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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 released their top 35 trade candidates for the 2024-2025 offseason. Unsurprisingly, the budget-conscious Brewers had some names on the list.
    Obviously, Devin Williams is widely rumored to be on the block; even the front office is keeping mum on the subject.
    A less obvious candidate to trade is Aaron Civale. Trading a recent acquisition (Civale was a deadline trade with the Rays) would be the most Brewers-y move Milwaukee could make. After struggling for half a season in Tampa, the Brewers took on Civale and coaxed him to a 119 ERA+ over 14 starts down the stretch.
    One has to believe the Brewers will demand value in return for the right-hander. He is expected to make around $8 million in arbitration this season, which is a good value if he's even a league-average pitcher, much less the solid #2/3 he was down the stretch in 2024.
    Brock Beauchamp
    The Colorado Rockies were one of the first teams to fall victim to the Diamond Sports (Bally Sports) disintegration. Like the situation the Brewers are now facing, the Rockies had to trim down their payroll last season and according to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, they're going to cut payroll again this offseason.
    The Rockies franchise is in a bad state. They've lost over 100 games for two consecutive seasons and haven't have a winning season since 2018. The Rockies don't have many easily-moved large contracts but the front office will likely to try to move at least one of Brendan Rodgers, Cal Quantrill, and Austin Gomber.
    Their most valuable asset is third baseman Ryan McMahon, who will turn 30 in two months. McMahon perfectly fits the Brewers' needs and team construction: while he's not a phenom with the bat (career 89 wRC+), he is phenomenal with the glove at third base, posting a +60 DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) and a +40 OAA (Outs Above Average) in his career.
    Given that we're speaking about the Rockies, it's impossible to predict what they plan to do. McMahon is under contract for three more seasons: $12 million in 2025 and $16 million in both 2026 and 2027. 
    Brock Beauchamp
    Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote that most baseball people consider the Los Angeles Dodgers the most likely landing spot for shortstop Willy Adames.
    Andrew Friedman, President of Baseball Operations for the Dodgers, has a long-standing connection to Adames. Friedman was the PoBO of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2014 when the Rays traded for Adames, lifting him out of the Detroit Tigers system. A few months later, Friedman packed his bags and headed to Los Angeles to manage the bottomless wallet of the Dodgers.
    The Dodgers have been connected in rumors to Adames at nearly every turn since 2022; it has long been believed they are very high on the 29-year-old shortstop. It is rumored that Adames's camp is looking for a deal in the $200 million range.
    Brock Beauchamp
    This is a chorus Brewers fans are quite familiar with over the past few years: their soon-to-be free agent closer may be traded.
    In the Brewers' after-season press conference, General Manager Matt Arnold talks briefly about trade rumors surrounding closer Devin Williams. The right-handed reliever is entering his final season of team control in 2025 and the Brewers hold a $10.5 million option they will surely accept.
    Williams has been almost unbelievably good the past three seasons, posting a 1.66 ERA over 141 innings pitched while striking out over 14 batters per nine innings. To fans, this will surely bring back bad memories of the Josh Hader trade in 2022, which sent the lefty to the San Diego Padres mid-season.
     
    Brock Beauchamp
    It shouldn't be surprising to anyone familiar with the baseball financial landscape, particularly with the chaos of the Bally Sports bankruptcy proceedings, but it still hurts for fans to hear that one of their favorite players is likely to leave town after completion of the 2024 season.
    Brewers majority owner Mark Attanasio, speaking to the media during the Brewers' postseason, and reported by Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
    Adames, 29 years old, will pursue a nine-figure deal this offseason, likely for five years or more. He had a nice bounce back season in 2024, posting a 119 wRC+ but has slid backwards defensively, posting a -16 DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) after being a plus-defender in 2023 with a +8 DRS.
    Matthew Trueblood
    Jon Heyman reports that the Marlins' enormous lefty has a warming trade market. All his recent trend markers are in the wrong direction--ugly stats this year, velocity and strikeout rate moving in the wrong direction, finally healthy but with a spotty injury history--but Rogers is under team control two more years after this one. 
    The 2021 All-Star and Rookie of the Year runner-up hasn't looked the same in any season since, but he has a unique arsenal and release point, including both a four-seamer and a sinker with a ton of arm-side movement. He'd be a fascinating target for the Brewers, who do so well with such development projects. As Heyman notes, though, he wouldn't come cheaply. This would have to be a case of the organization believing they could work their magic with him right away, in a big way.
    Brock Beauchamp
    In the most recent Baseball Insiders podcast, Robert Murray mentioned that he has heard from multiple teams that the Brewers are interested in shopping outfielders - Garrett Mitchell is mentioned by name - in exchange for help in areas of roster weakness. The Brewers have several outfielders on the 40-man and not enough positions to play them, even if Christian Yelich is out for the season with back issues. Mitchell is pre-arbitration and after suffering an early-season injury, has rebounded to post a 119 OPS+ in 59 plate appearances this season.
    With the recent addition of Devin Williams to the Brewers roster, their bullpen situation is even more cramped than it was leading into July. Joel Payamps and Hoby Milner may be options to package into a deal to bring back an MLB player, such as a starting pitcher.
    Brock Beauchamp
    This news might cause whiplash: the New York Yankees are apparently dangling starting pitcher Nestor Cortes on the trade market. Cortes is only 29 years old and won't become a free agent until after the 2025 season.
    Cortes has flashed brilliance in the past but scuffled in 2023 (87 ERA+) and is roughly league-average this season (99 ERA+). The Yankees, an obvious contender this season, will likely be looking for major-league talent in return for the pitcher, which could make a lot of sense for the Brewers, who are facing several roster crunches, particularly in the bullpen (though it will obviously require more than a reliever to reel in a pitcher of Cortes' profile).
    Brock Beauchamp
    Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic has reported that sources close to the Brewers are saying they have expanded their trade deadline interests to acquiring a left-handed bat.
    Milwaukee is concerned about Christian Yelich's recent back issues. It was reported that Yelich was strongly considering season-ending back surgery before receiving an opinion that rest and rehab might be an option to get him back on the field later in the 2024 season. After the season, it's likely Yelich will opt for back surgery and hopefully be ready to start the 2025 season on time.
    While there are some lower-level options open to the Brewers (and never underestimate General Manager Matt Arnold's ability to get creative), the most obvious and best rental option is a name that strikes terror into the heart of Brewers fans: Jesse Winker.
    After having an abysmal 2023 season with the Crew that ended with him being booed in front of the home town crowd in the postseason, Winker is having an outstanding rebound season with the Washington Nationals. He is posting a 130 OPS+ and is only making $2 million, which could be appealing to the Brewers, who don't seem eager to add payroll at the deadline.
    Brock Beauchamp
    According to Mark Feinsand's latest MLB.com report, the Blue Jays are telling teams they are willing to trade any players on expiring contracts, though they are not yet willing to part with players with team control beyond 2024.
    The Blue Jays have a slew of players who will be free agents at the end of the season: center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, DH Justin Turner, relievers Trevor Richards & Yimi Garcia, and most interestingly to the Brewers, Yusei Kikuchi.
    Kikuchi is having a solid season with 101.1 innings pitched, a 101 ERA+, and is making only $10 million this season. Relievers Richards and Garcia might also be of interest to the Brewers depending on the healthy return of Devin Williams in the next couple of weeks.
    Brock Beauchamp
    In the latest trade roundup from The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal, Katie Woo, and Patrick Mooney wrote that the Nationals are preparing to sell. While Washington is playing decently this season (42-49), they're a whopping 16.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies and 5.5 games out of a contentious National League Wild Card spot. They didn't expect to compete this year and feel as if they're a year ahead of schedule and PoBO Mike Rizzo feels selling is the right decision at this trade deadline.
    The Nationals have several interesting right-handed relievers that could interest the Brewers. On expiring contracts, they have Dylan Floro (179 ERA+) while they have two relievers who become free agents after the 2025 season: Hunter Harvey (183 ERA+) and Kyle Finnegan (184 ERA+). Starting pitcher Trevor Williams is expected to return from injury soon. He will also become a free agent at season's end and over 11 starts has a 2.22 ERA.
    Of course, the Nationals also have a Brewers fan favorite rostered and available in trade, Jesse Winker.

    Brock Beauchamp
    Zachary Rotman of FanSided, quoting Robert Murray of the same publication, revealed that sources familiar with the Brewers are all-in on acquiring pitching at the trade deadline. While the struggles of relievers like Joel Payamps make it likely Milwaukee will dabble in the reliever market, most of the focus is believed to be on the starting rotation.
    That makes sense. Brewers starters have struggled to go deep into games, further extending their bullpen, which could have consequences down the stretch and into October. On the other side of the coin, the Brewers offense is tenth in baseball in OPS with no glaring holes to fill; to see significant upgrades offensively, the Brewers might have to shop on the top shelf of trade candidates, something they are unlikely to do.
    The Brewers recently acquired Aaron Civale from the Tampa Bay Rays but as of today, Dallas Keuchel still holds a rotation spot for the Crew. While Keuchel could be an acceptable short-term solution to the deadline, it's unlikely he will be a pitcher General Manager Matt Arnold is interested in relying on through the dog days of summer.
    While teams like the Texas Rangers might have interesting starters to trade - primarily Michael Lorenzen - it's likely the Brewers will pursue an arm that doesn't require them to trade away anyone in the top five of their farm system.
    Brock Beauchamp
    Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic focused on the struggling Texas Rangers in his latest trade deadline roundup. He points out that while it's rare for defending world champions to sell, the Rangers are teetering on that precipice as we head toward mid-July. Texas is in third place in the AL West, six games behind the Seattle Mariners. They're even further out of the Wild Card picture, 7.5 games out of the third Wild Card spot. While those aren't insurmountable numbers, the Houston Astros have been playing much better baseball after an abysmal start to the season while the Rangers have yet to do much better than treading water at any point thus far.
    What makes the Rangers particularly interesting is their corps of starting pitchers. Michael Lorenzen is having a stellar season (123 ERA+) while making only $4.5 million this season. He's a free agent at season's end. Nathan Eovaldi is having a similarly good season (128 ERA+), though he is making $16 million this season and if he pitches another ~70-ish innings, a $20 million vesting option kicks in for 2025. If he continues pitching as he has this season, that's probably not a deterrent to any acquiring team. 
    The wild card candidate is Max Scherzer, who has a no-trade clause. He was willing to waive that last season but only if the Rangers added an additional season to his contract. There's no telling what Scherzer will do at this deadline; he's 39 years old now and is a free agent at season's end.
    Brock Beauchamp
    Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote up a list of 17 starting pitchers and their likelihood of being dealt before the trade deadline.
    While few pitchers ranked as "highly likely to be traded", there were two Tampa Bay Rays holding that qualification: Zach Eflin and Zack Littell. The Brewers are well-established as willing partners with the Rays; they traded for Willy Adames back in 2021 and just last week picked up starting pitcher Aaron Civale from Tampa.
    Both Littell and Eflin are roughly league-average pitchers, though Eflin was very good last season as he pitched to a 119 ERA+. Littell was something of a journeyman bullpen guy; originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins, he later moved to the San Francisco Giants before becoming a breakout starting pitcher for the Rays last season.
    Like the recently-acquired Civale, both players are free agents after the 2025 season. Hit the link above to see the entirety of Heyman's list.
    Brock Beauchamp
    This one isn't a rumor as much as a surprising statement from a national writer as lauded as The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. Appearing on Foul Territory, the panel points out how different this Brewers squad is to previous seasons, which relied heavily on pitching and just hoped to scrape together enough runs on offense to win.
    It's a very different story in 2024. While the bullpen is still elite (and Devin Williams has yet to return), the offense is firing on all cylinders and is one of the most dynamic and multi-faceted offenses the Brewers have fielded in years. Most of the players are young and cost-controlled for years but it can (and probably should) be argued the Brewers should strike while the iron is hot. The Brewers are receiving excellent seasons from Christian Yelich, William Contreras, Brice Turang, et al and it may not be reasonable to count on similar performances in 2025.
    What do you think, Brewers fans? Is it time to sacrifice a little of the future for a little more certainty today?
    Brock Beauchamp
    Ken Rosenthal highlighted the Brewers in today's roundup and while the news isn't earth-shattering to any Milwaukee fan, he reports that people familiar with the team don't expect a big splash at the deadline in either money or prospect capital, even for starting pitching.
    He reported that the Crew will retain their "bites of the apple" philosophy (my words, not his) and not trade away any of their top prospects for a badly-needed starting pitcher. There are several starting pitchers likely to be available at the deadline, highlighted by Garrett Crochet, who is under team control for several more seasons. As teams like the Blue Jays spiral out of contention, premier starters like Kevin Gausman could also be placed on the market.
    It's a controversial decision that will surely upset some Brewers fans but given the steady stewardship provided by David Stearns and now Matt Arnold, it's increasingly difficult to argue with the regular season results the Brewers have achieved for the past seven years.
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