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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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    bensheeps
    Filling the void at 1st base for the power needy Crew, it took until mid-January for a national writer to see Rhys Hoskins as a fit for the Brewers.  While there's been plenty of talk here from posters, I believe this is the first time a writer has mentioned it.
    https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/bellinger-snell-best-landing-spots-for-11-mlb-free-agents
    Brock Beauchamp
    All quiet on the pitcher front.
    Mark Feinsand of MLB.com wrote this excellent write-up about both the reliever and starting pitcher winter markets. While the reliever free agent market seems to have stalled on Josh Hader, Feinsand goes on to point out that the starting pitching market hasn't fared much better with several high-profile free agents still on the market, headlined by Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.
    In a cascading effect, this has caused the starting pitcher trade market to be equally slow, so much so that one NL executive is quoted saying "I don’t think the trade market will be very hot in the next month". Other executives stated that it's unlikely White Sox starter Dylan Cease will be moved due to his high asking price and there are doubts surrounding Guardians starter Shane Bieber.
    Is this a positive development for the Brewers and does it make a Corbin Burnes trade more or less likely?
    markedman5
    According to Robert Murray of FanSided, the Brewers have expressed interest in free agent Garrett Cooper. 
    Cooper, a right-handed first baseman and corner outfielder, is entering his age-33 season in 2024. Last year he split duties between the Marlins and Padres; he scuffled to a below-league-average OPS with the Marlins before closing out the season with a 102 OPS+ in San Diego over 41 games.
    The Brewers still have yet to be linked to any free agents that expect to sign more than a one-year contract while their estimated $90 million payroll remains well under their 2023 payroll of just over $130 million.
     
    Brock Beauchamp
    In his daily roundup, Bob Nightengale (yes, I know) mentioned the Brewers are a good fit for the 40-year-old former-Reds slugger.
    This could be speculation on Nightengale's part - and we all know he's not above firing from the hip on these things - but having specifically mentioned "three teams are interested" in Votto last week, the Brewers are possibly in play.
    From a roster fit, Votto simultaneously makes sense and no sense at all, depending what you think of players like Tyler Black: can he stick at third, is he ready for a prolonged chance to hit MLB pitching? The Brewers are lacking in corner offense and should they decide to pass on bringing back Carlos Santana, Votto could be a stop-gap measure at first base and possibly DH.
    Brock Beauchamp
    Jon Heyman wrote that a rival executive has said "everything is on the table" when it comes to the Marlins improving their roster in 2024.
    Does this include even Luis Arraez?
    The Marlins have several intriguing pieces, including the two-time batting champion who flirted with hitting .400 for the first half of the 2023 season. Arraez, still only 26 years old, has spent every at-bat of his career with an average over .300 (excluding the first, obviously). Arraez is something of a throwback player whose primary concerns are health and defensive positioning. He's an adequate second baseman in his mid-20s but has often found himself at both first base and DH due to lingering injuries in his lower body.
    The Marlins also have Jesus Luzardo in their rotation and have been linked to trade rumors over the past few months. Luzardo is entering his age-26 season and posted a career-high 178.2 innings pitched in 2023 with an ERA+ of 125. He will not become a free agent until after the 2026 season.
    Who on the Marlins roster interests you? Leave a comment!
    Brock Beauchamp
    Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported in today's roundup that the Rays, despite having a very busy offseason already, are looking to shop arbitration-eligible first baseman Harold Ramirez.
    Ramirez, 29 years old, has two seasons of team control remaining. The big righty has posted an OPS+ of 121 over his past 896 plate appearances (the 2022 and 2023 seasons). Ramirez has primarily played first base, corner outfield, and DH the past two seasons. His defensive metrics at first base are concerning, though in limited playing time (only ~250 innings the past two seasons).
    Is this of interest to the Brewers? Do his defensive limitations more than offset his badly-needed bat in the Crew lineup?
    Brock Beauchamp
    Jon Morosi, appearing on MLB Network, spoke about how the Brewers are waiting for Japanese free agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to decide on a team. After that point, the Brewers could more aggressively pursue a trade of Corbin Burnes and/or Willy Adames.
    This report matches rumors we have heard at Brewer Fanatic; Milwaukee appears to be shopping some of their expiring contracts but currently, there is no urgency in the negotiations and it's unlikely to see a significant trade before Christmas unless the situation changes in the next 48 hours.
     
    wildcat2237
    Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests the Giants are looking for a shortstop and Adames could be a possibility. The Giants famously missed out on (passed on?) Carlos Correa last offseason and still haven't found a permanent solution at short. Adames is a free agent after the 2024 season but has mentioned he is amenable to an extension before he reaches free agency.
    Thoughts? 
    Jastro
    Per Seth Cummings (Independent reporter for the Nats) tweets that the Brewers and Nationals are in on Carlos Santana. Also tweeting that a reunion with the Brewers is the most likely destination at this point. A reunion with Carlos makes the most sense, as he provides a decent bat, solid defense,veteran leadership and good clubhouse chemistry. 
     
    Jastro
    Brewers General Manager Matt Arnold has reiterated several times that he is in no rush to trade Corbin Burnes, who becomes a free agent after the 2024 season.
    But what do other teams believe? It's in the Brewers' interests to play coy with trading the ace starting pitcher, publicly stating that they're perfectly willing and happy to play out the 2024 campaign with Burnes fronting the rotation. According to Heyman, rival executives believe there's a decent chance the Brewers will trade Burnes before the season. It makes sense, not only from a return value perspective but if the Brewers don't trade Burnes before Opening Day, any team that trades for him no longer has the option to offer him a qualifying offer after the season; that pick would typically land in the 31-36 draft slot range. The allotment for the first such pick in 2023 was just over $2.7 million.
     
    Jastro
    Per Ken Rosenthal's "What I'm Hearing" article this morning 12/6. The Brewers and Marlins are among teams showing interest in the SS/UTL. Kiner-Falefa has the defensive flexibility the Brewers often pursue but unfortunately, he also comes with significant offensive downside. The 28 year old has a career 81 OPS+ and posted a rather dreadful .646 OPS in 2023.
    Rosenthal also stoked the flames of a Dodgers-Brewers trade involving Corbin Burnes and/or Willy Adames. Both would be an excellent fit for Chavez Ravine but as of this writing, it appears Rosenthal may have been wish-casting that deal.
     
    Brock Beauchamp
    Adam McCalvy of MLB.com dropped a great rundown with General Manager Matt Arnold that covers a variety of topics.
    The Brewers, despite acquiring Jake Bauers earlier in the offseason, still (rightly) feel they need corner infield help. Carlos Santana was mentioned specifically as an option. Santana, one of last year's successful trade deadline acquisitions, posted a .773 OPS with the Brewers down the stretch and helped push their beleaguered offense back into the postseason. Arnold also mentioned that prospect Tyler Black has a legitimate shot to make the Opening Day roster, probably as a third baseman.
    Other interesting tidbits mentioned were updates on Aaron Ashby and the fact that the team is not considering Christian Yelich as an option at first base.
    Brock Beauchamp
    MLB Trade Rumors released a lengthy piece about the Corbin Burnes situation and outlined several potential suitors for the Brewers starter.
    While much of the piece deals with the usual suspects (the Dodgers), there are some intriguing ideas here. One that stuck out to me was the Blue Jays, who are currently determining what to do with struggling starter Alek Manoah. While a straight Manoah-for-Burnes feels like insanity, if the Blue Jays are particularly down on the big righty, they might be willing to juice the offer with him.
    Of course, all of this depends on how the Brewers view Manoah internally. The 25-year-old was extraordinary in 2021 and 2022, posting a 2.60 ERA. Inversely, 2023 was equally disastrous as he posted a 5.87 ERA.
    Anyway, click the link above to see the entire list of teams.
    Matthew Trueblood
    According to ESPN insider Buster Olney and a rival executive who served as his source, the Brewers might prefer to wait and see with their top two trade chips. The idea is that Burnes, especially, might not have significantly lower value in July (if trading him still seems like a prudent course) than he has right now.
    That might be true of Burnes, because of the premium teams pay for starting pitching when a playoff race looms. Then again, by then, the Brewers might be in a playoff race themselves, at which point dealing Burnes would feel unsettlingly like the trade that sent Josh Hader to San Diego in 2022. Nor is the loss of a potential compensatory pick (value that evaporates if Burnes is still on the team come Opening Day) as negligible as Olney seems to imply.
    With Adames, the gulf in likely value between now and July is pretty wide. He could have such a resurgent 2024 that he's an elite target by then, but even in that case, his value would be limited by the fact that only teams in need of a shortstop (or infielder, at least) would have much interest. Rental position players just don't fetch nearly what short-term pitchers can at the trade deadline.
    Incorporating Adames into this report reads mostly as a means to juice it for greater attention. It still feels unlikely that the Brewers would hold onto both of these guys, except in the case that they decide to make other, proactive additions and push hard for the playoffs in a go-for-it final season with both players in the fold. This report is a good reminder, though, that the direction of the offseason is far from being set in concrete at this early stage.
    Brock Beauchamp
    I stay pretty plugged into rumors but don't recall hearing that the Brewers were pursuing enigmatic slugger Eloy Jimenez, as reported in this MLB Trade Rumors roundup.
    Jimenez is a potent bat... about half the time. Over the past four seasons, he has posted an OPS+ of 139, 99, 141, and 104. And he's also injured often, playing only 259 games in the past three seasons.
    Pretty much a DH-only, Jimenez would add a sizable right-handed threat to the Brewers but it's hard to see where he fits on this roster as currently constructed. And his contract won't be cheap. He is owed $13.8 million in 2024 and has two team options in 2025 and 2026 for $16.5 and $18.5 million, respectively.
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