The Brewers’ Best Option for Their Extra Cash Isn’t a Free Agent

The Brewers re-upping with the network formerly known as Bally Sports Wisconsin (and some extra cash from the competitive-balance tax) give the Crew about $15 million more to spend on payroll in 2025. There is talk of going for a free agent, but perhaps the Brewers should think more about how to bolster their long-term future with their extra cash.

For the short term, the team has some strength in the farm system. The future on the left side of the infield looks brilliant, with MLB Top 100 prospects Jesus Made and Cooper Pratt looking very much like they could anchor those positions within a few years. The Brewers have a wealth of outfield prospects in their system, not to mention some serious depth in the rotation.

But the fact is, the hot stove economic realities hit hard this winter. The Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Giants, Phillies, Red Sox and Blue Jays still have the ability to spend more than twice as much as the Brewers can, without breaking a financial sweat. That's going to be a huge problem in the medium and long term for the franchise, barring a hard salary cap in MLB or greatly expanded revenue sharing—which may not be happening any time soon.

The Brewers have done very well of late with amateur free agency in Latin America, where Jackson Chourio, Made, and Yophery Rodriguez have all emerged as top prospects in recent years. The team’s even found a few steals, like Juan Baez, who signed for just $10,000 and might yet become a solid big-leaguer.

The Brewers, though, need to cast their eye further afield. If they can’t outbid the Dodgers, they could arguably improve by building up their scouting in Japan, Korea, and Australia, and start building relationships with high school and college baseball players there. In this case, it would take one of two tracks.

The first and most obvious track would be to see who the Brewers could sign in the international free agency period. They would be competing with NPB and KBO, but the A’s already have signed a Japanes high schooler and a notable slugging prospect from Japan recently chose to come Stateside and attend Stanford en route to MLB, rather than signing with an NPB club, so it’s not like this path isn’t already being taken. The Brewers would simply be more systemic about it.

There is a second track, though. The Brewers would also be planting seeds to try to gain an edge should players be posted for MLB free agency by their teams in instances where they don’t sign with Milwaukee right away. In this case, it’s about having Milwaukee being in the front of those players' minds, as opposed to being an afterthought. Creating authentic relationships might just be a market inefficiency.

How would they go about doing this? For starters, the Brewers should consider establishing dedicated scouting offices in Japan, Korea, and Australia with their $15 million in extra cash. By having scouts involved in the local baseball landscapes and cultures, the team can build strong relationships with promising talents and their coaches from an early stage. Last year, the MLB Draft's No. 1 overall pick was Travis Bazzana, an Australian infielder who came to the States to play for Oregon State University. Imagine the value of catching a player like Bazzana (who received an $8.95-million signing bonus) at 16 and selling them on the developmental upside of starting their professional career early, with a team noted for its excellent work with young players. In the international free-agent market, there are hard caps on spending for an entire year south of that bonus Bazzana got, and top-tier individual bonuses tend to be more like $3 million.

In addition, by investing in local baseball academies or sponsorships for baseball tournaments, the Brewers can create goodwill and brand recognition. They could also benefit from hiring former NPB, KBO, and ABL players or coaches as scouts or other liaisons, leveraging their connections and insights to identify and attract top-notch prospects. The initial investment could easily come back in the form of more revenue for the Brewers, which could either be re-invested into scouting and player development, or which could even be used to make the team more competitive in the free-agent market.

In other words, while Justin Turner or other free agents might be tempting, the Brewers best move with their extra cash may be to dream bigger for the distant future. At the very least, they could use some of their remaining flexibility for those goals, even while spending part of what remains available to them to secure a player like Turner.