The Milwaukee Brewers had a rather upsetting end to their postseason run after the Arizona Diamondbacks came to American Family Field and took charge in the National League Wild Card Series.
Now that we’re in the offseason for the Brewers, it’s time to start looking at some players that the crew should consider parting ways with.
Brewers Player #1. Jesse Winker
Seeing his name on the postseason roster definitely left fans scratching their heads and raising their eyebrows. After injuries prevented him from having any major playing time the last two months, people were surprised to see that Jesse Winker hadn’t been traded off to a different team or DFA’d earlier in the season.
It was so bad that Winker was actually boo’d off the field after getting out both times he was at the plate for the NLWCS. It’s not the fact that they were upset that he got out, that’s part of it, but the main frustration and confusion was why he was even still on the 40-man roster to begin with.
In the regular season, Winker hit a mere .199 with one home run, and an OPS of .567. When he initially came to Milwaukee, he had a lot of promise, seeing as though he was a Brewers killer on the Cincinnati Reds. However, he didn’t live up to those expectations and now that he’s hitting the free agent market, it’s best that he stays there. There are other players on the roster who outshine Jesse Winker in every single caliber.
Brewers Player #2. Colin Rea
This one might upset some fans, but in all honesty, Colin Rea has to go. The Brewers had signed Rea to a minor league contract last off-season after he had been pitching with the Fukuka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball, and while he hasn’t accrued six years of MLB playing time, his contract apparently lets him hit the free agent market this offseason instead of going through arbitration. He spent a majority of the 2023 season in the minors, and he honestly should’ve stayed there.
Sure, he helped the Brewers when the rotation was hurting, but I think Rea was honestly a last ditch effort since Eric Lauer had been struggling, and the Brewers were heavily reliant on Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta to carry the starting pitching staff. He deserves his kudos for being able to step up in situations where an arm was needed, but some players just do better down in the minor leagues.
Brewers Player #3. Andrew Chafin
I don’t think I sit alone on the boat that wants Andrew Chafin out of a Brewers uniform.
Chafin was acquired by the crew at the trade deadline to give some lefty leverage in the bullpen. His first few outings as a Brewer went well, but then it just started tumbling down the hill from there. In 20 games in Milwaukee, Chafin posted a 5.82 ERA, allowing three home runs, walked 10, and struck out only 14 in 17.0 innings of work.
The left-hander has a $7.25M club option for next year with a $725k buyout that the Brewers probably won’t pick up. You won’t see them giving those kind of bucks to a guy who wasn’t even on the postseason roster and had an ERA like Chafin did. The Andrew Chafin experiment needs to come to a close, the Brewers usually are good with finding good bullpen arms to replace those who have parted from the team.
The Brewers are likely going to look at their roster this offseason and evaluate who needs to stay and who needs to go. There’s going to be some turnover, and there’s going to be surprises. But if the front office is smart, these three players will not be on the Brewers roster for the 2024 season.
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