With the Milwaukee Brewers trading away arguably their best player this offseason, they have been relatively quiet but, still actively trying to improve the roster. They traded Devin Williams to the New York Yankees in exchange for, pitcher Nestor Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin. The Brewers also saw their world-class shortstop Willy Adames leave and sign a massive contract with the San Francisco Giants. Will their current roster be enough to get to the playoffs? Or are there more moves coming? Let’s take a closer look.
Infield
Caleb Durbin steps in and will likely be slotted somewhere in the infield. Durbin posted an .867 OPS in 375 at-bats at Triple-A Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre, also adding 29 stolen bases, he possesses great defense, and versatility to mix with an already athletic Brewers team. Brice Turang will probably get short and third base outright although others who could be in line to steal a few starts here and there.
Now comes the question about first base. They still have the underwhelming Rhys Hoskins, whose numbers are nothing to brag about. He batted .214 on base of .303 and slugging .419. The worst part is the Brewers paid him 12 million dollars last year signing him as a free agent.
After exercising his $18 million player option for the 2025 season, the Brewers were hoping to include him in a trade, but with his stock at an all-time low, and his hefty price tag no one was willing to bite. They could also put him at DH, and find a more suitable replacement, the money and prospect equity wouldn’t be good for their team, so they might have to stick it out one more year with Hoskins manning first base.
Outfield
The most depth on this team is the outfielders. Christian Yelich and Garrett Mitchell are good when healthy, throw in Blake Perkins, Sal Frelick, and the phenom Jackson Chourio, you have a surplus of good talent. It will be interesting to see if this much depth sparks a trade down the line for the Brewers.
Catcher/DH
Another bright spot on the Brewers is their catcher and DH spot. All-star William Contreras will head the catcher spot and get the majority of starts there. Eric Hasse split time with Gary Sanchez, who left the Brewers for the Baltimore Orioles this offseason, Hasse will get a few more starts at catcher being the backup now, especially when they want to DH Contreras.
Rotation
The Brewer fans seem very excited about the potential of this year’s rotation, especially when Brandon Woodruff and Robert Gasser get back from injury. Nestor Cortes will be inserted after getting him from New York. Cortes is an experienced left-hander who relies on a lot of fly ball outs, the Brewers have a speedy outfield that could help Nestor fly ball approach. The Brewers hope DL Hall, Aaron Ashby, Logan Henderson, and Aaron Civale will be enough with Freddy Peralta rounding out the starting five for the Brew crew.
Bullpen
The next-man-up approach is Brewer’s motto. A new closer, Trevor Megill, will take on full-time duties. he has been great the last two seasons for the Brewers earning 21 saves, those came when Devin Williams was hurt with a stress fracture. Joel Payamps, Jared Koenig, Bryan Hudson, and Nick Mears will be back to help out Megill. With Williams now in New York, the Brewers are hoping this bullpen can stay the course like they did last year. They also might want to add a veteran arm if the price is good enough.
Will it all work out for the Brewers?
With their rival Chicago Cubs adding some big names this offseason, mainly trading for Kyle Tucker and signing catcher Carson Kelly, and pitcher Mathew Boyd, the division only gets tougher for the Brewers. There have been talks within the organization that the Brewers are very in on Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki.
The Brewers have also had discussions with other pitchers Jesus Luzardo, and Luis Castillo. It will pretty much be a two-team race for the National League central division between the Brewers and Cubs, the Cubs are looking to dethrone the 2024 division champs in 2025.
2 Comments
Joey Ortiz? Move to SS. Start Durbin at 3rd. Rhys has comeback season and bats .250+ w/30 homers. Mitchell strikes out less, bats. 275+ with 30+ homers. Starting pitching improves. Uribe matures. Team steals 240+ bases. Win 94+ games once again and beats the Yankees in the World Series.
Yes big possibility, since he played most of his innings at short in the minors. He should be good enough defensively. Hope for no sophomore slump.