3 simple reasons the Milwaukee Brewers did not spend much this offseason

The core of the team is still under club control.

Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Willy Adames, Devin Williams, and Rowdy Tellez are all still a couple of seasons from free agency. Freddy Peralta and Aaron Ashby are signed to team-friendly deals through their arbitration years.

Christian Yelich’s production is not up to his massive contract, but he still has value to the lineup as a leadoff hitter.

All the Brewers’ core players are still under team control for at least two seasons. That core is very productive, so it is not like Arnold had to go out and throw money to shake up the lineup.

On the other hand, having 14 players arbitration eligible limited what Arnold could do. The blessing of having the team’s core players under some sort of contract control is also a curse.

Since those 14 players, which included Woodruff, Burnes, and Adames, did not have a fixed salary heading into free agency, Attanasio was not sure what his final payroll bill came to. That uncertainty led to him limiting what Arnold could do.

That is why it would be nice if the Brewers could get more of their younger players signed to long-term deals through their arbitration years. It can provide cost certainty and a better idea of what future payrolls could look like.

Also, it could help avoid messy arbitration fights like what the Brewers are facing with Burnes.

Still, the Milwaukee Brewers did not need to go into the offseason needing to find a couple of core players that can lead to hefty free-agent spending.