With Ohtani Gone, The Brewers' Offseason Can Finally Start: What's Next?

For the handful of teams that were both interested and capable of coughing up the record-breaking amount of money he was anticipated to receive, courting Shohei Ohtani was a full-time job. Especially with a relatively lackluster free agent class and Ohtani wanting to move quickly through negotiations, putting all other names on hold made sense. While we saw a few big moves, like the St. Louis Cardinals acquiring a trio of starting pitchers and Juan Soto being traded to the Yankees, most big-name free agents are still available. Marquee players like Marcus Stroman, Cody Bellinger, Rhys Hoskins, and Chi Chi Gonzalez have yet to find a home for 2024.

Now that Shohei is off the table and everyone can go home to their families, we’ll start to see a separation of priorities. Since most players can’t be valuable pitchers and hitters simultaneously (we can’t ALL be Willians Astudillo), teams will now be pursuing individuals with more specific talents. The San Diego Padres had one of the worst bullpens in baseball last year and are losing Josh Hader, so they might be interested in players like Liam Hendriks or Hector Neris. The Reds had an extremely questionable rotation and could be contenders for Lucas Giolito's or Mike Clevinger's services. I’m sure someone somewhere has some sort of need for Yu-Cheng Chang. Either way, the Brewers will now have a better idea of their competition for their desired free agents.

They’ll likely be looking at bolstering their lackluster lineup and replacing Brandon Woodruff’s spot in the rotation as best they can. Ideally, they'd like to find a strikeout-heavy power pitcher to emulate Woodruff's style, so someone like Shota Imanaga could fit the bill. He doesn't have the same velocity as Woodruff but his strikeout rate in NPB was among the best. MLBTradeRumors is projecting him to sign a deal for five-years, $85 million so he might be a little pricey but there's a chance he goes for even lower. Another free agent that could be enticing would be Michael Wacha who lacks exceptional strikeout ability but has been a consistent starter for the past few years in Boston and San Diego. He's projected to sign a three-year, $36 million deal which would fit in with the Brewers' spending tendencies.

Furthermore, Milwaukee has several valuable trade pieces in the form of Corbin Burnes and any of their young, talented outfielders such as Joey Wiemer, Tyrone Taylor, or Garrett Mitchell. With teams no longer having to set aside ridiculous amounts of salary space, they’ll have better ideas of available budgets and what they’re willing to offer to acquire some of these pieces. While the Braves had a historically effective offense, their outfield defense was one of the worst in baseball. It could be a complementary trade candidate for some of Milwaukee’s more defensively-minded outfielders. 

Willy Adames presents another interesting trade piece. After the big shortstop free agent class of 2022, he could be one of the most valuable shortstops for needy teams to acquire. The Los Angeles Dodgers are one team that could be in the market for a new shortstop, depending how Gavin Lux performs upon his return to action after an entire year missed. Their most hated division rivals, the San Francisco Giants, are interestingly in the same boat with Brandon Crawford approaching retirement and Paul DeJong signing with the Chicago White Sox. 

The Brewers were never serious participants in the Shohei sweepstakes. Unless he had been willing to sign a contract in the realm of $90 million over six years purely for the love of bratwurst and Bob Uecker, they weren’t even on his radar. They’ll likely also be on the bench regarding the signing of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the second-most hyped free agent of this offseason. However, especially over the past few years, they’ve excelled at building rosters of even talent and finding value for money. Making the playoffs five times in the past six years doesn’t happen by accident, and those runs (especially after 2020) weren’t led by just one man. Instead, they were a result of good management decisions and solid depth. 

It’d be astonishing if the only move the team made this whole offseason was to acquire Jake Bauers from the New York Yankees. It may not happen immediately, but there’s evidence suggesting that Milwaukee has yet to make their biggest moves heading into 2024.