Did the Brewers Do Enough at the Deadline?

While other teams scrambled to find new bats and arms in July, the Brewers were like a Prius at a muscle car meet: relatively quiet. They added no new position players, and instead picked up two project starters, an intriguing reliever, and a 30-year-old rookie. Here is the list of all of the deals they made:

• July 3: Acquired RHP Aaron Civale from Rays in exchange for SS Gregory Barrios (#19 ranked prospect in Brewers system)
• July 21: Acquired LHP Tyler Jay from Mets in exchange for RHP TJ Shook
• July 27: Acquired RHP Nick Mears from Rockies in exchange for RHP Bradley Blalock (#17 ranked prospect in Brewers system) and RHP Yujanyer Herrera
• July 30: Acquired RHP Frankie Montas from Reds in exchange for OF Joey Wiemer, RHP Jakob Junis, and cash

It was well understood that Milwaukee would be vying for starting pitching, but Civale and Montas don’t seem like the difference-makers fans were hoping for. Both have clear weaknesses and are pitching to ERAs around 5.00 this year. They may be serviceable back-of-the-rotation guys, at least, but neither one will likely end up being 2008 CC Sabathia.

Even more concerning is how dormant the team was compared to its closest rivals. The Cardinals are six games behind the Brewers in the NL Central and were a participant in this year’s sole three-team trade, involving the White Sox and the Dodgers. They added Erick Fedde to improve their rotation and reunited with Tommy Pham to help stabilize their outfield and bring a platoon advantage against lefties.

The Pirates, also six games behind, also had a slight retooling by adding Bryan De La Cruz and Jalen Beeks while getting rid of a struggling Martín Pérez and a similarly below-replacement pitcher in Quinn Priester. Their roster still doesn’t seem to be as concerning as that of St. Louis, but with one more head-to-head series in September, they could take a few crucial wins away from the Brewers at the 11th hour.

Looking at the broader competitive set of the National League as a whole, the Phillies and Dodgers did their best to make moves that would secure their postseason byes. The Phillies snagged lefty reliever Tanner Banks, Angels closer Carlos Estévez, and veteran outfielder Austin Hays. The Dodgers were arguably the most active, acquiring Jack Flaherty, Kevin Kiermaier, Amed Rosario, Tommy Edman, and Michael Kopech. Even the Padres managed to win the services of the highly sought-after Tanner Scott. All of these teams are potential postseason opponents for the Crew. Even if the Brewers hang onto the top spot in the NL Central, will their roster be enough to get past the Wild Card or Division Series? 

On one hand, it may not be entirely their fault. This is the organization’s typical MO, and it’s not like there were a ton of great rental arms up for sale. The Astros, neck-and-neck with the Mariners for the lead in the AL West, gave up a whole bunch just for Yusei Kikuchi, a guy with a 4.75 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. Other starters that got sold off include Paul Blackburn (4.41 ERA), Zach Eflin (4.11 ERA), and Trevor Rogers (4.53), players with numbers in line with the pieces that Milwaukee did manage to add.

They were in on Flaherty, though more so a day or two before the deadline than as the final hours ticked away. They checked in on Fedde, but those talks didn't progress. Were they simply unwilling to compete with the Dodgers and Cardinals on price, or were they outmaneuvered in trade talks? Do they know something about Montas and Civale (or about Flaherty) that we don’t? Will they somehow find a way to sign the 1986 version of Teddy Higuera? Who knows. But with no new bats, no flashy arms, and the same crushing injury problems, things seem a little less rosy after watching playoff-bound rivals improve a bit more than the Crew did.