Brewers Face Two Sellers Chock-Full of Trade Candidates in Final Week Before Trade Deadline

In their first series out of the All-Star break, the Brewers swept the Miami Marlins, pushing that tottering team further toward being sellers at next Monday's MLB trade deadline. They then welcomed two teams who needed no such influencing, in the hapless Mets and Rockies. Now, as they hit the road for a pair of series on the West Coast, they'll extend their streak to an improbable five straight against sellers, in a league that doesn't have all that many teams thus classified.

Obviously, it will be nice to swoop into San Francisco and Anaheim, where two reeling teams are bracing for being picked apart by trades. Wins should be as easy to come by there as they were during the team's homestand. It adds another layer of intrigue, though, to know that some of the players the Brewers will see while in each city are candidates to be Brewers themselves by this time next week.

Arguably, the top two controllable starters on the market are members of the Angels, in Reid Detmers and José Soriano. Anaheim also has a couple of useful relievers available, including Kirby Yates and old friend Brent Suter. On the position-player side, they could look to move righty sluggers Jorge Soler and/or Jo Adell, and if the right offer comes for shortstop Zach Neto, they might even move on from him. Detmers, Soriano and Neto are high-value targets, even if the fit for Neto would be imperfect from the Brewers' standpoint. 

One or more of those guys could be traded before Milwaukee even gets to the Big A, though. First, the Crew will drop in on Willy Adames and the Giants. Adames, of course, has an onerous contract attached to him, and fitting him back into the infield mix for the Brewers would be even more fraught than acquiring Neto. However, there are whispers that the Giants might try to move sweet-swinging outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, and they have a trio of veteran starters who will be available to lengthen a rotation. In all likelihood, the Brewers will have no interest in a reunion with Adrian Houser or in Tyler Mahle, but Robbie Ray could be a solid fit for them. San Francisco also has a few relief arms who might be easy to acquire, led by JT Brubaker.

Normally, West Coast trips are imposing, even when a good team is venturing out to play poor ones. At this moment, though, these should make for some easy wins for the Crew. The Giants and Angels have too many of their own problems to focus on their opponents well right now. San Francisco's decision to hire manager Tony Vitello away from his head coaching job at the University of Tennessee has gone pear-shaped; the Angels fired GM Perry Minasian earlier this summer. Amid the chaos of each club and the cloud hanging over each clubhouse, the Brewers need to make hay. They'll also get the chance to scout some of those could-be helpful pieces up close. 

Only Detmers and Soriano stand out as great fits for Milwaukee. On the other hand, in the right creative sequence (a trade bringing in Neto and sliding him to third base, while spinning off Joey Ortiz to bolster the pitching staff? One that moves an outfielder to land Detmers, and another that brings in Lee to slot into the lineup?), they could be the kinds of splashy moves that have been bandied about by the national media over the last week. 

One thing this stretch of the schedule underscores needs to remain in the front of Brewers fans' minds over the next week: Every acquisition they make must be about October. This team will win its division and go to the playoffs with a good chance to reach the World Series. They need to reinforce the roster in ways that specifically address what might prevent them from going that far. Playing these bad teams should keep them comfortable in the standings and make clear to everyone how dominant the Crew can be. They don't just need to fill innings. They need to think about who, on these lousy teams they're facing in the final fortnight of July, can help them beat much stronger opponents two months from now.

View our top trade candidates list, up to nearly 70 names and updated regularly!