The Milwaukee Brewers will not be sneaking up on the rest of Major League Baseball in 2025 like they did last season. Following the departure of Craig Counsell for the Chicago Cubs and the trade of Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles, most so-called MLB experts and analysts predicted the Brewers to finish behind the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central Division.
However, first-year manager Pat Murphy led one of the youngest teams in baseball to 93 wins and a second consecutive division title. He also became the first skipper in the history of the franchise to win a Manager of the Year Award.
One of the many reasons Murphy received the highest recognition of any manager in team history was because of how he managed the Brewers’ starting rotation and bullpen.
The Milwaukee Brewers Dealt with Many Injuries to Starting Pitchers in 2024
In addition to not having Burnes, the Brewers went into the 2024 season knowing they would also be without two-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff, who missed most of 2023 as well with a shoulder injury.
As the year went on, Milwaukee also saw multiple starting pitchers suffer season-ending or long-term injuries. Wade Miley, Jakob Junis, Robert Gasser, DL Hall, and Aaron Ashby all spent a great deal of time on the injured list, forcing Murphy to get creative with his starting rotation.
Indeed, only three Brewers starting pitchers, Freddy Peralta, Colin Rea, and Tobias Myers, made 25 starts or more in 2024. Rea was waived following the season despite going 12-6 with a 4.29 ERA and 1.26 WHIP.
Frankie Montas, who was acquired in a midseason trade from the Cincinnati Reds, signed with the New York Mets in free agency.
As one can see, the Brewers have to address their starting rotation, but (as always) will not have many financial resources to work with.
The Milwaukee Brewers Are Encouraged to Sign World SEries Champion Walker Buehler
With starting pitching being a glaring need for Milwaukee, Patrick McAvoy of Sports Illustrated suggests that they look into signing two-time All-Star and two-time World Series Champion Walker Buehler:
“The Brewers should be looking to add pitching and one player they should target quickly is Dodgers World Series hero Walker Buehler.
“The 30-year-old is a two-time All-Star and made just about $8 million in 2024. He struggled in the regular season after missing the entire 2023 season. He looked more like himself in the postseason and likely will have to settle for a short-term deal at a cheap rate.”
McAvoy notes that once the biggest name on the free agent market, Juan Soto, gets signed, asking prices for other available players will go up. In his opinion, therefore, the Brewers should make a move for Buehler before that happens.
The former Dodgers pitcher was 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 16 starts last season, his first year back after missing all of 2023. However, he was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 0.67 WHIP in Los Angeles’ World Series win over the New York Yankees. This included notching his first career save in the clinching game that gave the Dodgers their second title of the decade.
As mentioned, Buehler has made two All-Star teams in his career. The first was in 2019 when he was 14-4 with a 3.26 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. The second was in 2021 when he led the NL with 33 starts and posted a 16-4 record, 2.47 ERA, and 0.97 WHIP.
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