What on Earth Are the Brewers Doing This Winter?

This team is likely to just let their young talent play. 

My guess is a Santana addition and go play baseball.

Cincinnati & Baltimore showed last year that a team can win with talented young positional talent and decent to good pitching. I think this is where MKE is entering this season.

We might not have quite the positional talent of Baltimore, but I like our pitching better. 

Cincinnati might be slightly ahead of us, as far as prospect development is concerned, but I like our veterans better.

The Brewers are contenders as is, and will be developing their BLR prospect talent at the same time. 

1 hour ago, sveumrules said:

They really don’t seem interested in anyone under the age of 37.

Offseason 40 Man/Trade Acquisitions (2024 Age)

Wade Miley (37)
Colin Rea (33)
Taylor Clarke (31)
Eric Haase (31)
Joe Ross (29)
Jake Bauers (28)
Bryan Hudson (27)
Vinny Capra (27)
Oliver Dunn (26)
Blake Holub (25)
Chad Patrick (25)
Coleman Crow (23)

I think he's referring to the interest in Santana, when there are younger better options out there.  Where's the needle mover in that group?  They gave up arguably their 4th best starter and a 29 year old OF who was a major offensive contributor down the stretch just last season who would have cost maybe $7-8 million this season for a guy who might make a few token starts in August in the minor leagues this year.  They seem intent on relying on guys who didn't impress all that much as rookies to get the bulk of the OF starts and a guy in Chourio who probably needs at least a couple months in AAA.  Bauers as the guy to turn into the 2022 version of Rowdy?  Seriously, a .211 lifetime hitter with a career slugging percentage under .400?

His point is this team as presently constructed isn't close to a contender much less a team capable of repeating last years' record.  He's right on both counts.  Yeah they have some pieces that they could move at the deadline who'd bring back some value, but they've already surrendered two guys who also could brought back more at the deadline than they did in December.  

St. Louis was in the cellar of this division last season - they needed to completely retool their pitching staff this offseason just to even think of finishing over 0.500, and I don't think what they've done is nearly enough at this point.

Cincinnati has made some moves around the fringes, but they will need to bank on young pitching staying healthy and young position players continuing to develop in order to take another step towards 90 wins.

The Cubs gave a mountain of money to CC to manage a club who has yet to replace its best hitter (Bellinger), best trade acquisition (Candelario), and Opening Day starter (Stroman) from its 2023 team that eeked out a record barely over 0.500.  Besides that, they've done nothing - zilch - squadoosh.  They have to make a series of significant moves just to get back to being fringe contenders.

The Pirates are, well, the Pirates.

I'd argue the moves the Brewers have already made this offseason related to nontender/release of veteran players who collectively had awful 2023 seasons or were too injured to contribute in 2024 have improved a roster that won 92 games last season and won the division.  Canha and Santana are included in the article like they were borderline silver sluggers for the entire 2023 regular season in Milwaukee and their loss is crippling to their offense...they were here two months and it took both close to a month before they started hitting.  Plus, Santana is a likely option to wind up back in Milwaukee at 1B, and adding Chourio to the young OF mix basically leaves Canha without a spot on the field to play with Yelich still in LF.  Woodruff is a loss?  Guessing if the over/under on 2024 innings pitched at the MLB level is 1, most people would bet the under for him at this point.  The holes on this roster that still could use dramatic improvement still have a bunch of free agents at the DH and corner IF positions who haven't signed anywhere else, either....or they could be filled by young Brewer prospects (Gasser, Black on top of Chourio) who may very well be ready for everyday playing time at the MLB level.  

Think Sveum's post nailed it well.   The key point will be whether Burnes/Williams are traded.   All these moves are independent of that as even if those two are gone the Brewers goal will still be to field a competitive team with hopes of making the playoffs due to their division being so weak.  If they do keep them, well you go from competitive team with a chance to win up to the favorite expecting to win.

This isn't like the NBA where if you're not 'going for it' you just punt everything and try to lose.  The Brewers stated goals since Stearns has been to be steadily competitive every year, seems that's the route they're going regardless of Burnes/Williams.  These fringe moves are what they would be doing in either route.  They are also very reliant on gameday attendance so a blatant tear down attempt to lose is very unlikely.   

Nothing done to move the needle IMO and i think the Fans will also notice and might just effect Attendance.

3 hours ago, tmwiese55 said:

 

This isn't like the NBA where if you're not 'going for it' you just punt everything and try to lose.  

 

A great line, one that could be used as a one-sentence primer for some fans.

8 hours ago, sveumrules said:

 

If one requires a coherent narrative it is that they are playing the middle so they have the flexibility to pursue multiple possibilities in either direction.

That's a really good explanation as to how things have played out so far.

Give it another 8days. That one intl guy has to be signed I believe the 11th or they return to their team. Read Arb numbers to be due and exchanged on 11th or 12th as well.  We'll find out the gap on Burnes and Adames what Mil wants to pay and what those 2 want to be paid.  I've said it will affect the trade return with Burnes multiple times.  

Black to me is part of a hold up(along with Adames] on roster configuration.   How soon will he be added to the everyday lineup and where? What if its 1b? 2b? because Adames was traded?  Aside from Wiemer, Frelick and Mitchell are small sample sizes to add with Chourio no sample size for OF production. Yet all 3 are top 2-24-and 70 prospects I believe upon when taking the ML field.  You have no faith in those rankings, get all the prospect rankings banned. Clearly wrong when you're looking at them. Or just wrong when it involves a Brewer. Turang was another top 85 prospect. 

Yet here we are boohoo the roster hasn't really been upgraded. The idea exists in your mind that prior to age 30, no young call up can improve 2nd or 3rd year playing.  You gotta wait til after age 30 and 10-20+M AAV FA contracts to be doled out to believe that past performance showing elsewise will continue well in to their 30s.  Thats improving the team.

Gasser/Miserioski/ Rodriquez  all are SPs that you shouldn't be locking down any FA pitchers beyond 2 years making it harder for them to join the ML team. Peralta-Ashby are under contracts. 

Keep playing checkers while Front office plays chess.

48 minutes ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

If they are looking at Santana as a first baseman, there is one younger, better option in free agency (no, I’m not including Bellinger).

Are you referring to Hoskins?

The whole off season hinges on two names.  Burnes and Adames.