Milwaukee Brewers prediction: Crew not done making moves
The Milwaukee Brewers have worked hard this offseason to take the next step. However, they might not be done quite yet.
The Milwaukee Brewers have had a relative quiet, yet, critical offseason so far even most of the moves haven’t been headline grabbers. General manager David Stearns has expertly used draft picks, trades and free agency in order to attempt to improve his team.
It began in the middle of December when he traded the Brewers2019 competitive balance pick to the Texas Rangers in exchange for lefty reliever Alex Claudio. About a week later, the Brewers traded reserve outfielder Domingo Santa to the Seattle Mariners for minor leaguers Noah Zavolas and Ben Gamel.
On Jan. 4, the Brewers signed reserve and utility infielder Cory Spangenberg in an attempt to bolster their infield depth. The next day they traded Keon Broxton to the New York Mets in exchange for three minor leaguers. Finally, on Jan, 14, Milwaukee signed their prize free agent Yasmani Grandal.
Even with those moves and the Brewers payroll reaching the highest in team history, Milwaukee still has a lot of work to do. As far as position players go they have a huge hole at second base. Travis Shaw, who started at second down the stretch last season and in the playoffs, is slated to move back to his natural position of third base as of now.
Mike Moustakas is still a free agent so that’s a possibility if the Brewers want to send Shaw back to second. Otherwise, there are still a couple of quality free agent second basemen who would be instant upgrades to the Brewers. Those players include, but are not limited to Marwin Gonzales, Josh Harrison and Asdrubal Cabrera. They are all good options for this point in the offseason.
As far as pitching goes, the Brewers still have a couple of holes in their rotation. They’ve looked at potentially adding Madison Bumgarner, but that seems unlikely at this point. At the very least, Milwaukee needs to add a left-handed starter, as they currently don’t have one.
Wade Miley is the most likely candidate in that regards. He pitched extremely well for the Brewers down the stretch and Milwaukee would probably love to have him back. Given the financial situation, it’s unlikely the Brewers sign anyone bigger unless they are able to shed salary.
That brings us to another potential move as there are a couple of overpaid players on the Brewers’ roster that they would love to move on from in order to shed a few bucks from their payroll. Eric Thames is the most likely candidate, as he’s set to make $6 million next year and has a player option for 2020.
Madison Bumgarner deal likely dead for Brewers. dark. Next
Overall, we probably haven’t seen the last of the Brewers this offseason. Stearns will continue to tinker with his roster in order to maximize the talent given the financial restrictions he’s under. Keep your eyes peeled for more moves on the horizon.