Are The Brewers Thinking Outside The Box To End Their Outfield Logjam?

Ken Rosenthal reported Saturday that, during the offseason, Sal Frelick worked out with former Boston Red Sox star Dustin Pedroia in the infield, which the Brewers confirmed with a tweet showing Frelick fielding a bunt at third base. While Brewers fans are familiar with Frelick patrolling the outfield grass at American Family Field, he saw infield action with North Shore in the Futures Collegiate League in 2018 and 2020.

With the signing of Gary Sanchez finally official, the outfield crowding remains an issue despite this out-of-the-box move. Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, and one of Garrett Mitchell or Joey Wiemer could be the starting three in the outfield. Suppose Wiemer's adjusted swing boosts his offensive contribution, and Mitchell can stay healthy. In that case, this becomes a potent group, even without Frelick, who now seems likely to be seeing at least some playing time on the infield.

Whether it is an experiment or a move that lasts, moving Frelick to second and third gives the Crew an option that provides a massive boost at the former position (his OPS+ of 91 in 2023 was almost 50% higher than that of Brice Turang, the team’s primary starter last year) and allows them to hold roughly even at third (Brian Anderson and Andruw Monasterio posted OPS+ figures of 86 and 87 respectively last year) based on his 2023 numbers, which were affected by a thumb injury he suffered.

In this way, Frelick is a solid fallback option at third base in the unlikely event Tyler Black is not ready for MLB in 2024. He is a substantial offensive upgrade at second base over Turang, even without a potential offensive breakout. This is assuming his bat does not improve from 2023 to 2024 as he is fully recovered from his injury (it should be noted that improvement is likely: Ryan Braun had a resurgence in 2015 after he struggled with the effects of a thumb injury in 2014). If Frelick's bat improves, the Crew will look for ways to keep him on the field.

Frelick's move to the infield - even if it is only part-time - also opens up many new possibilities on the trade front. Now, the Crew can move one – or both – of Willy Adames and Turang, quite possibly securing themselves help at other positions or a means to bolster their farm system even more than it already is. Milwaukee could also option Turang to Nashville to work on his offensive without burning MLB service time (something that could significantly improve the team over the latter half of the 2020s).

Allowing Frelick to see time as an infielder could pay big dividends for the Brewers over the next few years. On the one hand, it lessens the pressure to make a deal involving their bounty of young, talented outfielders (Garrett Mitchell and Joey Wiemer, who both have performed well in the minors and have flashed potential in the majors, are being considered for Nashville or the bench at this time). It could get more of those young bats in the lineup. 

On the other hand, it does add to a middle infield logjam that could result in moving Freddy Zamora, Ethan Murray, or other players who may be stuck behind established types. We still don't know if 2024 will be the last year Adames is at short for the Crew or if an extension gets worked out (look at how Matt Arnold made Brandon Woodruff's return happen).

That said, the Frelick move is the type of out-of-the-box thinking that needs to happen for the Crew to be successful in the current economic climate. In this case, the move could make the Brewers a team to contend with in 2024 and beyond.