Milwaukee Brewers Roundtable: Offseason Review & 2020 Preview
By Paul Bretl
With pitchers and catchers having already reported, let’s take a look back at the Milwaukee Brewers offseason and also look ahead to the 2020 season.
To say the least, it’s been an interesting offseason for the Milwaukee Brewers. For a team that has made the playoffs the last two seasons, we’ve seen quite a bit of roster turnover take place as GM David Stearns conducts this mini-rebuild on the fly.
Key players like Yasmani Grandal, Mike Moustakas, Drew Pomeranz and Jordan Lyles were lost to free agency. We also saw Milwaukee move on from players like Chase Anderson, Eric Thames, Travis Shaw, Junior Guerra, and others who had been major factors in the team’s recent success.
In fact, overall the Milwaukee Brewers added 14 new players to their 40-man roster over the offseason. However to the chagrin of many fans, we didn’t see them sign or trade for any high-profile players. Instead Stearns constructed this roster with a number of low-cost, bounce-back candidates that hopefully pan out.
It’s also worth pointing out that as it currently stands, the Brewers’ Opening Day payroll in 2020 is set to be about 20 percent lower than what it was a year ago. Once again, something that has irked many fans.
So like I said, it’s been an interesting offseason here in Milwaukee. But as we prepare for Spring Training to fully get under way, a few members of the Dairyland Express staff gave their thoughts on the Brewers’ offseason that was, as well as what to expect in 2020.