You’re The Brewers GM! It’s Not About Money, It’s About Sending a Message

This series of articles is a primer for the release of our new "You're The Brewers GM!" tool, where you play the role of Matt Arnold and build your own Brewers offseason. Please visit the tool here and join in on the fun!

At this point, people are pretty clear about Milwaukee’s budgetary constraints. They’ve never signed a record-breaking contract, and it doesn’t seem like it will change soon. Using Brewer Fanatic’s new payroll tool, we can establish that as is, the roster will cost ~$112 million with an estimated final budget of $130 million. This means we have an extra $18 million to spend, quite a bit if you know where to put it, but a small amount of breathing room compared to the fat cats in the big markets. How do we make the most out of this spending limitation?

Goodbye to Old Faces
It makes sense to drop the team’s two most valuable pieces: Willy Adames and Devin Williams. Because he’s a free agent, Adames has technically already been dropped, but semantics aside, I don’t see the Brewers trying very hard to retain him. Matt Arnold and Pat Murphy have been as lukewarm as possible on his future with the team, and with Adames likely receiving offers north of $150 million, he has likely worn that cheese head for the last time. Because they extended the qualifying offer, the team will get an additional pick in 2025, and they have a wealth of young middle infield talent, so it’s not all bad.

Devin Williams still has a full year of team control left and could be wanted by several teams. By packaging him off to a new team, the Brewers would save an estimated $8 million in arbitration and could instead rely on Trevor Megill, who already filled the closer role last year to great effect.

Outside of those two names, the Brewers don’t have much control over what to do with the other large contracts on their books. Christian Yelich and William Contreras would never get traded, while Rhys Hoskins would be a hard sell given his $18 million salary and little to show. Brandon Woodruff, Aaron Civale, and Freddy Peralta are all necessary parts of the rotation, and past that, no other contracts will eclipse more than $5 million. Thus, assuming the team trades Willams for a handful of prospects, our new payroll is $104 million with ~$26 million to spend.

Decision #1: Allow Adames to walk

Who’s On Third?
When Adames leaves, Milwaukee must fill the gap in his position. The team is lucky to have Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang, who have spent time playing shortstop, but after his platinum glove escapades in 2024, Turang is guaranteed to stay at second base. Most of Ortiz’s time in the minors was spent at shortstop, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume he’ll return to his roots. If so, that leaves an opening at third base that could be filled by Andruw Monasterio or someone else, probably the latter, given the middling results from Monasterio in the past. 

Unfortunately, the free-agent pickings at third base are slim. I’m more likely to sign with the Brewers than Alex Bregman, and a reunion with Brian Anderson or Luis Urías would be underwhelming at best, a waste of money. It’s also worth noting that there are more alluring options at shortstop if Ortiz is to remain at the hot corner, but none seem to fit Milwaukee’s needs and financial restrictions. So what about the trade market?

The most sensible option to me is Alec Bohm. Not only are the Phillies proactively trying to trade him, but the Phillies also need a closer for 2025, so a deal could be made to swap major-leaguer for major-leaguer and a few pieces in between. Bohm took a big step forward on the way to his first All-Star selection in 2024, posting a 117 OPS+ with 44 doubles, 15 home runs, and 97 RBI. He has top-quartile strikeout and whiff numbers and is a capable fielder, so there's plenty of stuff to be happy about, and he’s undoubtedly an upgrade over Monasterio. 

It’s hard to say who is worth more, depending on how much Philadelphia values team control. Williams is one of the best closers in baseball but will become a free agent in 2026. Bohm has an extra year of team control but isn’t as individually impressive. For simplicity’s sake, let’s assume that a deal could be done on a one-to-one basis. Unfortunately, Bohm’s projected $8 million in arbitration offsets any gains from dropping Devin Williams, but it gives the Brewers more marginal value. 

There have also been trade rumors about Nolan Arenado, but he’s clearly at the end of his career and will cost more than $70 million at the end of his contract.

Prospect-wise, Brock Wilken and Mike Boeve are the closest to debuting, but after a lukewarm regular season and an even tougher showing in the Arizona Fall League, I think Wilken needs a little more time to bake. Boeve was putting up dominant numbers before sustaining a serious injury so he could impress enough to get called up sooner rather than later, but it will take time before he’s ready for the big leagues. Thus, calling up one of these two third-base prospects should be an “in case of the emergency move” rather than a primary option. 

Decision #2: Trade Devin Williams for Alec Bohm

Bats for Arms, or Arms for Bats? Bats for Bats?
While Adames’s departure will leave a very specific gap, Milwaukee still has a wealth of outfield talent that is too good to let hang on the bench. With Garrett Mitchell (hopefully) and Christian Yelich (hopefully) back, the trio, plus Jackson Chourio, could be the King Ghidorah of the division. It’s great to have backup options like Sal Frelick and Blake Perkins, but one has to wonder whether there’s a greater return to be had by trading someone on the bench for a player who could be of more regular use. I believe you can always have more arms, and given the team’s recent injury history, another starter or a few bullpen arms definitely couldn’t hurt.

This is less of a definite move and more of an open invitation to hear from potential suitors. For example, Blake Perkins could be a great addition for any team needing a premier outfield defender with tons of team control and potentially promising peripherals. Sal Frelick profiles similarly with more emphasis on making great swing decisions and less power upside, but he also possesses a top-tier glove.

Decision #3: Look to trade an outfielder for prospect equity 

Free Agent Fiesta
The Brewers are perhaps the most boring team regarding free agency rumors. They’re rarely named as favorites, and they don’t even get the Red Sox treatment of constantly being “interested” in top names. That said, assuming a Williams/Bohm trade goes through, we’d still have another $18 million to spend before reaching our budget, a perfectly reasonable amount.

Milwaukee will likely target a short-term deal, like the Hoskins contract, that’s no longer than three years and not more than $18 million annually. Furthermore, a bat should be the priority since any available starters will either be expensive or downgrade the existing staff. Finally, given the exceptional talent of the outfield, an infield or designated hitter will likely be the target.

While this may be controversial, I think Joc Pederson could be the guy. He hasn't had the best interactions with Milwaukee's fans, but he did slash .275/.393/.515 over 449 plate appearances with the Diamondbacks last year and posted an OPS+ of 151, the highest of any season in his 11-year career. He walks at a 12.2% clip, hits the ball hard, and puts up consistently great numbers against right-handed pitching, posting a .908 OPS last year. Given his limitation to being a designated hitter and somewhat inconsistent numbers, MLBTradeRumors is projecting that he will receive just a two-year, $24 million contract, well within the bounds of our current payroll projections.

Another free agent that should be a top priority for the Brewers is Roki Sasaki. Unlike other marquee names, he's cheap, and the total value of his contract is inherently limited by posting rules, so the front office can't use the excuse of him being too expensive this time around. He's said that he wants to sign with a small market team with a great pitching development program, and no team is a better combination of those two qualities than Milwaukee. Do they desperately need rotation help? Of course not, but any team's rotation would be better with Sasaki.

Decision #4: Pursue Joc Pederson and Roki Sasaki in free agency

Who To Call Up?
The upside of rarely extending players or signing them to long-term contracts is the team is a revolving door with plenty of young talent on the fringes of making the big leagues. We saw a few names make their first MLB appearances in 2024 with mixed results, and 2025 brings an even more promising crop of players. 

If he can get his walks under control, I’d love to see Jacob Misiorowski make some bullpen appearances. Not only would it be a good way for him to get some big-league outs, but I also think his stuff would add legitimate value as a major-league reliever. Because of his elite fastball/slider combo, some scouts have already discussed his possibility of becoming a righty Josh Hader. Like Corbin Burnes before him, shorter outings of three or four batters faced could help him hone his skills while netting the team a few extra wins.

Likewise, I would think 2025 would be the Craig Yoho year. After an outstanding year in 2024, he seems ready for a step up in competition from the minor leagues. With him and Misiorowski both candidates to take up some reliever innings, the team can trade away one or two of their existing reliever pieces.

I have a hard time advocating for any position players to make their debuts with the same fervor. Tyler Black may get some more at-bats, and as mentioned earlier, some third-base prospects could get some playing time as well, but the farm system seems to skew more heavily toward arm talent. I would be remiss not to acknowledge the team’s #1 prospect, Jeferson Quero. With his entire 2024 missed due to injury, I think he’ll want some time in the minors to find his groove. Even if he does well, he’ll still play behind William Contreras, barring any injury. He may debut, but I wouldn’t expect him to be a core part of the major league team for a few years. Contreras will be a free agent in 2028, so maybe around then, Quero will finally become the guy.

Decision #5: Call up Craig Yoho and Jacob Misiorowski to serve as relievers

It's hard work coming up with the hypothetical offseason plan for a major league baseball team. It's even harder, given how solid of a roster the Brewers already have. Losing Adames and Williams in the offseason will surely hurt, but their replacements aren't schmucks by any means and could still carry the team to yet another dominant regular season. With some of the other moves listed above, Milwaukee could finally get the deep postseason run they've been searching for all these years. 

What do you think of this offseason plan? Do you think you can do better? Then build your own Brewers roster and hit the button below!

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