Brewers Video
Every baseball roster is at least a little lopsided. The existence of a “Goldilocks” team where every position contributes evenly is about as possible as a Mariners World Series appearance in the next decade. On the bright side, this uneven distribution of talent on a major league squad is exactly what makes trade deadline conversations so entertaining. For a team as competitive as the Brewers, the discussion should largely be framed on what sort of upgrades they should prioritize before making the final postseason push.
To start, let’s make this process as empirical as possible. First, we’ll look at the high-level offensive and defensive statistics of each position and how those numbers compare to the rest of the league. Using this information, we can gauge where the most glaring holes in the lineup are, if any exist.
This simple table makes a few things quite apparent. The outfield is well-rounded, except for some lackluster fielding work by Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick when they have to play center field. Brice Turang is still one of the best second basemen in baseball, Rhys Hoskins has remained a solid contributor at the plate when healthy, and William Contreras is still a valuable backstop, even given his offensive regression. These positions are by no means perfect, and most are good, not great, but they aren’t problematic enough to be high priorities for the front office this year.
While most positions are above average with either the bat or the glove, one position is clearly below average in both: shortstop. The struggles of Joey Ortiz have been apparent for the entire season, and despite seemingly coming back in June with a .748 OPS over 90 plate appearances, his first 30 plate appearances of July culminated in just a .578 OPS. This mark is still somehow better than the .570 OPS he has for the entire season.
His struggles at the plate seem to be creeping into his defensive effectiveness as well. His range is still top-notch, but his eight errors and -8 Defensive Runs Saved paint a grim picture. There seems to be a lack of urgency and focus overall, something the Brewers are clearly aware of. Still, it may not be enough to push them to pursue a new shortstop. Ortiz has already shown that he can hang at the major league level when things are clicking; he has plenty of team control left, and there just aren’t very many viable shortstop targets available. I suppose Eugenio Suárez played a bit of shortstop for the Reds four years ago, and I bet Zac Gallen was an excellent shortstop in Little League. However, realistically, it’d be challenging to find a suitable upgrade.
There are slight upgrades that can be made at other positions, such as right field and third base, but one quality the lineup is clearly missing is power. The Brewers are slugging just .383 as a team, 22nd in MLB. Getting a power bat, perhaps at third base, could be what Milwaukee’s offense has been missing. The aforementioned Eugenio Suárez is one of the most enticing options here as he has been having a career year in Arizona, posting a 142 OPS+ and leading the National League in RBIs with 78. Ryan McMahon and Ramón Urías are two other options, but both are similar to Caleb Durbin in that they’re all defensive assets and offensive liabilities. However, Durbin has turned things around recently and is now sitting at a 103 OPS+, far better than the marks posted by McMahon and Urías, so expect him to keep his spot if Suárez isn’t available.
When it comes to pitching, the Brewers are actually in pretty good shape. Overall, Milwaukee has a combined 3.66 ERA, which is tied for 7th in MLB. However, separating the numbers by role highlights some potentially glaring issues.
The bullpen is on the verge of being overworked. Of the four teams with more bullpen innings than the Brewers, three are non-contenders (White Sox, Marlins, Athletics), and the other is the Dodgers, whose 60-day injured list would be a top-five rotation in baseball if they were healthy.
Milwaukee’s rotation is rich in talent, but other than Freddy Peralta, none are really innings eaters. Brandon Woodruff has made just two starts since returning from his long layoff, Jacob Misiorowski is a true rookie, Jose Quintana sometimes finds himself laboring to get through five innings, and Quinn Priester is still ramping up to higher volume. It puts Milwaukee in a tricky position because there’s just no room for a back-of-the-rotation arm that would give you six to seven gutsy innings every five days and reduce the bullpen’s workload. The Brewers have clearly chosen to prioritize quality over quantity, which should dictate how they plan on constructing the bullpen in the second half.
The two hidden gems of the bullpen are Aaron Ashby and DL Hall. Milwaukee has recently experienced great success using long relievers (shoutout my guy, Bryse Wilson), and having two quality arms capable of covering multiple innings of relief is a primary reason the pitching staff has made it this far. Of course, more is always better, so if they so choose, the front office could look at another durable arm. There’s hardly a need for a flashy, lights-out, one-inning closer like Emmanuel Clase or Jhoan Duran, but someone capable of getting more than three outs like Jake Bird could be a sneaky upgrade.
As is, the Brewers have a solid roster. It’s the reason that they find themselves within striking distance of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central despite a rocky start to the year. However, they have a relatively high strength of remaining schedule with a series against the Dodgers ringing in the latter half of the season, so they can’t afford to rest on their laurels just yet. Furthermore, making it to the postseason is one thing. Milwaukee’s faithful are all too familiar with the feeling of a first-round exit. If the team wants a real chance at making a meaningful run, the seemingly small upgrades at this year’s deadline could end up making big differences come October.
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now