The Milwaukee Brewers offseason has just begun and already some controversial decisions have been made. Rather than pick up Mark Canha’s $11.5 MM option they elected to trade him to the Detroit Tigers for a minor league pitcher. Additionally Wade Miley declined his half of a $10.00 MM mutual option for the 2024 season. Lastly we are still awaiting the fate of manager Craig Counsell in which all indications right now are pointing towards he will be staying with the Crew so long as they match his financial demands.
A decision regarding Craig Counsell is supposedly going to be made before general manager meetings November 7-9, so after that the next big date the Brewers have to look forward to is the non-tender deadline. The cutoff date to tender an arbitration eligible player a contract for 2024 or not is Friday, November 17. Already we have seen Milwaukee part ways with Eric Lauer and there could be more well known names who drop off the roster.
In this article we will take a look at four players who could be off the roster by Thanksgiving. The non-tender deadline is six days before the holiday, so these predictions revolve around that non-tender date.
Four Milwaukee Brewers players who could be off the roster by Thanksgiving.
1) RHP Corbin Burnes
By now it should not be shocking to see Corbin Burnes name mentioned. While he will certainly be tendered a contract, the Brewers could look to trade him earlier in this off-season as opposed to later. The free agent starting pitcher depth is deep this winter and a lot of money will get shelled out to these players. This could incentivize other teams to push for a trade sooner while also driving up his already high trade cost.
2) RHP Brandon Woodruff
Brandon Woodruff is in a precarious position this offseason. 2024 will be his final year of team control, he is projected to make $11.6 MM, and it is unclear if he will throw in a game or not next year. A few options for Milwaukee to consider include non-tendering him, trading him, or signing him to a two year extension knowing that there is a real possibility that they do not see him on the mound until 2025.
3) RHP Adrian Houser
Adrian Houser is also entering his final year of team control in which his projected 2024 salary is $5.60 MM. He covered 111.1 innings for the Brewers in 2023, made 21 starts, and had a 4.12 ERA. Milwaukee’s starting pitcher picture is very unclear right now and they will have to decide if the value that Adrian Houser provides fits the estimated price tag.
4) 1B/DH Rowdy Tellez
2023 was a very disappointing season for fan favorite Rowdy Tellez. The left-handed slugger belted 35 home runs in 2022, but after the month of April in 2023 he slumped, sustained a few different injuries, and ultimately did not make the post-season roster. He too is in his final year of arbitration and has a $5.90 MM salary projection for 2024. It will be interesting to see if Milwaukee has him in their future plans or not.
Prior to the non-tender deadline another date to be mindful of is November 14. This date represents the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. After that Winter Meetings are scheduled to take place December 4-6 in Nashville.
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