Shoot the Moon: A Last Chance to Replicate the Cain-Yelich Gambit

Six years ago, the Brewers traded for Christian Yelich and signed Lorenzo Cain; not in the same month or week, but on the same day. It was a momentous twin assault on the division, and it worked. Let's take one more crack at doing it again. You can read either of the two previous pieces musing on other possibilities, but this could have the most significant long-term impact.

Trade for Ty France and Sign Matt Chapman
Okay, this is a little crazy. Though, the Brewers landing Yelich and Cain on the same day was right at these crazy levels, so cut me some slack.

The biggest needs within the Brewers roster are at the corner infield positions. Andruw Monasterio and Jake Bauers are acceptable options for a team who are still determining their position in the league. If Mark Attanasio and Matt Arnold are still looking to compete, maybe it’s time to put all the chips in the center and push the envelope.

Ty France, from the Seattle Mariners, might be their ticket for one of those corner positions. France is coming off a down year, having an OPS+ lower than 100 for the first time since 2019. A 100 OPS+ is considered the average player in baseball; France’s stood at 99 in the 2023 season.

T-Mobile Park in Seattle is pitcher-friendly. That could be putting it mildly. In 2023, it had the lowest overall Park Factor and yielded the lowest weighted on-base average (wOBA) on contact of any park in MLB, according to Statcast. France didn’t seem to have a problem with hitting there, though, knocking 48 percent of his home runs at his home park. Imagine what he could do in a hitter's park like American Family Field.

The Brewers can occasionally use France as a regular first baseman or slide him to third base. His low strikeout rate (17.6%) and whiff rate (21.9%) are each considerably better than average, and he finds the sweet spot on the bat as consistently as almost anyone in baseball.

France will make just under $6.8 million this season and will be under club control for 2025. The Mariners listened to offers for the 2022 All-Star when the team seemed out of the playoff race. If the Mariners are still fielding offers, the organization could fill a hole left behind by Kolton Wong last season.

TRADE

Brewers receive Ty France for INF Brice Turang and 3B/1B Luke Adams (#21 prospect)
First, it was signing Mitch Garver to fill the DH role. Then, it was trading for Luke Raley when the club parted ways with Waukesha native Jarred Kelenic. Now the team saves some more money by adding an infielder who played second base nearly all season last year.

Last season, the second baseman for Seattle had a batting average of .205. Along with OPS (.607), home runs (11), and RBI (57), these numbers were the lowest among all positions on the field. But at least they were the lowest in strikeouts.

While Brice Turang was a rookie last season, he has gotten experience against MLB pitchers while remaining under a full year of service time. That will mean whatever team has him will have six seasons of club control but will more than likely be deemed a Super Two player.

While a .218/.285/.300 slash line doesn’t sound like an improvement at second; Turang has grown, hitting a .256 batting average with a .652 OPS in August. Turang is more of a defensive player, not recording a fielding error until July.

While shortstop is his primary position, he has made his tenure at second base work while Willy Adames covers short. If Adames elects to sign with a different team next season, Turang will take over the shortstop position.

But what if Turang is no longer here? Andruw Monasterio and Vinny Capra are both on the 40-man roster and are capable of playing shortstop. Not to mention, prospects Eric Brown Jr. and Freddy Zamora are ready to see some time in AAA and could debut this season should the worst-case scenario happen to our starters.

As for second base, prospect Oliver Dunn, who the Brewers acquired from the Phillies in November, could see some playing time in his place. If Dunn needs more time, let’s not forget hometown hero Owen Miller can also slide into second base. We remember Owen Miller’s hot bat in May last season, right?

While not on the 40-man roster, Tyler Black is also primed to make his debut at some point this season. Black was initially drafted as a second baseman but has been trying to fill the role at any infield position. With his lack of arm strength, he might be better off on the right side of the field.

Turang won’t have to be rushed to play second base as Sam Haggerty, Josh Rojas, and newly acquired Luis Urias can all play the position if necessary. Turang has two minor league options left to use so that he won’t be a lock on the starting lineup.

Moving on from France for the Mariners allows corner infield prospect Tyler Locklear to play in the big leagues at some point next season. Prospect Luke Adams can fill the slot left behind in the minors by Locklear as a next-man-up mentality.

Even so, there are plenty of options on the free agent market that can play first base. They saved $6 million by trading away France to use that money on a player like Rhys Hoskins, Carlos Santana, or CJ Cron. Come to think of it, those guys would look good in a Brewers uniform two, but that’s a different story.

The Brewers then can rely on France to take most of the reps at first, while Bauers can step in should injuries occur. Spring Training non-roster invitee Wes Clarke could debut by supplying a young power presence in the lineup if worse comes to worse.

Trading away Turang will keep the 40-man roster at 39. The Crew has room to add one more player to the roster. Adding France didn’t take much off the payroll, so the Brewers could try adding a major player.

Other than rumors, the Matt Chapman sweepstakes has been quiet. We always hear teams like the Giants and the Yankees in on the Gold Glove third baseman, but something has yet to pick up momentum. With Spring Training a month away, teams should start making offers for the remaining free agents.

The Brewers rarely spend money on a free agent. The franchise's highest free agent contract signed was the Cain deal in 2018. While the average salary was around $16 million, the Brewers have spent more per season on a player in the past (see Yasmani Grandal in 2019).

Chapman would be the dream signing at third base for the Brewers. While his career .240 career batting average isn’t pretty, his hard-hit percentage (56.4), barrel rate (17.1), and average exit velocity (93.4) suggest Chapman would be able to crush the ball at an alarming rate.

Because Chapman was offered a qualifying offer this offseason, signing him will cost the Brewers a draft pick in the upcoming MLB draft. With the qualifying offer worth $20.325 million, teams will probably need to offer an annual salary above that. Assuming the Brewers see Brock Wilkin or Tyler Black as potential future third basemen, the team won’t need Chapman for incredibly long.

If Chapman is willing to take a shorter-term deal like a three-year, $72 million deal, the Brewers will have the hot corner set for a reasonable amount of time. If you didn’t think the team was competing before, the additions of Chapman and France say a lot.

While replicating anything that happened on January 25, 2018, is likely not to happen again, this would be the team’s best chance to add any player of these guys’ caliber. Anybody can dream, but these moves can still be done if the Brewers are willing to pay. Will the Brewers make any significant moves this month? Are there other players not mentioned in this series you’d like to see the team do? Let us know.