sveumrules

Brewers Peaks?? Now there is a TV show I would watch. But seriously, fifty five years of Brewers baseball (plus whatever 2020 was) here and gone. Not quite as nice and round of a number as 50 is, but these last five years have been some of the most exciting in franchise history (even if the World Series remains ever elusive). With that in mind, I thought it might be an interesting exercise to put together a forty man roster comprising the best peaks in franchise history. Normally these kind of things tend to take a more career-centric approach, but who wants to remember the decline years or those early years of figuring things out fresh into the MLB fire? Below is what I came up with. I'll separate out the Starting Pitchers, Relief Pitchers, Starting Lineup, and Bench / Rest of the 40 into individual posts to split things up a bit. Did I miss anybody? What would you have done differently?

They hoped he could throw 150+ innings a year. If Ashby had developed into even a five and dive Peralta kind of starter there would be massive surplus value on his contract. The whole beauty of the extension though was that even if that didn't happen, and Ashby only became a dominant reliever, there would still be a healthy amount of surplus value because elite free agent relievers make way more than 4/$35M.

Drew Rasmussen (12.8 rWAR) to Tampa Bay in the Adames deal. Believe the next highest after that are guys like Trent Grisham (8.3 WAR with SDP), Reese Olson (5.2 rWAR with DET) and Corbin Burnes (4.5 rWAR with BAL). But if we dip below the ten win threshold that introduces a whole other supporting cast of acquired via trade Brewers like Zach Davies (9.0), Manny Pina (7.5), Travis Shaw (6.9), Adrian Houser (5.6), Luis Urias (4.9), Omar Narvaez (4.6), Jonathan Villar (4.6), Joey Ortiz (4.5), Keon Broxton (4.4), Corey Kenbel (4.2), Domingo Santana (4.2), Eric Lauer (3.9), Quinn Priester (3.6), Mike Moustakas (3.4), Trevor Megill (3.0), Gio Gonzalez (2.9), Chad Patrick (2.6), Caleb Durbin (2.6), Victor Caratini (2.6), Bryan Hudson (2.6), Hunter Renfroe (2.4), Joel Payamps (2.2), Jordan Lyles (2.0) and Andrew Vaughn (1.9 WAR) between two and nine wins. Even subtracting out the 18.0 combined WAR from Grisham, Olson, Burnes that still comes out like another 78.1 WAR ahead for the Brewers. Truly insane stuff. Start dipping down further into the margins and there are guys like Bowden Francis (2.4 rWAR with TOR), JP Feyereisen (2.1 rWAR with TBR), Josh Hader (1.8 rWAR with SDP), Mauricio Dubon (1.6 WAR with SFG), David Hamilton (1.5 WAR with BOS), David Fry (1.0 WAR with CLE), Jonathan Lucroy (0.8 WAR with TEX) and others I'm not recalling that eat away at the gains by another dozen or so wins, but start dipping that low and the Brewers have guys like Aaron Civale (1.7 rWAR), Aaron Hill (1.5 WAR), Elvis Peguero (1.4 rWAR), Neil Walker (1.0 WAR), Drew Pomeranz (0.9 rWAR), Mark Canha (0.9 WAR), Jake Bauers (0.9 WAR), Brett Phillips (0.8 WAR), Carlos Santana (0.7 WAR) and Robert Gasser (0.7 rWAR) to mostly even out the ledger. Between the 86.9 net WAR from up top and the 78.1 net WAR from this post before dipping into the margins it's probably pretty safe to say the Brewers have come out ahead by somewhere in the neighborhood of 160 plus wins over the last decade on the trade market. Boggles the mind.

Yeah, there are definitely a lot of elements of WAR that create varying degrees of gray areas. Obviously quantifying defense is the trickiest with DRS and FRV spitting out results that are on two different scales of impact, and often times disagree pretty majorly on individual players. Position Adjustments could probably use an updating to be less harsh towards 1B/DH now that there are twice as many DH slots as when the adjustments were originally conceived and the supply of juiced aging sluggers to fill them is lower too (this has trickled down to LF some also). Park Effects that go into things like wRC+ and OPS+ apply equally across the board where different stadiums will impact different hitters in different ways depending on their batted ball profiles (or just what the weather might be like on that particular day). Trying to divvy up credit between the pitcher and the defense behind them is a whole other task which is near impossible to untangle depending on a number of variables like you mention. Of course there is no way to know for sure, but I'd imagine each organization has their own internal models that attempt to address these issues (& others we can't conceive). Presumably a team like the Brewers that has exceeded general expectations most every season for the last decade has a proprietary system that is much more accurately calibrated than the public facing versions.

Thanks @liveforoctober, that's really kind and much appreciated. Nobody else I'd rather talk Brewers and baseball in general with than everybody here at BF.

This is pretty much the exact kind of question the WAR framework is attempting to answer, so I'll take my best stab at it... When Ortiz hit for a 67 wRC+ over 506 PA last year it shook out to -20.0 batting runs, which combined with his +2.5 base running and +13.9 defense on FanGraphs came out in the wash at 1.4 WAR. When Ortiz hit for a 105 wRC+ over 511 PA in 2024 it shook out to +2.8 batting runs, combining that with his 2025 base running and defense numbers would be something like 3.7 WAR. Take the midpoint of those extremes (his career 86 wRC+ with the Brewers), again combine it with his 2025 base running and defense and it gets you around 2.5 WAR or so. I'd think it's a pretty safe bet that if Joey gets another 500 some PA as the Brewers primary SS his 2026 season will come out somewhere in that range of numbers. What might a full season at SS look like for Monasterio? That's a lot tougher hypothetical. Let's start around the edges... In his 592 PA with the Brewers, Monasterio has -0.7 BSR over 592 PA. To keep things round let's call that three runs lost compared to 2025 Joey at +2.5 BSR. Defense is a lot trickier. Easiest way is probably just to assume Monasterio would be an even 0.0 DEF with the positive positional adjustment from playing SS canceling out his likely negative fielding grades at the six over a full season. That is another fourteen runs lost compared to 2025 Joey. So Andruw is starting off something like 17 runs behind Ortiz before we get to the bat. With the 38 point difference in Ortiz's disparate 2024/25 wRC+ numbers shaking out to a difference of 22.8 batting runs, that means quick and dirty math the Brewers would have to believe Mona is something like 28 points of wRC+ better than Joey on a true talent level just to even up (much less exceed) that 17 run gap on defense and the bases. Lowering our assumption from a 17 run difference in defense and base running on the high end to say a lower, rounder endpoint of a 10 run difference in their BSR/DEF would mean Mona would have to be more like 17 points of wRC+ better at the plate to even out that kind of gap.

Don't think BOS would have much interest in Black since he isn't realistically a 2B/3B and Yoho would probably be a little too rich for my blood personally as a third piece. Would be more comfortable with someone like Brett Wichrowski or Tate Kuehner (would prefer Carlos Rodriguez, but don't think that's enough intrigue for BOS) instead of Yoho if the Red Sox wanted another MLB adjacent arm to round out the package. Would be pretty out of character for the Brewers to trade 18 years of service time for three kinda expensive years of Duran where him reaching around a dozen WAR would probably represent something like a realistic break even point.

No doubt Mona hit better in 2025, but for his career with the Brewers he has an 89 wRC+ (.298 xwOBA) over 592 PA compared to an 86 wRC+ (.289 xwOBA) for Ortiz over 1,017 PA. Even when Andruw was hot down the stretch last year with a 148 wRC+ from August 1st onward (3rd best on the team behind Turang at 172 and Bauers at 166) he still only managed 81 PA (14 starts at SS) over those last two months while Joey got 147 PA (40 starts at SS) with an 84 wRC+ over the same timeframe. Come playoff time Ortiz had 23 miserable PA of 105/227/105 (6 wRC+) and they still didn't throw a start Mona's way to see if he could spark something from the nine spot. I guess if Andruw comes out guns blazing and puts up a monster spring while Joey looks lost at the plate again it could maybe be enough to win him the starting spot, but I also think the Brewers internal eval of Joey's defense is probably pretty in line with his +10 FRV from StatCast that was 5th among SS last year which buys him a lot of leeway in their run prevention scheme.

If Peralta isn't going back to Boston, I think a Duran package would probably start with one of Chad Patrick or Logan Henderson to give them an MLB ready SP with long term control, then Cooper Pratt as the co-headliner for a near term SS since Trevor Story should probably be on 2B already, Marcelo Mayer reads like a better fit defensively at 3B, and Franklin Arias looks like he'll be starting 2026 in AA. Red flags for Duran are that he is brutal against LHP (78 wRC+ over 488 PA last three years), and will probably suffer some leaving Fenway as well (131 vs 112 wRC+ home/road splits last three years). With a $7.7M salary already locked in this year he could be looking at something like $35M or so for all three years of remaining team control. Here's a fun comparison... Garrett Mitchell Career 443 PA | 114 wRC+ | +4.8 BSR | +5.2 DEF 10.2 BB% | 33.9 K% | .376 BABIP | 3.3 WAR Jarren Duran 2023-25 prorated 443 PA | 121 wRC+ | +5.6 BSR | +0.4 DEF 7.7 BB% | 23.4 K% | .345 BABIP | 3.3 WAR Now of course Garrett Mitchell can't be counted on to stay healthy, his combination of ridiculous K%/BABIP means his 114 wRC+ is likely bound to crash if he ever were to somehow stay healthy for an extended period, and Duran's DEF takes a hit some from playing LF in deference to Cedanne Rafaela in CF...but they aren't that far off from being the same kind of player. No doubt Duran provides a waaay higher floor than Glass Mitchell, but is that floor worth giving up at least two good prospects / young players or something like a Peralta & Megill pairing if BOS wants a more win now return? Given the depth of the organization, at some point coming up here the Brewers will have to make a consolidation trade or two on a larger scale than Collins/Mears for Zerpa (or Yophery/Holobetz/Comp Pick for Priester). Just not sure Duran is that guy with his combination of player acquisition cost, already expensive Arby's salaries, and some offensive red flags. Would prefer the Brewers wait until they can get someone with a more robust offensive profile if they were to trade away the kind of package it would likely take to acquire Duran.

I would guess brewmann04 is talking about Jo Adell, but I'm not sure he's the kind of guy the Brewers would be too interested in. Last year Brewers hitters had a 9.1 BB%, 6th in MLB. Adell walked at a 5.8% clip that ranked 178th of 215 hitters with at least 400 PA. Last year Brewers hitters had a 20.3 K%, 5th in MLB. Adell struck out at 26.4% clip that ranked 182nd of 215 hitters with at least 400 PA. Put the Brewers excellent walk and strikeout rates together, and you get a 0.45 BB/K ratio that was 2nd in all of MLB. Adell had a 0.22 BB/K ratio that was 195th of 215 batters with at least 400 PA. In addition to pretty much having the exact opposite kind of plate approach the Brewers typically look for, he is a pretty brutal fielder as well with -10 DRS | -23 FRV for his career.

Kinda crazy to think that it's already been ten seasons since Stearns/Arnold took over the front office and transformed the organization. I was clicking around the Brewers leaderboards over this last decade and noticed that there were six players they acquired via trade that accounted for just shy of 100 combined wins. As is, the Brewers 836 Wins since 2016 are 5th in MLB. Take away their (spoiler alert) 87 Net Wins from big trades and they would drop down to 749 Wins, the same as the Twins in 16th place. That seemed like an awful lot, so it got me curious how all the other organizations did when it came to trading for and trading away individual players that ended up with at least 10.0 WAR (using runs allowed WAR for the pitchers) over the last decade. Turns out there were 76 such traded players accounting for 1,171.2 WAR in total. Full team results below with the format being Player (WAR acquired | trading team). But first, some quick observations... *Only two teams - The Yankees & Blue Jays - did not trade away a single ten win player. Maybe the old saying about Yankees prospects being overrated has some truth to it. *Only one team - The Orioles - did not trade for a single player that went on to post ten wins for them this decade. *The Rays have a reputation as one of the most deft organizations when it comes to the trade market, but they sent out twice as many ten WAR players as they acquired. MIL (6 in for 99.7 WAR): Christian Yelich (28.0 | MIA), Freddy Peralta (19.3 | SEA), Willy Adames (15.8 | TBR), William Contreras (15.0 | ATL), Josh Hader (11.1 | HOU), Chase Anderson (10.5 | ARI) OUT (1 for 12.8 WAR) | NET (+86.9 WAR | 1st) CLE (7 in for 101.9 WAR): Corey Kluber (20.6 | SDP), Carlos Carrasco (15.9 | PHI), Mike Clevinger (15.1 | LAA), Trevor Bauer (14.6 | ARI), Andres Gimenez (13.4 | NYM), Carlos Santana (12.3 | LAD), Emmanuel Clase (10.0 | TEX) OUT (2 for 47.2 WAR) | NET (+54.7 WAR | 2nd) HOU (3 for 64.7 WAR): Justin Verlander (27.4 | DET), Yordan Alvarez (23.7 | LAD), Gerrit Cole (13.6 | PIT) OUT (2 for 22.1 WAR) | NET (+42.6 WAR | 3rd) TOR (3 for 33.6 WAR): Josh Donaldson (12.2 | ATH), Teoscar Hernandez (11.0 | HOU), Jose Berrios (10.4 | MIN) OUT (0 for 0.0 WAR) | NET (+33.6 WAR | 4th) SDP (6 in for 90.8 WAR): Fernando Tatis Jr. (26.5 | CHW), Jake Cronenworth (15.0 | TBR), Joe Musgrove (13.5 | PIT), Wil Myers (12.7 | TBR), Blake Snell (12.0 | TBR), Yu Darvish (11.1 | CHC) OUT (3 for 59.9 WAR) | NET (+30.9 WAR | 5th) NYY (2 for 26.9 WAR): Gleyber Torres (15.9 | CHC), Giancarlo Stanton (11.0 | MIA) OUT (0 for 0.0 WAR) | NET (+26.9 WAR | 6th) LAD (3 for 60.4 WAR): Mookie Betts (28.0 | BOS), Chris Taylor (16.9 | SEA), Yasmani Grandal (15.5 | SDP) OUT (2 for 36.0 WAR) | NET (+24.4 WAR | 7th) TEX (3 for 32.2 WAR): Adolis Garcia (11.1 | STL), Nathaniel Lowe (10.8 | TBR), Elvis Andrus (10.3 | ATL) OUT (1 for 10.0 WAR) | NET (+22.2 WAR | 8th) CIN (2 for 33.2 WAR): Luis Castillo (17.3 | MIA), Eugenio Suarez (15.9 | DET) OUT (2 for 21.8 WAR) | NET (+11.4 WAR | 9th) WAS (1 for 23.8 WAR): Trea Turner (23.8 | SDP) OUT (1 for 14.5 WAR) | NET (+9.3 WAR | 10th) COL (2 for 26.9 WAR): German Marquez (16.7 | TBR), DJ LeMahieu (10.2 | CHC) OUT (1 for 18.3 WAR) | NET (+8.6 WAR | 11th) ATH (3 for 35.9 WAR): Marcus Semien (13.6 | CHW), Sean Manaea (12.2 | KCR), Chris Bassitt (10.1 | CHW) OUT (2 for 29.2 WAR) | NET (+6.7 WAR | 12th) NYM (1 for 29.8 WAR): Francsico Lindor (29.8 | CLE) OUT (2 for 23.4 WAR) | NET (+6.4 WAR | 13th) PHI (2 for 38.9 WAR): JT Realmuto (25.1 | MIA), Christopher Sanchez (13.8 | TBR) OUT (2 for 33.0 WAR) | NET (+5.9 WAR | 14th) ATL (4 for 55.8 WAR): Matt Olson (17.0 | ATH), Dansby Swanson (16.1 | ARI), Chris Sale (11.3 | BOS), Ender Inciarte (11.4 | ARI) OUT (4 for 52.6 WAR) | NET (+3.2 WAR | 15th) MIN (1 for 11.6 WAR): Joe Ryan (11.6 | TBR) OUT (1 for 10.4 WAR) | NET (+1.2 WAR | 16th) LAA (1 for 14.8 WAR): Andrelton Simmons (14.8 | ATL) OUT (1 for 15.1 WAR) | NET (-0.3 WAR | 17th) KCR (1 for 10.8 WAR): Brad Keller (10.8 | CIN) OUT (1 for 12.2 WAR) | NET (-1.4 WAR | 18th) SFG (1 for 12.4 WAR): Mike Yastrzemski (12.4 | BAL) OUT (1 for 18.6 WAR) | NET (-6.2 WAR | 19th) ARI (4 in for 74.7 WAR): Ketel Marte (30.4 | SEA), Zac Gallen (21.8 | MIA), Nick Ahmed (12.5 | ATL), Robbie Ray (10.0 | DET) OUT (6 for 85.0 WAR) | NET (-10.3 WAR | 20th) STL (2 for 39.6 WAR): Paul Goldschmidt (21.3 | ARI), Nolan Arenado (18.3 | COL) OUT (4 for 53.9 WAR) | NET (-14.3 WAR | 21st) SEA (4 for 49.4 WAR): JP Crawford (17.1 | PHI), Mitch Haniger (11.1 | ARI), Luis Castillo (11.0 | CIN), Marco Gonzales (10.2 | STL) OUT (3 for 66.6 WAR) | NET (-17.2 WAR | 22nd) PIT (1 for 18.6 WAR): Bryan Reynolds (18.6 | SFG) OUT (3 for 37.7 WAR) | NET (-19.1 WAR | 23rd) BAL (0 for 0.0 WAR): Nobody OUT (2 for 25.7 WAR) | NET (-25.7 WAR | 24th) CHW (3 for 40.0 WAR): Lucas Giolito (14.5 | WAS), Yoan Moncada (14.0 | BOS), Dylan Cease (11.5 | CHC) OUT (4 for 69.0 WAR) | NET (-29.0 WAR | 25th) BOS (3 for 42.6 WAR): Chris Sale (18.8 | CHW), Eduardo Rodriguez (13.3 | BAL), Rick Porcello (10.5 | DET) OUT (4 for 72.1 WAR) | NET (-29.5 WAR | 26th) CHC (1 for 18.8 WAR): Anthony Rizzo (18.8 | BOS) OUT (4 for 48.7 WAR) | NET (-29.9 WAR | 27th) DET (1 for 10.0 WAR): Michael Fulmer (10.0 | NYM) OUT (4 for 63.8 WAR) | NET (-53.8 WAR | 28th) TBR (4 for 52.3 WAR): Yandy Diaz (17.4 | CLE), Drew Rasmussen (12.8 | MIL), Randy Arozarena (11.5 | STL), Tyler Glasnow (10.6 | PIT) OUT (8 for 108.3 WAR) | NET (-56.0 WAR | 29th) MIA (1 for 21.1 WAR): Sandy Alcantara (21.1 | STL) OUT (5 for 103.3 WAR) | NET (-82.2 WAR | 30th)

I’m pretty much in the same boat. Given the current economic realities of MLB, the optimal approach in a market like Milwaukee appears to be identify & develop enough talent, then either extend them early like Peralta, Ashby, Chourio or play them through Arby’s before trading them or getting a Comp pick to keep the cycle going. Once the new CBA is settled and Yelich is closer to off the books I could see them signing someone they saw as a perfect fit like Lo Cain back in 2018, twixt now and then though I’d guess any “big” addition is more likely to come via trade.

The relevance of what other teams pay relievers is it helps to determine how much surplus value Ashby has on his deal. The Brewers paid Devin Williams $7.25M in 2024, not too different than paying Ashby $9M (instead of a $1M buyout) in 2028. They paid Hader $11M all the way back in 2022, with seven yeas of MLB inflation Ashby’s $13M option for 2029 is probably cheaper in relative dollars.

Yeah, 26.1 WAR for $120M over the first three years is pretty insane. If you figure $360M “should” have bought the Yankees something like 36 to 40 WAR they’re definitely off to a good start.

The 4/35 remaining on Ashby's contract is a bargain for a leverage reliever. There are 204 pitchers with at least 70 IP out of the bullpen the last two years, Aaron's ranks are... 49 ERA- (4th) | 57 FIP- (5th) | 28 HR9+ (7th) | 142 GB+ (8th) | 135 K+ (23rd) Even his walk rate, which posters complain about regularly, is better than average with a 96 BB+ (76th). Devin Williams (96 ERA- | 60 FIP- last two years) just got 3/51 coming off a dumpster fire season Edwin Diaz (62 ERA- | 65 FIP- last two years) got 3/69 Robert Suarez (72 ERA- | 79 FIP- last two years) got 3/45 Tyler Rogers (59 ERA- | 81 FIP- last two years) got 3/37 Ryan Helsley (78 ERA- | 80 FIP- last two years) got 2/28 Luke Weaver (80 ERA- | 85 FIP- last two years) got 2/22 Brad Keller (71 ERA- | 90 FIP- last two years) got 2/22 Emilio Pagan (79 ERA- | 87 FIP- last two years) got 2/20 Kyle Finnegan (86 ERA- | 90 FIP- last two years) got 2/19 Raisel Iglesias (61 ERA- | 74 FIP- last two years) got $16M for his age 36 season.

A couple years ago I looked at how much FanGraphs WAR each position player and pitcher with a 2023 Payroll Salary of $20M or more on SpotRac ended up with that year in order to come up with an idea of how much teams paid per win at the top of the market. All told there were 48 players on free agent contracts or pre-FA extensions in 2023 that made $20M+ and totaled 128.4 WAR for their combined compensation of $1.312B, or about $10.2M per WAR. In 2025 there were a total of 67 players on free agent contracts of pre-FA extensions that made $20M or more, here is how they did... Soto ($62.28M) 5.8 WAR Ohtani ($46.08M) 9.0 WAR Wheeler ($42M) 5.1 WAR deGrom ($40.1M) 5.2 WAR Judge ($40M) 10.1 WAR ($40M tier: 5 at $230.46M for 35.2 WAR) Rendon ($38.57M) 0.0 WAR Correa ($37.33M) 2.6 WAR Trout ($37.12M) 1.8 WAR Cole ($36M) 0.0 WAR ($35M+ tier: 4 at $149.02M for 4.4 WAR) Lindor ($34.15M) 6.3 WAR Altuve ($33M) 2.1 WAR Glasnow ($32.5M) 2.5 WAR Seager ($32.5M) 4.0 WAR Arenado ($32M) 0.9 WAR Stanton ($32M) 1.9 WAR Devers ($31.32M) 3.3 WAR Burnes ($30.83M) 1.8 WAR Alonso ($30.2M) 3.6 WAR ($30M+ tier 9 at $288.5M for 26.4 WAR) Guerrero Jr. ($28.5M) 3.9 WAR Snell ($28.44M) 1.9 WAR Swanson ($28M) 3.3 WAR Rodon ($27.83M) 4.5 WAR Harper ($27.54M) 3.5 WAR Bellinger ($27.5M) 4.9 WAR Turner ($27.27M) 6.7 WAR Bryant ($27M) -0.5 WAR Betts ($26.17M) 3.4 WAR Semien ($26M) 2.1 WAR Bogaerts ($25.45M) 3.2 WAR Chapman ($25.17M) 3.7 WAR Baez ($25.05M) 1.4 WAR Bregman ($25M) 3.5 WAR Flaherty ($25M) 1.3 WAR Gray ($25M) 1.7 WAR Ray ($25M) 3.0 WAR ($25M+ tier: 17 at $449.92M for 51.5 WAR) Nola ($24.57M) -0.2 WAR Springer ($24.22M) 5.2 WAR Castillo ($24.15M) 3.0 WAR Yelich ($24.09M) 2.4 WAR Realmuto ($23.88M) 2.1 WAR Gausman ($23M) 3.9 WAR Freeman ($22.7M) 3.9 WAR Montgomery ($22.5M) 0.0 WAR Story ($22.5M) 3.0 WAR Eovaldi ($22.1M) 5.8 WAR Bassitt ($22M) 2.2 WAR Olson ($22M) 4.7 WAR Riley ($22M) 1.7 WAR Sale ($22M) 4.4 WAR Lopez ($21.75M) 2.0 WAR Diaz ($21.55M) 2.8 WAR Kikuchi ($21.23M) 2.5 WAR Martinez ($21.05M) 2.1 WAR Darvish ($21M) 0.0 WAR Happ ($21M) 2.8 WAR Marte ($20.75M) 0.7 WAR Tatis Jr. ($20.71M) 6.1 WAR Nimmo ($20.5M) 3.0 WAR Manaea ($20.21M) -0.2 WAR Rodriguez ($20.21M) 5.7 WAR Castellanos ($20M) -0.6 WAR Musgrove ($20M) 0.0 WAR Perez ($20M) 0.5 WAR Rodriguez ($20M) 0.4 WAR Schwarber ($20M) 4.9 WAR Severino ($20M) 1.1 WAR Walker ($20M) 1.1 WAR ($20M+ tier: 32 at $691.67M for 77.0 WAR) Put it all together and the 67 players making $20M+ in 2025 got paid somewhere around a combined $1.81B for something like 194.5 total WAR shaking out to an average of about $9.3M per win, an almost $1M improvement over the 2023 results. I didn't separate out pitchers and hitters when compiling the 2023 numbers, but there was a pretty big discrepancy between 41 position players who got paid on average about $8.3M per win in 2025 versus the 26 pitchers who got paid on average about $11.6M per win in 2025. One contributing factor to this was that none of the seven pitchers who topped 6.0 rWAR had high payroll salaries for 2025 though Crochet (2026) plus Skubal, Yamamoto and Peralta (2027) should be clearing the threshold imminently. All told seven of the 26 pitchers (26.9%) had less than 1.0 WAR, with a ceiling of 5.8 WAR. There were also seven hitters with less than 1.0 WAR, but they only made up 17.1% of the 41 position players in the pool and had a much higher ceiling with seven players at or above 5.7 WAR.

Ortiz is an interesting case. On the one hand as one of the better rated defenders in MLB over the last two years with four years of cheap team control remaining I could see him somewhere as high as the 17 to 22 range along with guys like Durbin, Myers, Gasser, Koenig and Zerpa. He's put up 4.6 WAR (99th in MLB over those two years) as a qualifying player on a pair of Division Winners since getting here, that's legit value. But if you look around the league at how stacked shortstop is there just aren't that many realistic scenarios where I could see a team giving up a prospect along the lines of say a Dinges, Fischer, Letson, Meccage, Lara, Payne, Burke, Adams, Adamczewski, Yoho, Hardin, or Crow in exchange for the low ceiling/high floor package Ortiz provides with his excellent defense but questionable offense, so I'm more inclined to place him somewhere in the thirties with the back end of that grouping myself. The Guardians were worse at SS than the Brewers in 2025, are projected to be worse again in 2026, and currently hold Comp Balance pick #29 in the 2026 Draft. If they offered that pick straight up for Joey Ortiz what do we think the Brewers front office would do?

Over the four years since the big money on his extension kicked in Yelich has averaged 566 PA | 123 wRC+ | 2.9 WAR per season. Perfectly cromulent production for his salary, but does anyone really think teams would be lining up to pay him the three years and $84.5M he has remaining on his contract for his age 34 to 36 seasons? Much less give up a prospect or young player along the lines of Patrick, Pratt, Quero, Henderson, Pena who've all been listed already to acquire him via trade?? Which might also require the acquiring team to pick up the 2029 option for an additional $13.5M to get Christian to waive his NTC??? "Jason's Rank: N/A" understood the assignment.

Andrew Vaughn at #16 is probably a little rich. No doubt he was integral to the success of the team last year, but doesn't feel like there is a lot of a juice there as an asset. Pretty sure every team in the league would pound the under on repeating his 142 wRC+ from last year with the Brewers (and especially his Judge-ian 202 wRC+ vs LHP). Trading a disgruntled Aaron Civale for him is one thing, but if we traded any of the other four guys in this article for two years of a 1B/DH with a career 101 wRC+ and 0.0 WAR that was already projected for seven million plus in Arby's this year...I'd think a sleeper cell infiltrated the Brewers FO. A guy like Ryan O'Hearn who has been much better (121 wRC+ | 6.1 WAR last three years) just signed for two years and $29M. Granted he is older than Vaughn, but Andrew is slated to make around $20M in Arby's the next two years and has a three month track record instead of a three year one. Guess if one thinks he is a true talent 120 wRC+ kind of guy moving forward there is a little meat on the bone, but I'd imagine most teams internal projections would have him closer to a 110 wRC+ at best (Steamer says 104, ZiPS says 99) which makes him pretty much a neutral value asset at that point.

TEAM DEPTH PROJECT STANDINGS NYY (11 W - 0 L | +15.1 WAR) #1 (+5.0) #2 (+1.3) #3 (+1.7) #4 (+0.9) #5 (+1.0) #6 (+1.4) #7 (+0.6) #8 (+0.1) #9 (+0.2) #10 (+0.2) #11-20 (+2.7 WAR) TOR (11 W - 0 L | +13.3 WAR) #1 (+0.1) #2 (+1.1) #3 (+1.2) #4 (+1.5) #5 (+1.2) #6 (+0.6) #7 (+0.9) #8 (+1.1) #9 (+1.0) #10 (+1.2) #11-24 (+3.4 WAR) CHC (11 W - 0 L | +12.0 WAR) #1 (+0.3) #2 (+1.2) #3 (+1.8) #4 (+1.2) #5 (+1.3) #6 (+1.2) #7 (+1.3) #8 (+1.6) #9 (+0.7) #10 (+0.2) #11-21 (+1.2 WAR) NYM (10 W - 0 L - 1 T | +9.8 WAR) #1 (+1.2) #2 (+2.2) #3 (+0.9) #4 (+0.7) #5 (+0.3) #6 (+0.5) #7 (+0.5) #8 (+0.6) #9 (tie) #10 (+0.1) #11-20 (+2.9 WAR) PHI (10 W - 0 L - 1 T | +7.7 WAR) #1 (+1.6) #2 (+1.3) #3 (+0.8) #4 (+0.8) #5 (+0.4) #6 (+0.5) #7 (+0.4) #8 (+0.6) #9 (+0.4) #10 (tie) #11-20 (+0.9 WAR) LAD (9 W - 0 L - 2 T | +9.7 WAR) #1 (+2.4) #2 (+0.5) ## (+1.4) #4 (+1.6) #5 (+1.4) #6 (+1.3) #7 (+0.4) #8 (+0.2) #9 (tie) #10 (tie) #11-25 (+0.5 WAR) BOS (10 W - 1 L | +5.9 WAR) #1 (-1.2) #2 (+0.2) #3 (+0.8) #4 (+0.7) #5 (+0.7) #6 (+1.1) #7 (+1.1) #8 (+1.0) #9 (+0.7) #10 (+0.4) #11-23 (+0.4 WAR) MIL (9 W - 1 L - 1 T | +8.9 WAR) #1 (-0.7) #2 (tie) #3 (+0.9) #4 (+0.6) #5 (+0.6) #6 (+1.0) #7 (+1.1) #8 (+0.9) #9 (+0.6) #10 (+0.3) #11-24 (+3.6 WAR) DET (9 W - 2 L | +2.7 WAR) #1 (-1.0) #2 (-0.4) #3 (+0.2) #4 (+0.3) #5 (+0.3) #6 (+0.1) #7 (+0.3) #8 (+0.5) #9 (+0.6) #10 (+0.5) #11-22 (+1.3 WAR) SEA (7 W - 3 L - 1 T | +7.4 WAR) #1 (+4.1) #2 (+2.1) #3 (+0.2) #4 (+0.5) #5 (+0.6) #6 (+0.2) #7 (+0.2) #8 (-0.2) #9 (-0.1) #10 (-0.2) #11-23 (even WAR) HOU (7 W - 3 L - 1 T | +1.7 WAR) #1 (+0.6) #2 (-1.1) #3 (-0.4) #4 (-0.1) #5 (+0.1) #6 (tie) #7 (+0.2) #8 (+0.1) #9 (+0.2) #10 (+0.2) #11-27 (+1.9 WAR) STL (6 W - 3 L - 2 T | -1.3 WAR) #1 (-1.6) #2 (-0.7) #3 (+0.1) #4 (+0.4) #5 (+0.1) #6 (+0.1) #7 (+0.3) #8 (-0.1) #9 (tie) #10 (tie) #11-22 (+0.1 WAR) ARI (6 W - 4 L - 1 T | +7.6 WAR) #1 (+2.0) #2 (+2.9) #3 (+1.9) #4 (+0.8) #5 (+0.7) #6 (-0.2) #7 (-0.3) #8 (-0.2) #9 (-0.1) #10 (+0.1) #11-24 (even WAR) ATH (5 W - 5 L - 1 T | +1.5 WAR) #1 (-0.5) #2 (+0.3) #3 (+0.8) #4 (+1.1) #5 (+0.4) #6 (+0.4) #7 (tie) #8 (-0.3) #9 (-0.2) #10 (-0.2) #11-25 (-0.3 WAR) SDP (5 W - 5 L - 1 T | +1.1 WAR) #1 (+1.0) #2 (+0.2) #3 (+0.5) #4 (+0.7) #5 (+0.9) #6 (-0.3) #7 (-0.4) #8 (-0.3) #9 (-0.1) #10 (tie) #11-25 (-1.1 WAR) ATL (5 W - 5 L - 1 T | +0.1 WAR) #1 (-0.4) #2 (-0.1) #3 (+0.4) #4 (-0.3) #5 (-0.3) #6 (-0.2) #7 (tie) #8 (+0.3) #9 (+0.4) #10 (+0.1) #11-27 (+0.2 WAR) SFG (3 W - 8 L | -2.8 WAR) #1 (-1.1) #2 (+0.1) #3 (+0.5) #4 (+0.1) #5 (-0.7) #6 (-0.5) #7 (-0.3) #8 (-0.3) #9 (-0.3) #10 (-0.2) #11-25 (-0.1 WAR) MIN (3 W - 8 L | -3.3 WAR) #1 (-0.1) #2 (-1.5) #3 (-0.7) #4 (-0.7) #5 (-0.5) #6 (-0.2) #7 (-0.2) #8 (+0.1) #9 (+0.2) #10 (+0.4) #11-24 (-0.1 WAR) BAL (3 W - 8 L | -5.0 WAR) #1 (-0.3) #2 (-1.2) #3 (-0.4) #4 (-0.4) #5 (-0.8) #6 (-0.4) #7 (-0.1) #8 (+0.1) #9 (+0.1) #10 (+0.2) #11-34 (-1.8 WAR) TBR (2 W - 9 L | -2.9 WAR) #1 (-0.5) #2 (-0.7) #3 (-0.2) #4 (-0.5) #5 (-0.3) #6 (-0.6) #7 (-0.4) #8 (-0.3) #9 (-0.2) #10 (+0.2) #11-27 (+0.6 WAR) KCR (2 W - 9 L | -4.5 WAR) #1 (+2.9) #2 (+2.0) #3 (-1.2) #4 (-1.0) #5 (-0.9) #6 (-0.9) #7 (-0.7) #8 (-0.5) #9 (-0.4) #10 (-0.3) #11-23 (-3.5 WAR) MIA (1 W - 8 L - 2 T | -2.8 WAR) #1 (-1.1) #2 (-1.1) #3 (-0.4) #4 (-0.1) #5 (-0.7) #6 (-0.5) #7 (-0.3) #8 (tie) #9 (-0.1) #10 (tie) #11-26 (+1.5 WAR) CIN (1 W - 9 L - 1 T | -5.9 WAR) #1 (-0.8) #2 (-0.7) #3 (-1.3) #4 (-1.1) #5 (-0.9) #6 (-0.5) #7 (-0.3) #8 (-0.3) #9 (-0.1) #10 (+0.1) #11-25 (even WAR) TEX (1 W - 10 L | -3.8 WAR) #1 (-1.0) #2 (+0.4) #3 (-0.6) #4 (-0.5) #5 (-0.3) #6 (-0.2) #7 (-0.3) #8 (-0.3) #9 (-0.2) #10 (-0.2) #11-28 (-0.6 WAR) CLE (1 W - 10 L | -5.7 WAR) #1 (+1.2) #2 (-0.4) #3 (-1.2) #4 (-1.0) #5 (-0.8) #6 (-0.4) #7 (-0.2) #8 (-0.5) #9 (-0.4) #10 (-0.4) #11-21 (-1.6 WAR) CHW (0 W - 10 L - 1 T | -13.1 WAR) #1 (-2.4) #2 (-1.7) #3 (-1.3) #4 (-0.9) #5 (-0.7) #6 (-0.3) #7 (tie) #8 (-0.4) #9 (-0.5) #10 (-0.3) #11-33 (-4.6 WAR) WAS (0 W - 11 L | -10.7 WAR) #1 (-1.8) #2 (-0.5) #3 (-1.3) #4 (-1.3) #5 (-1.2) #6 (-0.8) #7 (-0.6) #8 (-0.4) #9 (-0.6) #10 (-0.4) #11-22 (-1.8 WAR) PIT (0 W - 11 L | -12.4 WAR) #1 (-3.4) #2 (-2.0) #3 (-1.2) #4 (-1.0) #5 (-0.9) #6 (-0.7) #7 (-0.5) #8 (-0.2) #9 (-0.6) #10 (-0.5) #11-27 (-1.4 WAR) LAA (0 W - 11 L | -12.5 WAR) #1 (-2.0) #2 (-0.7) #3 (-0.9) #4 (-0.9) #5 (-0.8) #6 (-0.9) #7 (-0.7) #8 (-0.6) #9 (-0.6) #10 (-0.5) #11-29 (-3.9 WAR) COL (0 W - 11 L | -23.3 WAR) #1 (-1.7) #2 (-2.3) #3 (-1.8) #4 (-1.5) #5 (-1.4) #6 (-1.2) #7 (-1.2) #8 (-0.9) #9 (-0.8) #10 (-0.6) #11-30 (-9.9 WAR)

This final installment for players #11 through the end of each team's roster might have been one of the most fun to put together. Also somewhat illuminating as to just how much the truly bad teams (& historically bad in the Rockies case) really pull down the average on things. For instance, from the Brewers with the best #11 onward players at a cumulative 1.8 WAR down to the Nationals and Orioles tied for 26th place at -3.6 WAR from their #11 onward players, the average team was at -1.3 WAR. Add in the next three teams KCR (-5.3), LAA (-5.7) , and CHW (-6.4) and it lowers the average another half win down to -1.8 WAR. Finally plug in the Rockies at a whopping -11.7 WAR from their #11 onward players and they move the average three tenths of a win all by themselves down to -2.1 WAR. For the purposes of the Team Depth Project Standings I went with the -1.8 WAR median as the demarcation point since the Rockies skewed things so heavily. Also somewhat interesting to note that the Brewers +3.6 WAR over the median for the #11-20 players was the third highest individual difference in the whole project behind Aaron Judge (+5.0 WAR over #1 average) and Cal Raleigh (+4.1 WAR over #1 average), then just ahead of Bobby Witt Jr. (+2.9 WAR over #1 average) and Corbin Carroll (+2.9 WAR over #2 average) demonstrating that top end depth can be similarly impactful to overall team construction as having a Mega Star (for the regular season anyway). On average each team used 25 total position players over the course of the season with four positive, two zero, and nine negative WAR players from number 11 through the end of their roster. The full Team Depth Project Standings are below ordered by W/L and WAR differential. Will make one final post yet grouping the teams together by construction type along with some additional commentary for anyone that might be following along. NUMBER ELEVEN THRU ?? PLAYERS 01. MIL #11-24: +1.8 WAR (+3.6) P (8 | 3.3 WAR) Z (1) N (5 | -1.5 WAR) [Jake Bauers 218 PA of 114 wRC+ got him 0.8 WAR, Vinny Capra 59 PA of -33 wRC+ flipped the coin for -0.8 WAR. Tyler Black's 181 wRC+ over 13 PA made him the second best hitter in all of MLB (min. 5 PA). Andruw Monasterio (0.7 WAR), the backup catcher duo (0.7 WAR), and the three part time CFers (1.0 WAR) all ended up solidly in the black as well] 02. TOR #11-24: +1.6 WAR (+3.4) P (5 | 3.4 WAR) Z (3) N (6 | -1.8 WAR) [Davis Schneider (1.3 WAR), Andres Gimenez (1.0 WAR), and even Joey Loperdifo (0.7 WAR) made them strong through the 13th spot. Anthony Santader (221 PA of 61 wRC+ for -0.9 WAR) did not get off on a good foot in year one of his 5/$92.5M contract though] 03. NYM #11-20: +1.1 WAR (+2.9) P (4 | 1.7 WAR) Z (3) N (3 | -0.6 WAR) [Starling Marte (329 PA), Mark Vientos (463 PA), and Luisangel Acuna (193 PA) each managed at least 0.4 WAR while Jesse Winker (81 PA), Hayden Senger (78 PA), Jose Siri (36 PA), Jose Azocar (20 PA) and Travis Jankowski (1 PA) combined for only 216 PA at replacement level or below] 04. NYY #11-20: +0.9 WAR (+2.7) P (6 | 2.4 WAR) Z (0) N (4 | -1.5 WAR) [Jasson Dominguez (429 PA), Ryan McMahon (185 PA), and JC Escarra (98 PA) each managed at least 0.5 WAR while Oswald Peraza (160 PA), Jorbit Vivas (66 PA), Pablo Reyes (34 PA), and Austin Slater (25 PA) combined for just 285 PA of sub-replacement level play] 05. HOU #11-27: -0.1 WAR (+1.9) P (5 | 1.4 WAR) Z (5) N (7 | -1.5 WAR) [injured (199 PA) and ineffective (118 wRC+) Yordan Alvarez (0.5 WAR) had a career worst year. Headed for NPB former Brewers farmhand Cooper Hummel chipped in 104 PA of 71 wRC+.] 06. MIA #11-26: -0.3 WAR (+1.5) P (3 | 1.7 WAR) Z (5) N (8 | -2.0 WAR) [only an 88 wRC+ with a 37.7 K% over his 61 PA, but old friend Joey Wiemer chipped in +2.5 DEF to get that WAR up to 0.4 baybay. On the other side of the coin Agustin Ramirez (585 PA | -12.5 DEF) and Eric Wagaman (514 PA | -10.1 DEF) got plenty of playing time but were sunk by bad defense] 07. DET #11-22: -0.5 WAR (+1.3) P (5 | 1.2 WAR) Z (2) N (4 | -1.7 WAR) [Tigers were all set to be in the black until Trey Sweeney in the final spot with 326 PA of 53 wRC+ and -5 DRS | -5 FRV shook out to -0.9 WAR. Former Brewer Brewer Hicklen singled twice, walked, and struck out in his 4 PA good for 0.2 WAR and a 307 wRC+ that was the best in all of MLB last year (min. 2 PA). New Brewer Akil Baddoo hit for a -8 wRC+ in his 18 PA, but +1.9 BSR/DEF got him back up to an even 0.0 WAR] 08. CHC #11-21: -0.6 WAR (+1.2) P (3 | 1.2 WAR) Z (1) N (7 | -1.8 WAR) [third catcher Reese McGuire (140 PA | 0.8 WAR) tried, but guys like Justin Turner (191 PA | -0.3 WAR) and trade deadline acquisition Willi Castro (110 PA | -0.5 WAR) undid his positive contribution] 09. PHI #11-20: -0.9 WAR (+0.9) P (2 | 0.7 WAR) Z (1) N (7 | -1.6 WAR) [Nick Castellanos (589 PA of 90 wRC+ for -0.6 WAR) and old friend Weston Wilson (125 PA of 81 wRC+ for -0.4 WAR) were the primary culprits] 10. TBR #11-27: -1.2 WAR (+0.6) P (8 | 1.5 WAR) Z (1) N (8 | -2.7 WAR) [Dodgers apparently didn't care that Ben Rortvedt hit for a -13 wRC+ over 70 PA, they traded for him at the deadline and won the World Series anyway. Richie Palacios had a 138 wRC+ in his small 48 PA sample, but undid all that with -2 DRS | -3 FRV in only 34 innings on the grass] 11. LAD #11-25: -1.3 WAR (+0.5) P (3 | 0.6 WAR) Z (5) N (7 | -1.9 WAR) [with 486 PA of 83 wRC+ shaking out to -0.6 WAR, Michael Conforto was the worst Dodger and will probably get considerably less than $17M in FA this time around] 12. BOS #11-23: -1.4 WAR (+0.4) P (4 | 1.2 WAR) Z (2) N (7 | -2.6 WAR) [Triston Casas (112 PA of 56 wRC+), Abraham Toro (284 PA of 77 wRC+), and Connor Wong (188 PA of 39 wRC+) combined to cost the Red Sox two wins. David Hamilton only hit for a 60 wRC+ in his 194 PA but +3.8 BSR/DEF got him up to 0.1 WAR] 13. ATL #11-27: -1.6 WAR (+0.2) P (5 | 1.4 WAR) Z (3) N (9 | -3.0 WAR) [Eli White (271 PA | 0.7 WAR) tried his best to offset Bryan De La Cruz (50 PA | -0.4 WAR), Jarred Kelenic (65 PA | -0.5 WAR) and Alex Verdugo (213 PA | -0.9 WAR) in the outfield] 14. STL #11-22: -1.7 WAR (+0.1) P (3 | 0.9 WAR) Z (1) N (8 | -2.6 WAR) [former top prospects Nolan Gorman (402 PA | -0.2 WAR) and Jordan Walker (396 PA | -1.2 WAR) doing most of the damage] 15. SEA #11-23: -1.8 WAR (even) P (2 | 0.5 WAR) Z (4) N (7 | -2.3 WAR) [with nine players between 98 PA and 290 PA the Mariners tried out a lot of different guys in their bottom four lineup spots before Naylor/Suarez were acquired at the deadline and Canzone came back from the IL] 16. CIN #11-25: -1.8 WAR (even) P (5 | 1.4 WAR) Z (1) N (9 | -3.2 WAR) [Reds had decent enough depth through #14 with at least 0.3 WAR from each of Sal Stewart, Jake Fraley, Jose Trevino and Gavin Lux...but the bottom four of Rece Hinds, Connor Joe, CES, and Jeimer Candelario lopped off 2.4 WAR combined] 17. ARI #11-24: -1.8 WAR (even) P (3 | 0.8 WAR) Z (3) N (8 | -2.6 WAR) [Alek Thomas had the 5th most PA on the team but his 0.5 WAR was 11th. Highly touted prospect Jordan Lawlar notched 74 PA of 52 wRC+ for -0.5 WAR] 18. SFG #11-25: -1.9 WAR (-0.1) P (4 | 0.5 WAR) Z (3) N (8 | -2.4 WAR) [Wilmer Flores (436 PA), Luis Matos (184 PA) and LaMonte Wade Jr. (169 PA) were the main culprits on the negative side. Uber prospect Bryce Eldridge with an inauspicious 37 PA of 54 wRC+ with a 35.1 K% in his cup of coffee] 19. MIN #11-24: -1.9 WAR (-0.1) P (6 | 2.1 WAR) Z (0) N (8 | -4.0 WAR) [Brooks Lee (527 PA | 0.3 WAR) and Trevor Larnach (567 PA | 0.2 WAR) ranked 135th and 137th among 145 qualified hitters in 2025. DaShawn Keirsey Junior's 88 PA of -18 wRC+ shook out to -0.9 WAR. Edouard Julien hit for an 81 wRC+ over his 208 PA, but -10.1 BSR/DEF sunk him to 0.8 WAR] 20. ATH #11-25: -2.1 WAR (-0.3) P (3 | 0.7 WAR) Z (1) N (11 | -2.8 WAR) [old friend Luis Urias eked out 0.1 WAR over his 330 PA. The other Max Muncy debuted with 220 PA of 72 wRC+ for -0.4 WAR] 21. TEX #11-28: -2.4 WAR (-0.6) P (3 | 0.5 WAR) Z (3) N (12 | -2.9 WAR) [What's up Joc? 306 PA of 76 wRC+ for -0.8 WAR with another $18.5M for 2026. Where's the Beef? 376 PA of 89 wRC+ is a sub-replacement level (Jake) Burger] 22. SDP #11-25: -2.9 WAR (-1.1) P (3 | 1.0 WAR) Z (1) N (11 | -3.9 WAR) [Freddy Fermin (0.5 WAR) and Elias Diaz (0.4 WAR) were two thirds of the Padres backstop trio, Martin Maldonado (-0.8 WAR) was the third. After ten straight seasons with at least 1.0 WAR Jose Iglesias (-0.2 WAR in 343 PA) did not repeat his OMG Mets magick] 23. PIT #11-27: -3.2 WAR (-1.4) P (3 | 0.3 WAR) Z (2) N (12 | -3.5 WAR) [old friend Cam Devanney finally gets his MLB shot after all those years grinding and comes up with 38 PA of -5 wRC+ and a 55.3 K% in his cup of coffee...and that only made him the 4th or 5th worst Pirate] 24. CLE #11-21: -3.4 WAR (-1.6) P (2 | 0.2 WAR) Z (1) N (8 | -3.6 WAR) [Angel Martinez (484 PA), Nolan Jones (403 PA), David Fry (157 PA), Big Christmas (153 PA) and Lane Thomas (142 PA) is a lot of playing time (about two everyday lineup spots) on the wrong side of replacement level] 25. WAS #11-22: -3.6 WAR (-1.8) P (4 | 0.4 WAR) Z (1) N (7 | -4.0 WAR) [eight different players with between 169 and 533 PA combined for 2,433 PA (40% of the Nationals team total) of bad baseball. Josh Bell even parlayed his 0.1 WAR into another $7M] 26. BAL #11-34: -3.6 WAR (-1.8) P (4 | 1.6 WAR) Z (5) N (15 | -5.2 WAR) [Dylan Beavers (0.7 WAR) and Colton Cowser (0.6 WAR) tried their best but Heston Kjerstad (-1.1 WAR) nearly undid it all by himself to say nothing of the fourteen other sub-replacement level performances they received] 27. KCR #11-23: -5.3 WAR (-3.5) P (3 | 0.5 WAR) Z (0) N (10 | -5.8 WAR) [old friend Luke Maile came in with 54 PA of 99 wRC+ for 0.3 WAR. Jonathan India's -0.3 WAR in 567 PA ranked him 142nd of 145 qualified hitters. Former Brewers Mark Canha and Hunter Renfroe combined for 233 PA of -1.6 WAR equalling 2024 #6 overall pick Jac Caglianone with 232 PA of -1.6 WAR] 28. LAA #11-29: -5.7 WAR (-3.9) P (0) Z (2) N (17 | -5.7 WAR) [Luis Rengifo (541 PA), Travis D'Arnaud (231 PA), Jorge Soler (315 PA), Kevin Newman (116 PA) and Logan O'Hoppe (451 PA) is like 2.5 regular lineup spots of replacement level or worse before getting into the other fourteen guys and their 583 PA that essentially accounts for another one in aggregate] 29. CHW #11-33: -6.4 WAR (-4.6) P (4 | 0.6 WAR) Z (4) N (15 | -7.0 WAR) [Andrew Vaughn (193 PA of 43 wRC+) and Josh Rojas (211 PA of 44 wRC+) did most of the damage with matching -1.3 WAR totals, but Will Robertson (63 PA of -19 wRC+) and Jacob Amaya (73 PA of -33 wRC+) certainly deserve mention for their identical -0.8 WAR totals as well] 30. COL #11-30: -11.7 WAR (-9.9) P (0) Z (2) N (18 | -11.7 WAR) [where the end of the curve drops off the cliff into The Abyss. Keston Hiura (21 PA of 70 wRC+) was one of the two 0.0 WAR guys. Kris Bryant's 41 PA of -4 wRC+ for -0.5 WAR had him ahead of Orlando Arcia (182 PA of 36 wRC+ for -0.6 WAR) anyway. Kyle Farmer was out to pasture with 300 PA of 65 wRC+ for -1.0 WAR. Jacob Stallings dropped the tranny with 93 PA of 1 wRC+ for -1.1 WAR. But the two of them together were still fractionally superior to Michael Togila with 337 PA of 54 wRC+ for -2.2 WAR]

Looks like they ended last year with Skenes, Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler in the rotation along with the now departed Oviedo and Burrows. FanGraphs currently has Carmen Mlodzinski (99 IP of 83 ERA- | 81 FIP- in a swingman role last year) slotted in at the #5 spot on their Roster Resource page. Not sure what his exact timeline is (last pitched Sept. 27th 2024) but Jared Jones should be back at some point in 2026 too. But yeah, probably don't want to trade any more SP at this point to maintain depth, unless they were to backfill that spot with a cheap vet signing like Jose Quintana or whatever. So any more additions are probably going to have to come via FA at this point. What do they got? Catcher: Joey Bart (2.7 WAR is 28th among catchers last two years) Henry Davis (former #1 overall pick with 660 PA of 53 wRC+ and -1.6 WAR so far) First Base/DH: Brandon Lowe (unless they want to mess with playing him at 2B after an adventurous -14 DRS | -9 FRV at the keystone last year) Spencer Horwitz (411 PA of 119 wRC+ for 1.7 WAR in 2025) Second Base: Nick Yorke ?? (114 PA of 68 wRC+ to start his career) Shortstop: Nick Gonzales ?? (932 PA of 84 wRC+ with -16 DRS | +1 FRV in 1,695 innings at 2B, only 230 innings of SS so far) Third Base: Jared Triolo ?? (1,031 PA of 87 wRC+ with +13 DRS | +8 FRV in 1,096 innings at the hot corner) Outfield: Jake Mangum (his 1.8 WAR in 2025 would have been the most on the Pirates) Oneil Cruz (offense crashed to 86 wRC+, defense got mixed reviews at -17 DRS | +5 FRV) Bryan Reynolds (after posting a 117 wRC+ from 2022-24, fell off to a 99 wRC+ in 2025. ) The Password (intriguing tools and name, but hasn't really hit since reaching AA) Of course they have super prospect Konnor Griffin (563 PA of 165 wRC+ between A/A+/AA last year) likely to take over one of those infield spots in 2026 but the way I see it they need at least two more infielders plus bounce backs from Cruz & Reynolds, and probably another catcher to split time with Bart before they have something resembling a cromulent group of position players.

No doubt, there's more to catching than just throwing out runners, but especially now with the new rules and larger bases leading to an explosion in SB attempts it's more important than it's been since at least the 1980's when teams were running wild. If Quero only nabbed 17% in the minors last year, it will likely be lower than that in MLB barring a return of his throwing form. Looking at last year's catchers there were only five who caught less than 17% of base stealers and got at least 500 innings behind the plate - Jonah Heim, Shea Langeliers, Edgar Quero, Drake Baldwin, and Augustin Ramirez. If he hits like Langeliers or Baldwin and the arm doesn't bounce back it won't really be a problem, but if the arm doesn't bounce back it puts a lot more pressure on the bat and the rest of his defensive game and pretty much eliminates any chance of him being a truly elite defensive catcher (which was the bedrock of his profile).

Last year the Pirates pitching staff (23.6 rWAR | 5th) was essentially a wash with the Brewers (24.0 rWAR | 4th). Unfortunately their position players (6.6 WAR | 28th) were essentially a wash with the Angels (6.9 WAR | 27th) and White Sox (6.1 WAR | 29th). For reference, when the Brewers won the division in 2021 with top notch pitching (26.6 rWAR | 3rd) and more questionable position players (17.8 WAR | 20th) they were still eleven wins ahead of last years Pirates. It's neat that the Pirates are finally kind of sort of trying again now with Skenes on the scene, but they are probably going to need another two or three Lowe calibre moves if they want to add another ten plus wins on offense over their 2025 results.

Yeah, Quero's caught stealing percentages... 2021 (ACL): 32% 2022 (A/A+): 31% 2022 (AFL): 46% 2023 (AA): 35% 2025 (AAA): 17% ...I would be dubious of giving him the backup catcher spot out of the gate, much less assume he's ready to handle everyday duties at the MLB level coming off a shoulder surgery that sapped his arm potency to this point. Then again, scooter was advocating for 35 year old Mitch Garver (career 18 CS% with -27 DRS | -15.4 FRM | -23 FRV) so it doesn't appear he is too concerned about defense behind the dish.