Much of the discourse involving the Milwaukee Brewers so far this offseason has to do with the potential landing spots of free agent shortstop Willy Adames. After hitting .251/.331/.462 with 32 home runs, 112 RBI, and 21 stolen bases, the soon-to-be-former Brewers fan-favorite is one of the most coveted free agents on the market.
Milwaukee, of course, is not going to be able to afford to match whatever offers Adames gets from other teams. Because of this, 2024 NL Manager of the Year Pat Murphy has already revealed that the plan is for Joey Ortiz to move from third base to his natural position at shortstop.
While that solution answers the question of who will take Adames’ place on defense, it does not solve the problem of losing his offense and it opens up a new hole third base.
However, these two issues do not seem to be garnering much attention either. Rather, the focus of many fans and analysts is how Milwaukee will fill out its starting rotation in 2025.
The Milwaukee Brewers Need to Find Starting Pitching Depth
The 2024 Brewers won 93 games and their second consecutive National League Central Division title despite the fact that their starting rotation suffered injury after injury after injury.
With Corbin Burnes traded to the Baltimore Orioles and Brandon Woodruff already ruled out for the season, Milwaukee entered the 2024 season with a starting rotation consisting of:
- Freddy Peralta
- Colin Rea
- Joe Ross
- Jakob Junis
- DL Hall
Only Peralta and Rea ended the season in the starting rotation while the three others were injured and relegated to the bullpen. Junis, of course, was traded to the Cincinnati Reds (along with Joey Wiemer) for Frankie Montas.
Tobias Myers, a rookie, started 25 games for Milwaukee after being called up to replace injured starters. He finished the year 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.17 WHIP.
Robert Gasser started five games, going 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA and 1.04 WHIP before suffering a season-ending injury himself.
Earlier this offseason, Milwaukee waived Rea, who made 27 starts for the Brewers in 2024, the second-most on the team.
Going into 2025, one has to assume that Woodruff (who will be healthy), Peralta, Myers, and Gasser will all be part of the starting rotation. However, as the Brewers learned last year, a team can never have too many starting pitchers in case of injury.
The Milwaukee Brewers Could Sign Nick Pivetta in Free Agency
One interesting name on the free agent market is that of former Boston Red Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta, who was teammates with Rhys Hoskins on the Philadelphia Phillies from 2017-2019.
Patrick McAvoy of Sports Illustrated believes that Pivetta and Milwaukee would be perfect matches in free agency, writing:
“There are other guys who could help and one the team should look into is former Boston Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta. He made just $7.5 million in 2024 and is in line for a pay bump. He turned down the qualifying offer and likely will land a multi-year deal this offseason. Severino is a two-time All-Star coming off a season in which he had a 3.91 ERA. He’s also 30 years old.
“Pivetta is 31 years old and had a 4.14 ERA in 2024 and doesn’t have the same All-Star pedigree as Severino. Because of this, his deal certainly should come in at a lower rate than Severino’s. If the Brewers could sign him to a three-year deal below $60 million, that would be a solid pickup.”
In seven Major League seasons, Pivetta is 56-71 with a 4.76 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. He certainly would not be a top-of-the-rotation starter, but he could be a nice depth piece for the right price.
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