How the Potential Tyler Glasnow-to-Dodgers Trade Affects the Brewers

Here come the Dodgers. After signing Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year deal worth $700 million (er, or something), the NL West's merciless hegemons are looking to add some help in the starting rotation. Per Ken Rosenthal from The Athletic, the team has been discussing a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, involving stuff monster Tyler Glasnow.

Though this deal hasn’t been completed yet, the very news of progress could impel the Brewers to make a move. At the start of the offseason, the Dodgers were seen as a potential fit for All-Star ace Corbin Burnes, should the Brewers part ways with him. What makes this a match made in heaven is that the Brewers are also considering parting ways with shortstop Willy Adames, a position at which the Dodgers could look to upgrade.

With Clayton Kershaw a free agent and perhaps out for a good chunk of the 2024 season due to shoulder trouble; Julio Urías unlikely to suit up for an MLB team any time soon; and both Tony Gonsolin and Walker Buehler recovering from Tommy John surgery, the team will need to fill in their starting rotation to stay competitive.

Buehler, Gonsolin, Ohtani and Dustin May can all fill the rotation in 2025. Adding another veteran starter or two gives them the ability to part ways with the younger arms in their farm system. So why would the Brewers care about a Dodgers-Rays trade involving Glasnow?

For starters, after acquiring Glasnow, the Dodgers won’t be likely to trade for Burnes. This would be especially true if they are able to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the free-agent market. The Brewers would lose out on a trade suitor for Burnes and on any of the prospects or young players they've identified as targets in that system. Sure, they can still ask about Adames, but the package wouldn’t be as big as it could be.

This trade also may rule out a trade with some of the other players within the Rays organization. The Rays trading Glasnow and Manuel Margot would save the Rays $35 million, less whatever money they include in the transaction. This would put the team at an estimated $84-million payroll, relieving any pressure to trade any of the other players on their team. The team hasn’t had a payroll over $85 million since the creation of their franchise in 1998.

So, what can the Brewers do? Will they keep Burnes and Adames? Will they look elsewhere? There are still several options.

The best thing about this news is that the deal isn’t official, and in fact, that it hasn't gotten across the finish line in the more than 24 hours since it was reported as being close. This could be the Brewers' final chance to get involved in a trade with either the Dodgers or the Rays. If it means anything, the Brewers had discussions about adding the White Sox's Eloy Jimenez at the deadline last year. That move didn’t come to fruition. The Brewers were meant to trade Carlos Gomez to the Mets for Wilmer Flores and Zack Wheeler in 2015. That trade never happened. Things can change in a matter of hours, let alone a day or so.

Perhaps the Brewers now notice that top prospect Ryan Pepiot is not untouchable. Matt Arnold could make one last proposal involving a package of Burnes and Adames and get back that arm. The benefit of trading Burnes over Glasnow is how much the Rays pitcher is getting paid. Glasnow is owed $25 million this season, whereas Burnes and Adames will make only slightly more than that as a pair. Plainly, the Dodgers are not afraid to spend money, but after adding Ohtani to the payroll, their luxury-tax number will be through the roof--even if 97 percent of his contract is deferred. With Margot's contract set at $10 million, the Dodgers could opt to save the extra money while picking up an All-Star pitcher and shortstop via trade.

If the trade between Los Angeles and Tampa does get closer to complete, though, why not join the trade instead? The Brewers can admit defeat on trading Burnes to LA, but who says they can’t still get involved as a third team? They could just squeeze into the deal as a third wheel, to get the final details set.

Suppose the Dodgers aren’t comfortable parting ways with Pepiot without getting a decent package back or the Rays don’t feel Jonny Deluca is enough for them to give away Glasnow. Could Milwaukee offer one of their outfielders to the Rays and/or Adames to the Dodgers and receive a prize of their own? Perhaps Gavin Lux or Emmet Sheehan from the Dodgers could be the return. Maybe an even bigger version of the deal in which the Crew comes away with Isaac Paredes would still be possible, albeit at a significant cost.

If all else fails, the team would just have to move on and look elsewhere. Burnes has received a ton of interest from other starter-needy teams, including the Giants and the Angels. If the value isn’t there, maybe the team will decide to keep him, as some recent (if conflicting) reports have suggested. However, the value will diminish the longer the Crew hold onto him.

With Adames, the Brewers could still communicate with the Dodgers on a deal. Don’t expect a huge return for the shortstop on his own, though. With one year left of club control, teams could opt into waiting for next offseason to sign him in free agency. That might lead Arnold and company to decide that dealing him isn't worth it at all.

Regardless of what the organization ends up doing, the clock is ticking. Time is running out. The offseason isn’t over, though. What do you want to see them do, in light of these reports about the Dodgers and Rays? Let us know.