Entering Monday, July 17th following a series sweep against the Cincinnati Reds (comprised of a historic 1-0 victory on Friday night, a third straight shutout victory on Saturday, winning 3-0, and a gritty 4-3 win on Sunday), the Milwaukee Brewers now find themselves with a two game lead in the NL Central over the Reds and hold tiebreak having won the season series with three yet to play before the trade deadline.
With the Brewers being right in the mix for a division title and at the same mark as the wild card teams, they will likely remain in contention for at least one of these playoff spots by the August 1st trade deadline. The Brewers next face the wild card hopeful Phillies in a three-game series in Philadelphia, where they are just 2-5 in the past two seasons when visiting the city of brotherly love. With the juggernaut Atlanta Braves due up 6 times yet before the deadline, the Brewers must maintain their recent success to hold on to their division lead.
What The Milwaukee Brewers Need
As the team stands now, the Brewers have clear needs that are holding them back from their full potential. While the team has pitched well enough to carry an otherwise slumping offense that ranks 26th in batting average and 25th in OPS (which hasn’t improved much since the beginning of June), the Brewers must find offensive improvements if they hope to contend in the postseason.
Additionally, the bullpen is incredibly thin beyond All-Star CP Devin Williams, putting all the more pressure on the starters and high leverage bullpen arms to protect thin leads that often don’t get expanded due to the offense. The Brewers will have to improve on both fronts to improve their chances at a deep run into late October.
Potential Trade Deadline Targets for the Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers find themselves in an interesting position when it comes to their assets. The feeling around this team seems to be that of a bridge year, used as a transition to the future led by the plethora of young outfield talent in their system.
While these players (headlined by Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick) and the core of the team are absolutely untouchable, there are opportunities farther down the prospect list to make economic fringe moves, like the Brewers have tended to in recent years.
While improving at the margins is not the “all-in” approach many would like them to adopt, this year seems destined to be more of the same to get another “bite at the apple” while keeping future plans unaltered.
With that said, there are some realistic trade deadline targets that can help the 2023 Brewers without sacrificing long-term assets. Additionally, a few pieces from the current roster could be on the move in a retooling effort, but it is far more likely to be someone like Luis Urias on the move instead of Corbin Burnes, who recently noted he was told by Brewers General Manager Matt Arnold he wouldn’t be traded.
Here are some of the top options the Brewers could feasibly target this trade deadline, consisting of 2023 rentals and some with control through 2024:
Starting Pitchers
- Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox
- 3.45 ERA, 127 ERA+, 9.4 K/9; control through 2023
- German Marquez, Colorado Rockies
- 4.95 ERA, 103 ERA+, 7.7 K/9; club option for 2024
- Michael Lorenzen, Detroit Tigers
- 3.75 ERA, 115 ERA+, 7.0 K/9; control through 2023
Relief Pitchers
- Daniel Bard, Colorado Rockies
- 2.20 ERA, 229 ERA+, 7.7 K/9; control through 2024
- Brent Suter, Colorado Rockies
- 2.81 ERA, 179 ERA+, 7.1 K/9; control through 2023
- Kendall Graveman, Chicago White Sox
- 3.07 ERA, 144 ERA+, 8.8 K/9; control through 2024
- Jordan Weems, Washington Nationals
- 3.63 ERA, 117 ERA+, 8.5 K/9; control through 2024
- Scott Barlow, Kansas City Royals
- 3.97 ERA, 112 ERA+, 11.6 K/9; control through 2024
Position Players
- C.J. Cron, 1B, Colorado Rockies
- .250/.293/.451, 43 Ks; control through 2023
- Jurickson Profar, OF, Colorado Rockies
- .243/.326/.375, 68 Ks; control through 2023
- Brent Rooker, OF, Oakland A’s
- .244/.340/.477, 94 Ks; control through 2024
- Jeimer Candelario, INF, Washington Nationals
- .260/.336/.477, 75 Ks; control through 2023
All stats courtesy baseball-reference, all contract information courtesy spotrac.
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