With the Brewers looking to compete for the NL Central once again and also putting an emphasis on getting younger and saving money it’s easy for us fans to wonder who is safe and who isn’t on the roster. Every roster spot matters and the Brewers want the best talent they can get for each spot. Making these 2 players prime candidates to be traded.
Player 1: Keston Hiura
With Tellez at first base and Winker at DH and both of them being projected to improve this season Keston Hiura doesn’t really have a clear role for the team right now. Hiura brings basically no value defensively having a limited amount of positions he can play. The big thing with Hiura was always his hitting. His hitting was supposed to make up for the poor defense but that’s not how it has gone. Hiura has been in a so-called slump but that slump has lasted 3 years now. At what point can we just say that it’s not a slump and that he might just be a bad hitter?
Hiura’s strikeout problems have grown worse and despite swing changes among other things the Brewers have had him tinker with he hasn’t been able to improve. He hasn’t been in a regular role since 2021 when his slump reached its worst point. Hiura needs some regular playing time to figure things out but unfortunately for him, he probably won’t be finding that with the Brewers.
To make matters worse Hiura is out of minor league options so it’s not like the Brewers can just send him down to get more at-bats either. Hiura has some upside as he showed tremendous power when he did make contact so a rebuilding team that has a spot for him and is willing to take on a project like Hiura would trade for him. While Hiura’s trade value isn’t outstanding it’s far from nothing and with no obvious spot to put him on the roster, it would make sense for the Brewers to do.
Player 2: Adrian Houser
It feels like every time someone talks about Brewers players they expect to be on the move Adrian Houser comes up. This year it really feels like it makes the most sense though. Houser is coming off in my opinion the worst season of his career. While he was able to keep his groundball rate close to 60% last season Houser saw his ERA jump from 3.22 to 4.73 from 2021 to the 2022 season. By the end of the season, Houser was in the bullpen.
Houser is coming off what was supposed to be a big breakout season for him but ended up being probably his worst season. That along with the Brewers’ very high amount of starting pitching depth leads me to believe he will be traded. It just makes the most sense to trade him.
Burnes and Woodruff aren’t going anywhere if the Brewers wanna compete for the NL Central. Peralta and Lauer, I wouldn’t put in the tier of Woodruff and Burnes but they are still above-average starters that most likely wouldn’t be moved. Ashby is young and has a lot of upside plus the Brewers just signed him to a 5-year contract extension and have high hopes for his future. Along with all that the Brewers also just signed Wade Miley and if he can avoid the elbow and shoulder troubles that limited him last season with the Cubs he could be a very solid backend starter.
If Houser wants to remain in Milwaukee he has to win back a job in the starting rotation which will be easier said than done for him. The one piece of help he’s getting is that Jason Alexander and Aaron Ashby are both sidelined to start the season. That said once Alexander and Ashby get back Houser will likely be traded. Especially if Houser does well it would be wise for the Brewers to sell high on him.
Houser was at one point a stud in the backend of the rotation for the Brewers and could be a starter for a lot of teams the Brewers just have very strong starting pitching so it’s not likely for him to be a starter here. After having a down season and the Brewers not really having a good place to put him Houser is a decent trade candidate.
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1 Comment
Very informative