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Well, before we get into those questions, let’s start with a few assumptions about Milwaukee's future.
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The payroll will not change much in 2025. Let’s not delude ourselves into thinking the Brewers will suddenly get a massive increase in funding. Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely? No. Historically, the team has shown no inclination to increase payroll so let’s assume it won’t happen next year.
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Willy Adames is gone. He’s on pace to receive a $20-25 million AAV deal a year for at least 4-5 years. Dansby Swanson - a similarly valued player - got seven years at $25 million per year. Even on the low end of $20 million, it’s unlikely the club makes such a commitment, especially when they have replacement players available in Ortiz and Turang.
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Rhys Hoskins will be back in 2025. Hoskins will get $18 million next year by picking up his option and a $4 million buyout. That’s a nice $22 million payday. He could, theoretically, take the $4 million buyout after this season but his numbers are not that impressive. It’s unlikely someone shells out over $20 million for an aging, one-dimensional player. Thus, like it or not, he will be back.
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While the Brewers will shed some salary - primarily from not paying Adames and Wade Miley - $20 million - they will still owe raises to players such as Hoskins, Williams, Peralta, Chourio, and a host of arbitration cases - most notably William Contreras. Those raises will eat into the payroll. I don’t want to go into specifics, but in the end, let’s call it a wash and just say scheduled raises and arbitration cases will consume any space created by departing free agents.
And so, if Milwaukee will bring back most of the band for 2025 and our payroll doesn’t change much, how do things look? Let’s go position by position.
Positional Players
Catcher: William Contreras is set. The backup is not but this doesn’t have to be a big expenditure.
First Base: As described above, Hoskins is set.
Second Base & Shortstop: Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz represent a duo of solid players. Yes, the Brewers will miss Adames’ power bat, but Turang and Ortiz are good.
Third Base: Ummm - let’s come back to this. It’s a bit complicated.
Outfield: Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, and Blake Perkins offer a young, solid, cheap contingent. Rotating those four around the outfield is a nice luxury to have.
Designated Hitter: Christian Yelich. The team is much better when Yelich’s bat is in the lineup, but he should be relegated to a DH position, except for emergencies. Perhaps he digs out the first baseman's glove. Of course, the club might insist on getting Yelich into left field. If that happens, the DH position will be manned by the best bat available who’s not on the field that day.
Wild Card: Tyler Black. Black is probably best as a DH. But if you want to keep Yelich in the game that position is filled. The club could keep Jake Bauers, but that’s not inspiring. Instead, they should give Black a job as a 1B/DH/2B/3B and see how he does. He likely could match Bauers's production, which isn’t a lot. The big downside would be some poor defenders would man first.
Pitchers
Starters: Rea, Peralta, Myers, and Civale look set. You then have DL Hall and Brandon Woodruff. It’s possible the club won’t bring back Civale - but it’s a thin group, and losing him makes it even more precarious.
The club has some Triple-A players - Carlos Rodriguez and Chad Patrick - who may factor in.
Plus, there’s Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson. But I’m guessing these two guys won’t be considered until sometime in 2025 - after a little more seasoning in Nashville.
Relievers: It’s a loaded bunch. JB Bukauskas, Bryan Hudson, Jared Koenig, Nick Mears, Trevor Megill, Hoby Milner, Enoli Paredes, Joel Payamps, Elvis Peguero, Bryse Wilson, Devin Williams, and Abner Uribe. Craig Yoho is a fascinating prospect who could be ready to contribute. DL Hall could shift to the pen as well.
Wild Card: Aaron Ashby has struggled terribly in 2024, so I’m not counting on him for anything. But you never know.
Free Agents: Montas, Miley, and Ross are likely gone (Miley may retire) unless they return on bargain salaries.
Questions
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Money availability—The team will have limited money available to fill out the roster. They should be able to pick up some low-cost players—maybe even splurge on someone in the $5-10 million range. But don’t expect an Alex Bregman signing any time soon.
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Third base—Let’s go back to the third base problem. The issue is that the Brewers don’t have one. The options in the system are Brock Wilken and Oliver Dunn.
Dunn received 100 at-bats earlier this year, which went poorly at the plate. However, he flashed a quality glove. Can he improve? His strikeout rate was nearly 40%. That won’t cut it. His K-rate at previous stops ranged from 25-34%. It makes me skeptical. But if he could improve, he might be a competent player. But again, I’m skeptical.
Wilken is at Double-A, and while he has 14 home runs, he’s hitting only .216 and striking out a lot. I’m betting he gets more seasoning with 2026 his likely arrival.
Other free agent third basemen will either cost too much (Matt Chapman, Alex Bregman), are old and fading, or are just not good. But there are some interesting players. Yoan Moncada is a guy with some upside but lots of questions. It will all come down to money, but at least the team can offer someone like Moncada a full-time job to re-establish his value around the league. It may be our best option.
The other option for the Crew is to target a second baseman or shortstop - and keep Ortiz at third - where he has been pretty good. The team will find some attractive (and cheaper) options, including Amed Rosario and Brandon Lowe (if he's non-tendered). Again, it is a matter of what kind of funding we can come up with.
In the end, I’m guessing Dunn gets a look, but the club will scour the market and find a bargain-rate player willing to sign for one year. -
Starting pitching - The club has some bodies to line up as a starter in 2025, but it lacks depth - especially someone who can go deep into a game. However, even mediocre-to-bad starters make $10 million yearly (Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn). That seems like a move the team won't make. They might find a mediocre starter coming off an injury - like they did with Joe Ross - but it’s unlikely they can sign a free agent starter who can eat a lot of innings.
Moves to Consider
One thing the club can do to improve is consider a trade. Here are a few ideas:
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Deal Devin Williams, who is entering the final year of his contract. The club has a lot of relief pitchers, so perhaps he could land a young third baseman or starter. Relievers with limited years of control, even good ones, don’t usually net a ton. But if the Crew could fill a need and save $10 million to allocate elsewhere, that’s something to consider.
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Deal Tyler Black. Black might not have a position with Milwaukee and thus could be dealt with to fill other needs.
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Deal Rhys Hoskins. Perhaps not a bold idea, but still an idea. The problem is any such deal would likely be a salary dump. He just doesn’t have much value - and his $22 million salary he’s due is a big obstacle. Plus, Hoskins represents a big bat - one may want - especially if Adames is allowed to walk in the offseason. However, if the club could find a taker for Hoskins, it would allow Black to get a full-time job at first. He might even get a platoon partner in current Triple-A first baseman Wes Clarke. Clarke doesn’t seem like much of a prospect, but if you dig down a bit, you’ll find he pounds left-handed pitching. He stinks against right-handers but might be a nice guy to team up with Black. The team could then use Hoskins' salary to re-invest in other areas of need.
Milwaukee faces a huge loss this offseason with Willy Adames departing as a free agent. Despite that, don’t look for any big free-agent signings. Most of the club’s depth will come from the minor leagues or the bargain bin of free agency. Not to mention a few trades. The team always seems to pull a helpful player or two out of the hat with an unheralded trade.
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