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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
    Jon Morosi has tweeted that the Mariners are inquiring on second baseman Kolten Wong. Even though Wong struggled on the defensive side of the ball last season, many expect some rebound in the area going into 2023. Coupled with his mini-breakout with the bat - posting a career high 118 OPS+ - he could be a very valuable player at $10m on a one-year deal. The Mariners took a big step forward in 2022, making the postseason for the first time in two decades, and they have the ability to easily absorb the contract (and a lot more).
    The Mariners' farm system has graduated a bunch of players but there are still some interesting names in their top prospect list. What do you think is a reasonable price for Kolten Wong on a one-year, $10m contract?
    Brock Beauchamp
    Jeff Passan of ESPN believes it's more likely the Brewers and Arnold will try to build around Burnes and Woodruff than trade one of their two top-of-the-rotation starters. While this doesn't mean anything is set in stone, Passan usually has pretty good takes and is known to be pretty tightly-knit with various front offices and agents around the league.
    If this is truly the case, it's hard to see the Brewers build a roster around them for $135m given their current roster commitments and pending commitments.
    This means the Brewers either need to raise payroll or they need to get creative in trade. They certainly have some nice pieces on the farm to acquire good, young talent but it's hard to see them trade too much of the future in a single offseason. What I expect is more likely is that we see a few surprise non-tenders to free up cash and possibly some moves to free up additional money (Wong being an obvious example).
    An interesting tidbit from a baseball journalist I generally respect and follow pretty closely.
    Brock Beauchamp
    This isn't really totally "news" because Stearns is still under contract and any pursuit by the Mets would require negotiation with the Brewers and would surely come with a hefty cost.
    And it's pretty hard to see the Mets bailing on Eppler after a wildly successful season, even if said season ended in disappointment.
    But also, it's interesting to see over the next 12 months whether this is simply Cohen hedging his bets on the 2023 season and possibly snatching up Stearns after he's out from under any contractual arrangement with Milwaukee.
    This is one of the more fascinating POBO/GM situations I've ever seen in my life of following baseball. It's obvious the two are interested in one another but continue to play coy. It's Pride & Prejudice: MLB Edition.
    https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/10/steve-cohen-says-mets-arent-pursuing-david-stearns.html
    Brock Beauchamp
    Jon Heyman of the NY Post wrote that the Brewers have discussed acquiring Ramon Laureano from the Oakland As.
    Laureano has three more seasons of control so should cost quite a bit in trade. He's not a great defender in center but is above average with the bat. Coming off a PED suspension, Laureano essentially lost a year of free agency and has question marks about performance given his previous substance use.
    Personally, I'm not a huge fan of pursuing Laureano. If the price is good, sure, have at it. But Laureano lacks on-base ability, which is perhaps the Brewers' greatest need right now. He checks the box for centerfield - sorta, anyway - but doesn't offer a lot of other qualities that make him attractive to me as a player on this roster.
    Thoughts? Would you pursue Laureano or go with someone more bat-first like Bell?
    Brock Beauchamp
    MLB Trade Rumors, quoting Jeff Passan, reports that the Brewers are interested in first baseman Josh Bell. Alongside Milwaukee are the Astros and Mets, who are interested in the switch-hitter who will be a free agent at year's end.
    Milwaukee could really use Bell's bat but it's harder to fit him into the lineup defensively. In a perfect scenario, Milwaukee can land an offensively-capable centerfielder but given the dearth of options at that position, falling back to a bat-first corner player and wedging him into the defensive alignment somewhere makes a lot of sense.
    What would you be willing to give up for a rental like Josh Bell?
    Brock Beauchamp
    Mark Feinsand of MLB polled a bunch of executives to see who they predict will land phenom slugger Juan Soto and one of them picked... the Brewers?
    Wait, what?
    In much more logical votes, the top vote-getter was the Padres, followed immediately by the Dodgers. Both teams make a lot of sense with a lot of young talent, good farm systems, and the willingness to pay Soto the gobs of money he's looking to land as he approaches free agency in a couple of years.
    Frankly, I don't think the Brewers have the horses to land Soto. They have Chourio - who is legitimately great right now - but the Nationals are likely looking for either young MLB talent or near-MLB talent, which the Brewers don't have a lot of right now, especially on the pitching side of things.
    And on top of the Brewers not having the horses, Milwaukee doesn't have the payroll to pay Soto into free agency, which makes this move a long-term rental. This move would force a full-scale rebuild in a couple of years after Soto leaves and an empty farm system needs to be restocked.
    Anyway, I thought this single vote was amusing enough to post about.
     
    Brock Beauchamp
    Will Sammon of The Athletic takes a look at the players the Brewers might be willing to offer in trade to shore up the big league club before the August 2nd trade deadline.
    While we all know Jackson Chourio is the shining light of the farm system, I don't see the Brewers offering him unless the return is massive and under team control for several more seasons.
    Sammon points out that Milwaukee's third-tier prospects are more likely to be moved, such as Hendry Mendez or Jeferson Quero.
    Sitting just below Chourio the Brewers also have the likes of Joey Wiemer and Sal Frelick, the latter having a very strong season in AA Biloxi. Like Chourio, I can't see the Brewers moving either without bringing back a starting player with multiple cost-controlled seasons remaining.
    And, of course, there's always the enigmatic Keston Hiura.
    Who are you most willing to part with in the farm system and which MLB players would you target to bolster a Brewers lineup that hits well but lacks top-end hitting talent?
    Brock Beauchamp
    Heyman reports the Crew is interested in Benintendi, which makes all the sense in the world.
    The Brewers (and other NL teams) have a big leg up on acquiring Benintendi from the Royals, as he is unvaccinated. That basically excludes any AL team from aggressively pursuing him, as any matchup with Toronto takes Benintendi off the roster. It's hard to see an AL team that expects a postseason berth to pay for a guy who might write himself off the roster in the first or second round of the postseason.
    Benintendi is a free agent at the end of the season and has a 127 wRC+. And maybe most importantly, an OPS approaching .400. He'd be a huge addition to a Brewers lineup that is plenty deep with power but often struggles to drive in more than one runner at a time with that power.
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