The Milwaukee Brewers went 93-69 and won the National League Central Division in a season where many people wrote them off. Following the 2023 season, the Brewers traded their ace, 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, to the Baltimore Orioles for Joey Ortiz and DL Hall. In addition, Craig Counsell, the winningest manager in franchise history, spurned his hometown team to take the job at the helm of the Chicago Cubs.
These departures, in combination with the season-ending injuries to Brandon Woodruff, Wade Miley, Robert Gasser, and other starting pitchers led many to believe that Milwaukee just did not have the right pieces to sustain a winning season.
But they did.
Now, the team success has led to players and manager Pat Murphy getting the recognition they deserve. Brice Turang and Sal Frelick were the winners of the NL Gold Glove Award at second base and right field respectively. Turang also added the NL Platinum Glove. William Contreras won the NL Silver Slugger at catcher and finished fifth in NL MVP voting. Jackson Chourio, the youngest player in MLB history to post a 20-20 season, finished third in rookie of the year voting.
And, of course, Murphy won NL Manager of the Year.
The Milwaukee Brewers Are Likely to Lose Shortstop Willy Adames
The Brewers traded Burnes last season because, as a small market team, they were not going to be able to afford him once he hit free agency following 2024. Rather than lose him for nothing besides a compensatory pick, they were able to add Ortiz and Hall, who each were contributors to Milwaukee’s winning season.
However, Burnes was not the only player that other teams desired to trade for that was on the Brewers’ roster. Multiple teams called inquiring about the availability of shortstop Willy Adames who, like Burnes, was in the final season of club control. Surely the penny-pinching Brewers would be interested in getting more assests back for him, too.
But they weren’t. And it was a good thing, too. Adames finished 10th in NL MVP voting after hitting .251/.331/.462 with 32 home runs, 112 RBI, and 21 stolen bases. As has been the case since 2021 when he was acquired via trade from the Tampa Bay Rays, Adames was also the heart and soul of the clubhouse, which was a big reason why Milwaukee did not want to trade him last offseason.
Unfortunately, though, all good things come to an end, and it appears as if Adames’ time in Milwaukee has concluded. After turning down the qualifying offer the Brewers extended to him (worth over $21 million), he became a free agent.
The Milwaukee Brewers Are Encouraged to Trade for Their Former Shortstop, Orlando Arcia
With Adames all but officially gone, the Brewers need to figure out who will be their starting shortstop in 2025. Turang came up through the system as a shortstop, but he is already a Platinum Glove second baseman. Ortiz played third base primarily last year for Milwaukee, but was a shortstop during his time with the Orioles organization.
Moving Ortiz to short would be a logical move. However, it would also create a hole at third base.
In order to avoid having to move Ortiz, Deesha Thosar of Fox Sports suggested that the Brewers trade for one of their former players, Orlando Arcia:
“The Brewers, as always, will be more active on the trade front than they will be in free agency following Willy Adames’ departure. They can get creative and move either one of Brice Turang or Joey Ortiz to shortstop full time and then aim to fill second and third base to cover their ground that way. Since Rhys Hoskins opted in on his player option, the Brewers have a surplus of first basemen, in which Jake Bauers seems likeliest to go. Orlando Arcia could be a good bounce-back candidate if Milwaukee wants to do a deal with Atlanta.”
Aricia spent the first six seasons of his Major League career with Milwaukee and hit .244/.293/.364 during that time. In April of 2021, though, the Brewers traded him to the Atlanta Braves for Chad Sabotka and Patrick Weigel.
In 2023, Arcia made his first and only NL All-Star team with the Braves, hitting .264/.321/.420 with 17 home runs and 65 RBI.
However, his production declined in 2024. While he matched his career-high with 17 home runs, he hit just .218/.271/.354.
It is interesting to note that Arcia is still the Brewers’ franchise leader in postseason home runs (four). He also (obviously) is well-known to manager Pat Murphy.
The problem, though, is that the former Brewers shortstop is not as good defensively as he used to be. If he will not match Adames offense (and very few can), one would hope that he could be a big upgrade defensively. But Arcia had a -3 total fielding runs above average in 2024. In 2017, with Milwaukee, he led the National League with +18.
And while Adames had -8 total fielding runs above average in 2024, Arcia’s -3 is not much of an upgrade.
More than likely, Milwaukee will look to fill that position with a player who is an above average defender and hope the players they currently have will make up for the offense they will lose when Adames signs elsewhere.
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