with an ETA of 2028 but could be on the doorstep of the big leagues as soon as next year.
Devin Williams is slated to hit free agency after the 2025 season. Williams struggled with the Yankees, posting a 4.79 ERA – nearly three full runs over his career record with Milwaukee – and being demoted from the closer’s role, with the Bronx Bombers turning to David Bednar and Luke Weaver to fill the slot.
That being said, with the Brewers showing they can give pitchers new life (Jose Quintana being the latest example), it may behoove them to see if Williams would like to return. They’ve done this before with a closer – see Jeremy Jeffress, who ended up performing well for the Crew after having a rough time of it elsewhere.
Adding Williams back for at least 2026 could also be a good thing for Craig Yoho, who struggled in some of his appearances with Milwaukee in 2025. Yoho could stick in Triple-A Nashville for some more seasoning and adjustments – while also putting off further additions to his service time – and it could also help manage his innings.
Given Pat Murphy’s tendency to lean heavily on reliable arms, having Williams, who had an excellent track record with the Crew, may be a good way to avoid overuse of Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig, Trevor Megill, Grant Anderson, and Nick Mears as well as giving Yoho the chance to develop.
As for Williams, a return to the Ueck would be a chance to show that 2025 is an aberration. A one-year deal (maybe with a mutual option for 2027) could be just the thing to set him up for a better free-agent deal.
The Brewers need arms Pat Murphy can trust. Williams needs a chance to bounce back from an off year. A 2026 reunion would be a potential win-win for both parties.
In a recent roundup on MLB.com, early results on MLB television ratings were revealed. They include:
MLB on Fox is up 10%
MLB on ESPN is up 22%
MLB Tuesday on TBS is up 16%
Perhaps most importantly, it appears substantial gains are being made in the 18-34 age demographic, a decades-long weakness of Major League Baseball.
This is in sharp contrast to the World Series, which has been in decline for years and is often used as a benchmark for the overall popularity of the sport. I was able to find World Series ratings dating back to 1968, and until 2007 the World Series never carried a rating under 10. That slowly spiraled until it hit its low-water mark of 4.7 in 2023 as the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks squared off.
MLB and Commissioner Rob Manfred have aggressively pushed rules changes, largely in an attempt to capture younger demographics that have abandoned baseball in favor of football and basketball.
Is baseball on the rebound with fans or is this just a blip on the radar?
While some Major League Baseball teams have transitioned to a direct-to-consumer model, the Milwaukee Brewers will stick with the regional sports network (RSN) model for at least one more season.
Adam McCalvy of MLB.com is reporting that the Milwaukee Brewers extended their agreement with Main Street Sports, which owns FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin. This will be the Brewers' third season on the network.
While the product offered by MLB helps market fans avoid blackouts, RSN deals typically generate more revenue for teams. It's worth noting that there were plans for the team to be broadcast by MLB following the 2024 season before they reversed course and agreed to a deal with the network.
While it's unknown how long the deal will run, Rob Manfred has targeted 2028 as a date to make sweeping moves with baseball's local television contracts. It is unlikely this Brewers' contract goes beyond the 2027 season, at most.
Sentiment on X seems generally negative toward the announcement, specifically citing major issues with the app. What has your experience been with the network and its app?
Baseball America has updated their Top 100 prospect list at the start of June and it's unsurprising that the Milwaukee Brewers systems leads the charge with four prospects in the top 33. While they don't have the most prospects in the top 100, they aren't far off from Los Angeles Dodgers who have five.
Jesús Made(#4), Jacob Misiorowski (#21), Luis Peña (#31), and Cooper Pratt (#33) are the four names to crack the list.
Made has arguably been the hottest name in the prospect word as he's torn apart Single-A Carolina with an .837 OPS, four home runs, and 21 stolen bases. Misiorowski has a sparkling 2.31 ERA and a so-so 19.2% K-BB rate for Triple-A Nashville. Peña, at the same level as Made, is another prospect who's been a popular topic of conversation this season. He has a .964 OPS with five home runs and 23 stolen bases. Finally, Pratt hasn't had quite the same level of success for Double-A Biloxi with just a .650 OPS. He does have four home runs and 10 stolen bases on the season.
When will the Brewers call up Misiorowski? Was anyone snubbed from the top 100 list? Join the conversation in the comments!
It's hard to predict how this offseason will unfold, as there is an increasing chance of (yet another) MLB lockout following the 2026 season. Will teams spend big this offseason, hoping to create surety in the face of an unknown collective bargaining agreement? Or will they be hesitant in hopes of a favorable outcome for ownership groups?
No matter how it shakes out, teams will need to compete in the 2026 season, and they'll need to sign free agents this winter. DiamondCentric has compiled a complete list of free agents, sortable and searchable by pretty much any metric you need. Looking for a first baseman? A catcher? We have you covered. We offer two pages for your reference: one for position players, the other for pitchers.
Coleman Crow will have to wait to follow up his impressive MLB debut.
The Milwaukee Brewers sent Crow back to Triple-A Nashville on Saturday and promoted right-hander Carlos Rodriguez from Triple-A.
Crow looked very poised and unleashed his dazzling curveball during his debut Friday against the Miami Marlins, going 5⅓ innings, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts. The Brewers won 7-5 in 10 innings.
He was called up to make a spot start with left-hander Kyle Harrison needing a few extra days after a slight injury to his left wrist in Sunday's start. Harrison is scheduled to have a bullpen session Saturday and return to the rotation in the next series against the Detroit Tigers.
Rodriguez, a starter, will add length out of the Brewers' bullpen. He has made seven appearances, including three starts, over the last two seasons with the Crew, posting a 6.95 ERA. In three starts at Nashville this year, Rodriguez has an 8.71 ERA, allowing 10 runs on 16 hits and 10 walks with 12 strikeouts.
Sunday's move to daylight saving time not only sprang the clock ahead an hour, but also took the Milwaukee Brewers a step closer to Opening Day.
And with that, another round of players being removed from major-league camp. The most notable move announced Sunday was optioning right-hander Coleman Crow to Triple-A Nashville. Two left-handers in camp as non-roster invitees, Tate Kuehner and Drew Rom, were reassigned to minor-league camp. There are 52 players left in camp.
Crow, in his first big-league camp since 2023, when he was with the Los Angeles Angels, pitched six innings in three appearances, including one start this spring. He posted a 4.50 ERA with no walks and three strikeouts. The 25-year-old, acquired in December 2023 in a trade for right-hander Adrian Houser and center fielder Tyrone Taylor after having Tommy John surgery, was a long shot to make the Brewers' starting rotation this spring, but is likely to make his MLB debut at some point in 2026.
Crow made 10 of his 12 starts in 2025 at Double-A Biloxi, with the other two at Triple-A Nashville. At Biloxi, he had a 2.51 ERA in 43 innings, walking eight and striking out 52. He had a 7.71 ERA in his two starts with the Sounds.
Kuehner turned a few heads in his two spring appearances, striking out four over three scoreless innings. He had a 2.51 ERA in 21 starts at Biloxi in 2025, and a 5.59 ERA in two Nashville starts. Rom struck out six and walked four in 3⅓ innings over three appearances for a 2,70 ERA.
John Counsell, who was the Milwaukee Brewers' former director of community affairs and the father of former Brewers manager Craig Counsell, died Tuesday. He was 83.
John Counsell worked for the Brewers from the time Craig Counsell was 8 to 18, with his son often running with the big names in team history, including Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Paul Molitor.
John Counsell attended Notre Dame, where he also played baseball, footsteps Craig would follow. John Counsell was signed by the Minnesota Twins and played four years (1964-67) in the minors, including three with the Wisconsin Rapids Twins. But he never made it past Class A.
Craig Counsell would play for the Brewers in 2004 and again from 2007 to 2011, then became the team's manager from 2015 to 2023, winning three NL Central titles.
For the second time this week, the Milwaukee Brewers have lost a member of their coaching staff. The first move involved associate head coach Rickie Weeks shifting into a scouting role. The second announcement has the hitting coach leaving the organization.
David Lesky of Inside The Crown is reporting that Connor Dawson is being hired as the Kansas City Royals' hitting coach. He had been with the Brewers for the previous four seasons.
Dawson, who grew up near Kansas City, is making a lateral move to return to his hometown team. The Brewers' offense flourished under his watch, ranking among the best run-producing teams in the league despite limited standout performances. Especially in 2025, the offense had the second-best walk-to-strikeout ratio in baseball. In addition to being analytically minded, Dawson knows that life is bigger than baseball. Stringing together quotes from prior interviews, Dawson shared his philosophy, stating, "The thing I talked about the least with players and coaches is a swing. The thing I talked about the most is how we connect with players. That's what matters, the people matter."
He brings that philosophy to a young team that was one of the lowest-scoring teams in baseball. How do you think the Brewers will react to his loss?
Perhaps superstar is a bit much, but it's undeniable that Brice Turang has been one of the best second basemen in baseball over the past two years. In 2025, he posted a 124 wRC+ and accumulated 4.4 fWAR, both marks placing him fourth amongst all second basemen. Although his defensive prowess took a step back last season, it has only been a year since he was the National League's Platinum Glove award winner.
Turang joins a growing list of exceptional baseball talent and was part of the latest batch of players to officially join the team, along with Kyle Schwarber, Gunnar Henderson, and Will Smith. The roster and depth chart are far from complete, but there's a solid chance that Turang ends up as the starting second baseman for all, if not most, of the tournament. He could split time with Nico Hoerner if he ends up participating as well, but Brewers fans can expect to see plenty of Turang on the international stage regardless.
It's a well-deserved honor for the 26-year-old and also begs the question, what other Brewers will be participating in the World Baseball Classic? Freddy Peralta hasn't officially announced his commitment, but has expressed a strong desire to represent the Dominican Republic. Neither William Contreras nor Jackson Chourio played for Venezuela in 2023, but they could be key parts of their lineup in 2026. Sal Frelick competed for Italy but hasn't confirmed his return to the team.
One of the biggest struggles for teams in the past has been assembling a quality pitching staff, as the best arms are typically still ramping up when the tournament starts in early March. So far, Paul Skenes is the only pitcher who has decided to play for Team USA, and depending on the willingness of other top names like Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet to join him, the Brewers could send a few of their own. Quinn Priester and Jacob Misiorowski would be the top two candidates, but Chad Patrick or Tobias Myers could provide some solid value as well.
Joshua Flores hails from the same high school as 2023 pick Josh Adamczewski and 2024 pick Griffin Tobias, making it three years in a row the Brewers went to the well at Lake Central High School in Indiana.
MLB Pipeline has Flores ranked 243rd overall, and wrote, "Indiana's high school pitching crop runs deeper than usual this year, and Flores has the loudest stuff of the group. He features one of the best curveballs in the national prep class, though he also averaged a walk per inning as a senior. He comes with a high ceiling but also a good deal of reliever risk. Flores' hammer curveball ranges from 82-85 mph with downer break, grading as a well above-average pitch at times but also moving so much he has difficulty landing it in the zone. He has better command of a tighter slider with similar velocity. Hitters can't really guard against his breaking balls because his fastball sits at 92-95 mph and touches 97 with some armside run and carry. Flores barely utilizes his mid-80s changeup, which flashes some interesting tumble. The Kentucky recruit has a long arm action and effort in his delivery, which hampers his ability to throw strikes, let alone locate his offerings with much precision. He'll be an intriguing project for a team that believes in its ability to develop pitchers."
The Brewers' next selection will be 155th overall, in the fifth round.
The Milwaukee Brewers have been busy making option decisions over the last two days. Yesterday, they exercised the option on Freddy Peralta, while declining Danny Jansen's option. Additionally, starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff informed the team that he would be opting out of his deal, making him a free agent.
Today, they declined three more options: William Contreras, Rhys Hoskins, and Jose Quintana, per the team's official X account. Hoskins and Quintana are set to become free agents, while Contreras will be retained via arbitration.
Hoskins was limited to 90 games in 2025 due to injury, but once available, he was a plus bat in the lineup. Across 328 plate appearances, he carried a .748 OPS with 12 home runs and two stolen bases. This resulted in a 109 wRC+, indicating he was 9% better than the average MLB player. The Brewers will pay him a $4 million buyout instead of a $16 million salary in 2026.
Quintana, who was set to make $15 million in 2026, will receive a $2 million buyout after making 24 starts and sporting a sub-4 ERA. However, his 4.61 FIP and 7% K-BB suggested he wasn't as effective as his ERA would suggest. Though he is a solid innings eater and provides a veteran presence, FanGraphs Value metric estimated he was worth just $6.8 million in 2025. At 37 years old, he will look to find a major league deal with another club.
Contreras is in his second year of arbitration and is projected to make slightly less than his $12 million option would have paid him.
Do you think the club made the right call on Hoskins and Quintana? Would you like to see them bring either player back? Let us know in the comments!
I'll preface this by saying I'm a sucker for powder blue uniforms. As a child of the 1980s when it felt like every team had one, it evokes nostalgia for a time when baseball was stupid, played on concrete, and everyone was doing something illegal.
To my knowledge, the Brewers have never used "Milwaukee" on a powder blue jersey, making these likely to be road uniforms. The block font is a throwback, but only to jerseys that read "Brewers" in the 1970s and 1980s. Milwaukee was typically written in a script font, not dissimilar to the current dark blue jerseys worn on the road.
What are your thoughts on these new jerseys? Yay or nay?
Freddy Peralta, Jose Quintana, Quinn Priester and Chad Patrick will all retain their spots in the Brewers starting rotation, with the arrival of Jacob Misiorowski rounding out the group. The odd man out will be Aaron Civale, last year's early-July starting reinforcement. Civale, who turns 30 on Thursday, has a 4.91 ERA in five starts this year, and is a free agent at season's end. Everyone else in the mix either has significantly outperformed him; is more important to the long-term future of the Brewers; or meets both of those criteria.
Presumably, Misiorowski will take the place on the roster of Easton McGee, whom the team recalled to replace the optioned Grant Anderson. With Civale, DL Hall and Aaron Ashby all in the pen, the Brewers now have one of the deepest groups of multi-inning relief options in the league. That figures to come in handy, since Patrick, Misiorowski and even (lately) Peralta are prone to short starts. One way or another, though, the pitching staff certainly got more talented—and Pat Murphy's job to manage it just got a hair more complicated.
Frank Cairone, a left-handed pitcher who was a second-round draft choice by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2025, is in a New Jersey hospital following a car crash on Friday.
In a statement released Saturday, the Brewers said, "Frank is currently being cared for at a hospital in New Jersey with the support of his family. The Brewers’ thoughts and prayers are with Frank and his family during his difficult time." No other information has been released.
According to NJ.com, Cairone was injured during the collision new his home in Franklinville, N.J. Cairone had to be flown to a hospital in Atlantic City, N.J., for treatment, a source close to the family told NJ.com. Police said Cairone was driving a vehicle when another driver failed to stop at a stop sign and slammed into Cairone's car.
Cairone is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound left-hander who was taken by the Brewers with the 68th pick of the 2025 draft, a supplemental choice the Brewers received for not signing 2024 pick Chris Levonas, a right-handed pitcher also from New Jersey who instead honored his commitment to Wake Forest. Cairone, who turned 18 in September, signed for a $1.1 million bonus instead of going to Coastal Carolina, but did not make his professional debut, instead spending time at the Brewers' complex in Arizona.
Milwaukee Brewers pitching prospect Frank Cairone posted an Instagram story of him throwing a ball just a month after being involved in a serious vehicle collision that left him hospitalized.
The 18-year-old left-hander, who was a second-round draft choice by the Crew last summer, was involved in a two-vehicle collision Jan. 3 late at night in Franklin, N.J., and flown to an Atlantic City, N.J., hospital. According to police, Cairone was the driver of a vehicle that was hit by another vehicle that blew through a stop sign.
In the Instagram update, Cairone is in sweats and a baseball cap and slowly throws a yellow ball against a wall. While that is certainly a terrific sign for Cairone, it is unknown whether he will report to spring training, let alone pitch this season, as he continues to recover from the serious injuries he sustained. A passenger in Cairone's vehicle was also hospitalized with leg injuries.
Cairone, a 6-foot-2, 195-pounder, was the 68th overall pick in the 2025 draft out of Delsea Regional High School and turned down a commitment from Coastal Carolina to sign with the Brewers for a $1.1 million signing bonus. He did not pitch for any Brewers affiliate, instead working out in Arizona in anticipation of making his professional debut in 2026.
Sean Episcope is from the Chicago area originally, but has spent his college career at Princeton. At 6'0, he throws from a higher slot than you would expect. After undergoing Tommy John Surgery his senior year of high school, he is dealing with another elbow injury currently that will likely keep him out for a while.
MLB Pipeline has Episcope ranked 215th overall, and their write-up discusses how he, "made 10 uneven starts as a freshman with the Tigers in 2024, but came out of the gate this year like gangbusters, with 26 strikeouts and just four walks in 20 innings, including a nine-strikeout, five-inning start at Wake Forest that opened a lot of eyes. But he came out of his fourth start with his biceps tingling, and it was eventually determined that he required another procedure, getting internal brace surgery in May."
They then dive into his interesting pitch mix, saying, "Episcope does have the pitch mix to potentially start when healthy. He was topping out at 97 mph with his fastball and averaging a touch over 94, while maintaining that velocity throughout his starts before he got shut down. He has two legitimate breaking balls, with a mid-80s gyro-like slider and more of a 12-to-6 power curve up to 82 mph that registered elite-level spin rates north of 3,000 rpm. Combined, the two breakers elicited a 60-percent miss rate over his four starts, according to Synergy. Episcope did an excellent job filling up the strike zone this spring, but given the lack of history on the mound and the multiple elbow procedures, it's a little more difficult to pinpoint where he belongs in a Draft class. Some thought he could go as high as the second round as a future starter had his success continued, while others see his size and injuries and see a reliever profile."
The Brewers' next selection will come in the sixth round, 185th overall.
The Milwaukee Brewers will hand out the fourth-highest postseason shares, giving out $168,852.76 after reaching the National League Championship Series.
The Brewers' pool comes from the MLB total of $128.2 million, which is just shy of the record of $129.1 million. There will be 70 individual shares distributed to players, managers, and certain staff members who were eligible for the World Series or on the roster after June 1. Separate cash awards will be given to other members of the organization. Team executives are not eligible for either payout.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, who swept the Brewers in the NLCS and won their second straight World Series, received shares worth $484,747.57. The American League champion Toronto Blue Jays' full shares are worth $354,118.39, while the Seattle Mariners, who lost to the Jays in the ALCS, received $182,376.45.
32‑year‑old first baseman Rhys Hoskins has batted .242/.340/.428 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs through 82 games this season. On July 5, he exited a 4–2 loss to the Marlins after jamming his left thumb tagging out a runner. X-rays were negative, but the MRI revealed a grade 2 sprain, and he’ll require a stint on the 10-day injured list. Hoskins has a hard‑hit rate of 45.8% and a wOBA of .334.
Grade‑2 thumb sprains typically sideline MLB players for 2–4 weeks. Aroldis Chapman missed about three weeks with a similar right thumb sprain in 2023, while infielder Xander Bogaerts was also out roughly three weeks after a grade‑2 left thumb sprain in 2021.
Called up to Milwaukee to replace Hoskins is Andrew Vaughn, who has an OPS of .838 in 65 plate appearances in Triple-A Nashville. He was recently acquired in trade from the Chicago White Sox.
Thanks to @markedman5 for creating the original thread on the Brewer Fanatic forums.
While other teams have reduced their spring training television schedule with the demise of FanDuel Sports Network, the Milwaukee Brewers are status quo for 2026.
The Crew announced Wednesday that eight of their Cactus League games will be carried on Brewers.tv, the new home for televised games this season. That is one more game than was carried by FanDuel Sports Wisconsin in 2025. The Brewers said those eight games will be available for free to anyone with an MLB.com account in the MLB app.
All 31 spring training games will be broadcast in some variety.
An additional eight games will be streamed at Brewers.com. There are likely to be other games televised on MLB Network.
Also, there will be 20 radio broadcasts on the Brewers Radio Network, including six on WTMJ (620 AM) and 14 on WKTI (94.5 FM, ESPN Milwaukee).
The Brewers' Spring Breakout games, March 20 vs. the Seattle Mariners and March 22 at the A's, will be on Brewers.TV.
The Brewers open exhibition play Saturday vs. the Cleveland Guardians at American Family Fields of Phoenix. That is a radio-only game.
MLBTR is reporting that this offseason's cutoff for Super Two arbitration eligibility will be around two years and 139-140 days.
Super Two status in Major League Baseball is a special designation that allows a select group of players to become eligible for salary arbitration one year earlier than the typical eligibility requirement. To qualify, a player must rank in the top 22% (rounded to the nearest whole number) of total Major League service time among all players who have between two and three years of service.
In short, Brice Turang will be eligible for arbitration this offseason instead of being on a rookie minimum salary.
The team's most valuable player in 2025, Turang carried a .749 OPS with 18 home runs, 81 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases. He led the team in bWAR (5.5), runs (97), home runs, and runs batted in. He was also recognized as a National League Silver Slugger finalist at the Keystone.
How do you think this impacts the Brewers' offseason plans?
Over the past few years, Milwaukee has built a reputation for being a scrappy squad of underdogs powered by hustle and love for the game. In addition to being a euphemism for finding a lot of success with a shoestring budget and no superstars, it also means playing great defense. Chasing down tough fly balls, smothering choppers in the field, and being fundamentally sound are all traits that come to mind when thinking of the Brewers.
And for the past few years, there was considerable evidence to back that up. The team has consistently been among the best when it comes to accumulating Defensive Runs Saved and haven't placed below sixth in that category since 2020. They've also regularly brought home hardware for their efforts, winning the past two Team Gold Glove awards as well as several individual accolades. Unfortunately, that streak has come to an end.
Despite having two Gold Glove finalists, Brice Turang and Sal Frelick, neither was ultimately crowned the best defender at their position in the National League, losing out to Nico Hoerner and Fernando Tatis Jr. respectively. Neither of these results are surprising as Nico Hoerner comfortably led all second basemen in baseball in DRS (17), while Tatis had the most DRS of any National League right fielder (15). Turang and Frelick had strong defensive showings themselves, but they didn't do enough to bring home the proverbial bacon.
In fact, the Brewers as a whole seemed to take a step back this year when it came to fielding production. They combined for just 31 DRS, placing them 11th in MLB. Jackson Chourio, Isaac Collins, and Joey Ortiz accumulated negative DRS while other key starters like William Contreras and Andrew Vaughn accumulated zero.
At the end of the day, it's difficult to place too much stock in this given the somewhat convoluted logic behind how defensive metrics are calculated as well as the mercurial nature of a player's fielding abilities. Brandon Lockridge seems like a promising outfield glove, Joey Ortiz can and should bounce back on all fronts next year, and the rest of the team will likely continue to be solid. Expect some Gold Glove love to come Milwaukee's way in 2026.