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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
    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.
    Ewitkows1
    Marlins are open to trading four of their starting pitchers for outfield help.
    The Brewers currently have top 200 OF prospects and only two spots to play them. I'd be open to trading one or two for some controlled pitching. We'd be stacked this year in SP but at the end of the season we could trade woddy and Corbin and still have a solid top three, controlled for five years. We could target a SS or 3B who could be a cornerstone for either of them.
    Brock Beauchamp
    Of course, Rafael Devers asking for $300m is quite different from Rafael Devers getting $300m from the Red Sox but it's an alarming ask as the Brewers look to extend one of Adames, Burnes, or Woodruff.
    Devers and Willy Adames are actually really good comps. Through five seasons, Adames has posted a 15.1 bWAR while through six seasons, Devers has posted a 15.2 bWAR. The two players posted an identical 4.4 bWAR in 2022. Devers has the advantage in career OPS+ - 124 to Adames' 111 number - but Adames has the defensive advantage of being a good shortstop.
    Devers has both the age and service time advantage, though, which drives up his price a fair amount. He's one year younger than Adames and one year closer to free agency - 2023 is his final arbitration year so he can almost taste free agency in these negotiations.
    If Devers actually receives anything close to $300m from the Red Sox - let's say $250m+ - does that take an Adames extension off the table for the Brewers?
    Brock Beauchamp
    There's a lot of chatter around Twitter but not from what most of us would call the most reputable sources. But that doesn't mean it's necessarily untrue. With the addition of Carlos Correa, there isn't really a reason for the Mets to roster Eduardo Escobar other than "Steve Cohen wants all the players."
    Personally, I struggle to see Steve Cohen taking a step back talent-wise under any circumstances after the offseason the Mets have had but it's also possible Escobar isn't particularly thrilled about being in New York and shoved into a utility role - he's not a great defender anywhere anymore - behind two players on a legitimate Hall of Fame career arc.
    What are your thoughts? Is an Escobar reunion possible in Milwaukee?
     
     
    Brock Beauchamp
    As mentioned in this MLBTR piece, bats have been flying off the free agent market over the past few weeks and now it looks like teams are focusing in on one of the only intriguing bats remaining, utility man Brandon Drury. The 30-year-old can play all over the field but has spent the most time at second and third base.
    While not an exceptional hitter most years, the journeyman had very nice 2021 (111 OPS+) and 2022 (122 OPS+) seasons. As a right-handed hitter, he could slot into the Brewers' lineup nicely, resting several left-handed hitters throughout the lineup as needed. Drury's splits aren't pronounced (.720 OPS vs righties, .770 OPS vs lefties) but given the current makeup of the Brewers, being able to slot in someone who isn't a black hole against lefties (much less above average, as Drury is) could be a difference maker over 162 games. 
    monty57
    Here's an article about the Reds being loaded with young infield prospect talent, and looking to trade for young OF prospect talent. 
    I know that teams oftentimes don't want to do inter-division trades, especially prospect-for-prospect as that could end up looking bad for a long time. Other than that, this seems like a perfect scenario. Chourio and De La Cruz would be staying where they are, but this could be a swap of ready-to-contribute "Top 100" guys like a Mitchell-for-Marte type deal, a blocked MLB-ready prospect deal using Wiemer or Ruiz, or a lower minors deal like Lara-for-Acosta.
    Both teams would be dealing from an area of depth for to an area of need. What are everyone's thoughts?
    Brewcrew82
    From MLBTR, "Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports roughly 10 clubs have been in touch with Hazen and company regarding at least one of the team’s outfielders. Piecoro lists the Yankees, Brewers, Blue Jays, A’s, Marlins, White Sox and Reds as clubs with interest."
    Very interesting considering our existing stockpile of young outfielders. Daulton Varsho sure would look good in a Brewers' uniform, with the rare ability to play elite defense at RF, CF, and C....
    Brock Beauchamp
    Curt Hogg reported that GM Matt Arnold has stated the Brewers want to improve at catcher. Given the status of their catching corps, this seems rather obvious but the interesting tidbit is that Arnold, when questioned, was cagey about whether the Brewers would pursue a free agent catcher - with Vazquez being the best remaining option while other guys like Gary Sanchez also remain available - or whether they'll pursue a trade at the cost of prospects.
    What makes the most sense to you? Free agency or give up prospects and save some money?
     
    Brock Beauchamp
    There were rumors swirling that the Brewers might be open to dealing Adames this winter but based on a few things we've heard recently, that's now unlikely. While that's good news for Brewers fans, the reason behind it is possibly even more appealing: apparently, Adames and the Brewers may be discussing an extension.
    Adames took a step backward offensively in 2022; after posting a 126 and 120 wRC+ in 2020 and 2021, his batting average dropped about 30 points and his wRC+ fell below 110 while his on-base percentage dropped below .300. With batting averages dropping like a stone across MLB the past several seasons, it's hard to get a read on whether Adames' performance drop was a one-year aberration or what to expect going forward.
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