One position that the Milwaukee Brewers have not been getting a lot of production from this year is first base. Throughout the season they have utilized players such as Rowdy Tellez, Owen Miller, Mike Brosseau, Luke Voit, Jon Singleton, and Darin Ruf at the position.
Currently Rowdy Tellez is in a major slump at the plate. During the month of June he has a wRC+ of just 17. Overall his power numbers and walk rate is down and manager Craig Counsell has been platooning him with right-handed hitters such as Owen Miller and Mike Brosseau.
Earlier in the year Milwaukee had Luke Voit on the team. A slow start eventually led to him being DFA’d and Darin Ruf being brought in. Ruf got off to a good start but a patella fracture has him currently on the 60-day injured list. Minor leaguer Keston Hiura remains an option but he has reverse splits and because of this is not an ideal platoon player.
Given all of this it is possible that the Brewers will look to upgrade at first base this year. A recent publication from MLB trade rumors highlighted three potential candidates.
Three first base trade candidates that the Milwaukee Brewers may want to consider.
Anthony Franco proposed that Justin Turner of the Boston Red Sox, Ryan Mountcastle of the Baltimore Orioles, and Connor Joe of the Pittsburgh Pirates could all be potential targets for the Milwaukee Brewers to consider.
The Brewers may have to wait a few more weeks to hope for other teams to fall out of contention. Justin Turner is having a strong season and can opt out of his deal with the Red Sox at year’s end. Boston is only three games out of a playoff spot right now; if they dropped five or six back by the deadline, they could listen to offers.
Maybe the Orioles would sell low on Ryan Mountcastle, although he’s having an even poorer season than Tellez to date. Pittsburgh’s Connor Joe is a right-handed hitter with a good track record against lefty arms. He’s miscast as a regular but could be a fallback platoon partner with Tellez if Milwaukee can’t swing a bigger upgrade.
Earlier we explored the idea of trading for Boston Red Sox first baseman Bobby Dalbec. It’s clear that Milwaukee could use an upgrade at first base and a right-handed bat is what they would be seeking. It will be interesting to see if the Brewers pursue an upgrade through trade or not.
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