Brewers GM Shows They Aren’t Serious About A World Series Run

I’ve always tried to be a positive voice for the Milwaukee Brewers. When opening my social media or talking with family and friends, I must combat negativity. The fans have seemed way too pessimistic and angry for Milwaukee having a good baseball team the past five seasons. But this year’s trade deadline broke me. The front office and GM of the Milwaukee Brewers are no longer trying to win a World Series.

Josh Hader said it all during his interview as a San Diego Padre. It appears even the Brewers players know they aren’t serious.

“The atmosphere here is they wanna win… and not just go to the playoffs but win a World Series.” -Josh Hader pic.twitter.com/fegCZgc2gf

— 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐞🧀 (@MkeBrewMike) August 3, 2022

Am I reading too much into that? Probably. It’s a super emotional player after being traded from a team he spent almost a decade with. There is also a chance this Hader trade, with nothing following it, has caused significant clubhouse issues.

Here is Devin Williams’ reaction to Josh Hader being traded by the Brewers. pic.twitter.com/ziSJaXBzaI

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) August 2, 2022

Trades Review

After Monday’s blockbuster trade, I saw both sides. Like everyone else, I thought the return wasn’t enough. Taylor Rogers should be a solid reliever and the setup man, but a free agent at the end of the season. Dinelson Lamet had another year of control if he could stay healthy. Outfielder Esteury Ruiz is a speedy prospect who is almost MLB-ready, and Robert Gasser could be a future All-Star pitcher. However, how the Brewers didn’t get a top-100 player or top -100 prospect is baffling, especially after seeing what else the Padres gave up.

Then we get Matt Bush. A very bad past but appears to be reformed and has a great arm. He has control too, but we had to give up Antoine Kelly. The Brewers then gave up Tristan Peters, our number 19 prospect, for Trevor Rosenthal, an injured pitcher who basically hasn’t played for two years. These moves solidified to me that the Brewers weren’t making a World Series run.

Milwaukee did not add a bat. Yes, they technically added Ruiz, but he isn’t technically MLB ready. So now there are too many bullpen arms and not enough hitters. I need the answers to this. It feels like the Brewers gave up and know there is no chance at a World Series this year. A team in first place in the NL Central and in the Top 10 Power Rankings doesn’t make moves like this.

Is David Stearns & GM Matt Arnold Serious About A Brewers World Series Push?

After yesterday, I’m not sure anymore. I love David Stearns. He is a brilliant mind and has absolutely fleeced teams when it comes to trades. Just look at the recent Hunter Renfroe trade. But I think he is sick of being handcuffed.

Is he just over this team and ready to move on? Maybe. I don’t think ownership is giving him the money or tools to get the roster to win. You could have waited until the offseason to trade Hader, especially if your plan was not to be aggressive to get a hitter. Yes, Stearns said we have plenty of internal candidates to bring up. We might. But then, what are we waiting for? He and Brewers GM Matt Arnold have internal moves to make.

Keston Hiura is just sitting and waiting to come back up. You can’t argue with his hitting numbers this year. He is still striking out too much, but so is everyone else. You could see that last night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Everyone was striking out. At least Keston has a better chance for contact than having three catchers on the roster.

Could outfielders like Ruiz and Sal Frelick come up and get a chance to hit? Sure. Pablo Reyes could get one more shot, or they could finally debut Brice Turang. So who do you get rid of? One of the catchers? You can’t trade them anymore. Mike Brosseau?

The 40-man roster is currently full. Do you lose more Triple-A players or DFA people to give them a chance to hit? The Brewers need a center fielder. There is no telling that Ruiz or Frelick would be any better than Jonathan Davis or Tyrone Taylor.

The Brewers are now in serious trouble if this type of offense continues. And did David Stearns know this and already look at the future? Should we be prepared for him to move to the New York Mets? Did he see what the Padres did and think, “Well, what is the point?” It’s possible. Can the Brewers really compete against the Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, or New York Mets for a World Series? Not without the biggest hot streak, they’ve ever had. I just don’t see the 2019 Washington Nationals in this team right now.

Is Mark Attanasio Serious About A World Series?

I think most fans would say no. It’s obvious he loves this team and did take them to the next level. But his own quotes say that the World Series was not an overall goal.

I mean…he never promised us a World Series. Just promised we'd be competitive. This was Mark's comments in 2005, and still hold true today. pic.twitter.com/DZVMWqYeCA

— Dallas Brewers (@DallasBrewers) August 2, 2022

If you notice, Craig Counsell was the only one who said they wanted to win a World Series. I didn’t hear that from Stearns, the Brewers GM or the owner. We should have seen the writing on the wall when Mark said he broke the bank for Andrew McCutchen. A big bat would not be coming to help the Brewers.

So what is the plan now? We definitely have great depth at outfield with Ruiz, Frelick, Joey Wiemer, Jackson Chourio and Garrett Mitchell. But they are still two years away. For the infield, Turang is close, but Mario Feliciano and Tyler Black are also a few years away.

And yes, we should be able to wait for all of these players to make the MLB roster. But in two years, guess what happens? You don’t have the pitching anymore. Josh Hader is gone. Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes could both be gone by then. So now you have a reset on pitchers. Just like in 2011 and 2014. All offense and no pitching.

Yes, we have Freddy Peralta, and Aaron Ashby locked up. Ethan Small is on the way. Gassar could be up by then too. Maybe the Brewers will re-sign Woodruff. But nothing is guaranteed, especially for pitchers. We seem to be in a cycle. It will be super fun to score eight runs a game again but give up 10.

Will A World Series Ever Come?

Do the Brewers seem like a team that is serious about a World Series right now? Why continue to let Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals fans have their only insult against the Brewers they have? “You have no rings.” Because you can’t argue with that. We have no World Series rings. Zero.

This fan base is loyal and now exhausted from by the effort shown by David Stearns & Brewers GM Matt Arnold. We really can’t try and win one while Bob Uecker is around? Do we really need to keep punting the ball down the field and claim good things will come? It’s hard to be still convinced. The Cardinals are ready to take the NL Central from the Brewers. And Milwaukee has nothing but some new bullpen arms to compete with that.

I really hope I am proven wrong. I love it. It means that positive things happened. But this team just lost their closer, has way too many bullpen arms, and can’t drive in runs with bases loaded and one out against the Pirates.

I need someone to make it make sense. I am not convinced this roster is now better. It’s also pretty clear now that the Brewers GM and front office want to be competitive, but winning a World Series isn’t necessary. With arbitration next year, we will lose a lot of our veterans and replace them with in-house talent. That means another year of no big free agents. And ownership will rely on us once again to buy new merch, bring three million people inside American Family Field, and then not take steps to win a World Series.

It’s OK to be angry right now. I’m one of the most positive Brewers fans out there, and I am livid. It is now up to the Brewers and front office to prove us wrong.

Craig Counsell addressed both clubhouse and fan reaction to the Josh Hader trade.

“I don’t think we should shy away from anybody’s reaction to losing a really important player for the franchise.”

“We all want a World Series. David Stearns is a pretty good guy to get us there.” pic.twitter.com/j392rqqxw4

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) August 2, 2022

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