Can the Milwaukee Brewers Repeat as National League Central Champions?

The Milwaukee Brewers finished last season with a 92-70 record and won the National League Central division. Entering 2024, things can be different for Milwaukee, especially since they traded away starting pitcher Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles.

Another key thing Milwaukee lost this offseason was David Stearns, who used to work in the front office and is now the President of Baseball Operations for the New York Mets. It is possible that the Brewers will take a step backward in 2024, but time will tell.

The Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs will contend for a division crown this season. Craig Counsell is the new Cubs manager and Pat Murphy is the new Brewers manager. That is something that can’t be overlooked heading into this season. Milwaukee fans did not take Counsell leaving for Chicago very well and the Brewers’ best seasons were when Counsell was managing the team.

Daniel R. Epstein Has a Very Interesting Take for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2024

Forbes.com contributor Daniel R. Epstein had a very interesting take about the Brewers for the upcoming 2024 season. He wrote:

“The youth movement is here in Milwaukee, for better or worse. They gave top prospect Jackson Chourio an $82 million contract this offseason before he ever played a game in MLB. He’ll be joined in the starting lineup by William Contreras, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Joey Ortiz, and Brice Turang, all of whom have yet to reach their arbitration-eligible years. Christian Yelich is still kicking around and they signed Rhys Hoskins to man first base.

Willy Adames, the dependable, power-hitting shortstop, appears to be the odd man out. He has one year remaining before free agency. If the club can get MLB-ready starting pitching in a trade for him, they have to listen. With Burnes gone, the rotation gets sparse after Freddy Peralta. Alternatively, they could even consider moving Jeferson Quero for pitching. He’s one of the game’s best catching prospects, but he won’t help the club immediately and is blocked by Contreras anyway.”

So this is why Adames has been mentioned in trade talks of late. The Brewers want to try to get something for him instead of letting him walk away after 2024 for nothing. Jackson Chourio is more than likely going to be on the opening day roster for the Milwaukee Brewers and he is going to be someone that Milwaukee’s fanbase keeps an eye on for the next decade.

Jeferson Quero has the talent to be a starting catcher in the MLB one day, but it is hard to imagine that the Brewers could move off of him anyway. They could use that platoon of him and William Contreras to their advantage. if they are going to trade Quero, they better be getting a very good player in return.

They can’t trade him for the sake of trading him. The signing of Rhys Hoskins is a very underrated move for this ball club. The Milwaukee Brewers can win the National League Central again this season, but they may take a step back and it is possible that the Cincinnati Reds win it over the Chicago Cubs also. Milwaukee will not have the quality starting pitching to contend this season.