Milwaukee Brewers Cutting Social Media team a bad omen
By Kenny Jilek
The Milwaukee Brewers recently cut their social media department completely, and it could spell bad things for this offseason.
Aaron Oberley and Caitlin Moyer, who have been running the Milwaukee Brewers’ social media pages for years, recently took to their own social media accounts to announce that they are out on the open market after their entire department was eliminated. They had been with the organization for a combined 28 years.
This move comes as a shock to them and a lot of other people who have enjoyed their content on various social media platforms over the years. The most common speculation is that this is a cost-cutting move to recover some lost revenue because of COVID-19. This brings on a plethora of questions about the Milwaukee Brewer’s financial situation.
For an organization with an estimated player payroll of $80.3 million dollars next season without any free agent signings, it’s odd to make budget cuts with mid-level employees like the social media team. Obviously, in a business as big as the Brewers’, every expense is assessed, but the salaries of these two employees are a small fraction of the league minimum salary for a player. Players are what make the on-field product, so of course, they get paid more, but when management isn’t willing to pay the relatively small salaries of two people who fostered fan engagement and brought in younger fans, it’s worrying for what they’ll be willing to spend on players this offseason.
They already declined club options on Eric Sogard, Jedd Gyorko, Ben Gamel, and Ryan Braun (Braun’s was obvious). They have holes at third base, the outfield, and possibly at first base to fill while still needing to make some pitching improvements. How they’ll fill these holes without spending any more money is a baffling proposition. They might try to just promote from their farm system, but that would be relying on a lot of hope in young and unproven players.
It also seems that this slams the door shut on any big acquisitions that we’re all dreaming of. Trevor Bauer? No way. Marcus Stroman? Say goodbye. Didi Gregorious? Not a chance. Justin Turner? In your dreams. Mike Minor? Try again another time. You get the point.
In February of this year, shortly before the pandemic put the entire season in jeopardy, owner Mark Attanasio said that the Milwaukee Brewers had an operating loss in 2019. This doesn’t take into account the big project they did on the Arizona facility, only revenues and everyday expenses like employee salaries and cost of the goods, like concessions, that they buy from outside vendors to sell to fans. Take a college accounting class, kids; you really do learn something.
At any rate, the Milwaukee Brewers claimed to already be losing money before one of the biggest economy-halting events in recent history. Not being able to have fans for their games was a huge hit to their checkbooks, and they have to be in a really tough spot financially. The social media department being cut is just another sign that things are going south monetarily with this organization.
From a business perspective, I feel for the organization that’s trying to put a winning product on the field with a limited budget and playing against teams with seemingly bottomless pockets. From the perspective of a fan, I’m concerned about a team that had no business being in the playoffs this season and a team that seems to be trending downward both on the field and in the business department.