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  • Milwaukee Brewers Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

    The latest Milwaukee Brewers free agent and trade rumors, along with notes and tidbits about the team.
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    Brock Beauchamp
    MLB Trade Rumors collected a handy Brewers rumor roundup today, which is useful because while the Brewers have been their typically tight-lipped selves, there are still things to talk about.
    The Brewers are looking at middle infielders, though the names are a little strange Willy Adames and Brice Turang have underperformed offensively, which is driving the front office to pursue middle infield help Matt Arnold mentioned that any middle infield help would prioritize and preserve run-prevention Though no rumors are directly linked to Milwaukee, it's hard to envision them not acquiring a first base or DH bat Because the Brewers prioritize and hold their prospects in such high regard, it's possible they deal from a position of surplus such as Victor Caratini There's a lot to unpack here and many options open to the Brewers. What do you target first and why?
    Brock Beauchamp
    Jon Morosi tweeted that the Brewers are one of four teams looking for middle infield help.
    Curiously, the names mentioned are Tim Anderson, Paul DeJong, and Vidal Brujan.
    Tim Anderson of the White Sox is having an abysmal year by his standards. The former batting champion has an average around .240 and a sub-.300 on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
    Paul DeJong could be an upgrade but he plays for the Cardinals and teams are reluctant to trade within the division, though it does happen.
    The third name, Vidal Brujan, has a OPS under .500 in 2023. He's a consensus top 100 global prospect with very little experience against MLB pitching.
    Frankly, I'm not sure any of these names make sense for the 2023 Brewers stretch run. 
     
    Brock Beauchamp
    Trade deadline season is starting to heat up after the Rockies broke the seal by making a deal to move some lower-tier pieces to the Braves and Rangers. In this piece for MLB.com, Mark Feinsand lists the 17 players most likely to be traded and has the Brewers listed as potential suitors for several of them.
    We've already covered CJ Cron in this section so I'll ignore his mention.
    There are two really interesting names that stand out on this list, and for very different reasons.
    Randal Grichuck is a right-handed outfielder for Colorado who is having a solid season for the Rockies. Before anyone brings up road splits (which are often exaggerated for Rockies hitters but the altitude penalizes them, just as it does pitchers, though the inverse), Grichuck has a very respectable .792 road OPS in 2023.
    The most intriguing name on the list is Tigers left-handed starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who is under contract at a very reasonable rate through the 2026 season. The 30-year-old is having a breakout season, posting a 2.69 ERA in Detroit. The cost would be considerable but if there's a National League team that can extract additional value from a pitcher, it's the Milwaukee Brewers.
    Who on this list intrigues you?
    Brock Beauchamp
    This shouldn't be news but remember, we're talking about the Colorado Rockies here. This franchise has seen multiple trade deadlines come and go without moving key pieces that are approaching free agency, including last year when they made no trades and instead extended reliever Daniel Bard despite being well out of contention by the beginning of July.
    Unfortunately, and in a very Rockies-esque move, the quotes about activity did not come from General Manager Bill Schmidt but instead were from dugout manager Bud Black, speaking to the hosts of Power Alley on SiriusXM Radio.
    The Rockies have a few pieces that could interest the Brewers. While some are skeptical of 2023 CJ Cron, I believe he could be a nice piece at first base and has a chance to return to his career norms without facing the back-and-forth of trying to hit in Coors Field, followed by trying to hit outside of Coors Field.
    More intriguing - and more costly - is third baseman Ryan McMahon, who the Rockies have under contract through the 2027 season... though that hasn't stopped the Rockies from trading a guy in the past.
    Brock Beauchamp
    It's a question every Brewers fan has asked themselves over the past year: Will Corbin Burnes be traded? Should Corbin Burnes be traded?
    It's a question Burnes has been asking himself, reports MLB.com. And a few days ago when he saw General Manager Matt Arnold, he asked that very question.
    "He's not trading me", Burnes told Adam McCalvy. And Arnold is focused on adding pieces, not subtracting, as the front office did last year with the controversial Josh Hader trade.
    It makes sense, given that the Brewers are in first place in the National League Central and if they want to make an October push, it's hard to see that happening without Corbin Burnes fronting their rotation.
    Brock Beauchamp
    It felt almost inevitable but it may finally be happening. The Angels, fringe contenders for an American League Wild Card berth who saw Mike Trout go down with an injury a couple of weeks ago, are now reportedly considering trading Shohei "The Best Baseball Player on the Planet" Ohtani.
    This shouldn't be surprising, as the Angels' postseason hopes largely rode on the health of Ohtani and Trout as a duo. And the Angels will be loathe to let Ohtani walk into free agency without getting something in return... or at least that should be their mindset right now.
    It's unlikely the Brewers will enter this mix, as they likely do not have the intestinal fortitude to pay the price of acquiring a couple of months of Shohei Ohtani.
    But merely putting Ohtani on the market up-ends it like no other player. This will have far-reaching ramifications across the trade market should Shohei end up being traded. It's worth keeping an eye on Ohtani rumors even if they don't directly involve the Milwaukee Brewers
    Brock Beauchamp
    To be clear, I don't have anything about Nolan Arenado, he seems like a perfectly reasonable chap who was kinda done dirty by the Colorado Rockies (though being forcibly booted out of that organization is something of a blessing). Jon Heyman asked him a few questions the other day and Arenado says he isn't expecting a trade but wouldn't be surprised by one, either.
    Things are bleak in St Louis. The Cardinals aren't used to losing like this and it appears no one really knows how to handle their current struggles. Things were obviously very wrong when Marmol heaved Willson Contreras under the bus and while the Cards have put together a couple of small winning streaks, they've gone right back to losing again afterward.
    Truth be told, I hadn't even considered an Arenado trade. While he's aging toward his mid-30s, he's still very productive with the bat and his contract is quite reasonable through 2027, given that the Rockies are on the hook for $5 million per year for the next three years.
    It's quite obvious the Cardinals will be selling but to what extent?
    Brock Beauchamp
    MLBTR has a nice round-up of White Sox players potentially on the block this trade deadline. Jon Heyman reports that the White Sox are unlikely to move on from their big four controllable players: Luis Robert Jr, Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease, or Andrew Vaughn.
    It's my opinion those players are likely out of the price range of the Brewers anyway so I'm not sure that's a big loss for Milwaukee.
    Where it gets interesting is in the Southsiders' range of expiring or near-expiring contracts. Those players include Lance Lynn, Tim Anderson, Lucas Giolito, and more relievers than you can shake a stick at.
    If Milwaukee doesn't bite on some of these names, it's very likely the Reds front office will given the number of pitchers the White Sox can offer and Cincinnati's pressing need for pitching.
    Brock Beauchamp
    Trade season is sneaking up on us and MLB Trade Rumors released their first list of top 50 trade candidates.
    The Brewers have several holes that could be filled, some larger than others. The biggest and easiest target is a first baseman, though with Keston Hiura still sitting in AAA, it feels slightly weird to go straight for a marginal upgrade like CJ Cron or Carlos Santana before giving the enigmatic Hiura another shot.
    With the recent and complete implosion of Matt Bush, another late inning reliever may be in order as well.
    How do you approach the deadline? Do you work around the margins with a Carlos Santana or do you push some chips into the middle of the table and pursue a bigger name? And which names interest you from this list?
    sveumrules
    Some deadline related quotes from Arnold today on MLB.com via Adam McCalvy…
    “Look, we want to be competitive here in 2023,” Arnold said. “We will be opportunistic to try and improve this team where we can, responsibly, I think we have a lot of good players here.”
    On the topic of maybe dealing Burnes or Adames…
    “We’re not looking to move any of those guys. They’re huge parts of our team right now… I mean, I’m sure we’ll get phone calls on these guys, because they’re very good. But that’s not something we’re considering.”
    Brock Beauchamp
    MLBTR broke down the Brewers' need for a first baseman at this year's deadline (hopefully sooner than that, frankly). As of Wednesday morning, the Brewers sit 0.5 games behind the upstart Cincinnati Reds and the primary reason for that deficit is Milwaukee's offense, first base being the biggest underperformer of the group.
    Unfortunately, outside of Paul Goldschmidt, there aren't many clear upgrades at first base amongst the also-rans. Teams like Washington and Oakland are running out what are likely AAAA players while Colorado's CJ Cron, a very interesting name to keep an eye on, only returned from injury a few days ago and hasn't hit well this year.
    In the short-term, the best (only?) solution for the Brewers is recalling Keston Hiura to find an internal patch at first.
    Brock Beauchamp
    To clear this up, I don't think it's in the Brewers' interests to trade Burnes at the deadline.
    But... If I'm interested in giving it consideration, I'd be all-in on talking to the Rays above almost any other team.
    First, the Rays - if they're truly interested in being aggressive at this deadline - can offer some of the most intriguing prospects in baseball. They have incredible farm system depth and are excellent at developing pitching, which is also a Milwaukee strength. Given how the Brewers are position-heavy right now, adding long-term pitching assets could keep the window open for quite some time.
    Second, the Rays are likely confident they can get the "real" Corbin Burnes back on the field and might pay a premium to acquire a slightly-struggling elite pitcher.
    I'm not head-over-heels at the idea of trading Burnes but if there's a team I'd want to talk to about a potential trade, It's probably the Tampa Bay Rays.
    Brock Beauchamp
    Heyman thinks a trade is unlikely given the blowback of the Hader deal last deadline. I think he's right about that but also, he doesn't mention that Burnes hasn't really looked like Corbin Burnes this season. That alone makes a trade less appealing to the Brewers, as other teams are not going to offer 2021 Corbin Burnes prospect capital for this version of the pitcher.
    Also, the Brewers rotation is in shambles. Maybe that changes as we approach the deadline but I can't see Arnold repeating the Hader deal in the middle of a division race.
     
     
    wibadgers23
    Ken Rosenthal is reporting that former President of Baseball Operations for the Brewers, David Stearns, is now potentially in the running to fill the vacant role in the Houston Astros front office.
    Stearns is technically still under contract with the Brewers through the end of the 2023 baseball season so any arrangement with Houston would have to be cleared by Milwaukee. That could manifest in a myriad of ways: money, players, or even a compensation pick could head to the Brewers should the Astros pursue Stearns for the role.
     
    Brock Beauchamp
    Kyle Garlick has been a part-time and oft-injured part of the Minnesota Twins for the past two seasons. He's limited to corner outfield and doesn't even play that very well. In the wake of yesterday's Carlos Correa deal, the Twins waived Garlick off the 40-man roster.
    But what he does is pound left-handed pitching beyond what anyone with his skillset should be able to do. In his brief MLB career, he has a .538 slugging percentage against southpaws and an .839 OPS.
    As good as he is against LHP, he's equally bad against righties, posting an abysmal .582 OPS against them.
    But he's cheap and fills a very specific role the Brewers could use in 2023.
    Brock Beauchamp
    With the Brewers looking at seven starting pitchers after the Miley trade, MLBTR speculates a Houser trade is possible. Houser could easily be the odd man out and if a trade happens, it could be late in the offseason or even during spring training. Personally, I'm leaning away from the Brewers trading any of their possible starters but it's a definite possibility. With so many to choose from and all of them legit candidates to start MLB games, GM Matt Arnold could decide the team is better by trading a pitcher for another asset at a position of more need.
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