The 2017 Brewers won 86 games, 13 more than the previous iteration of the team, and enough to keep them in contention for a Wild-Card slot until just about the end of the season. With a team full of young talent and a farm system overflowing with prospects, they looked like a team on the verge of accomplishing big things.
Until Thursday, they’d only brought in Boone Logan, Yovani Gallardo and Jhoulys Chacin, who are essentially roster-filler players. It’s been an incredibly slow offseason for almost every team in the league, of course, but riding into spring training with just those additions would have been paramount to baseball malpractice for Milwaukee.
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Not anymore. In one fell swoop, the Brewers rescued Christian Yelich from purgatory in Miami and signed Lorenzo Cain. They’ve added two impact players to a team on the cusp of greatness, and now likely stand just a starting pitcher away from being a threat to win a pennant.
We shouldn’t be shocked by this sort of thing. This is how responsible teams theoretically act.
Why wouldn’t a team with a sudden jump in wins and prospects to burn go out and make moves like this? Why wouldn’t a team like the Brewers firmly wrench their contention window open? The Brewers aren’t the only team in a position to make a jump this year, but they’re the ones (finally) wheeling and dealing.
They’ve done quite nicely for themselves. Cain is still a great center fielder and an above-average hitter, and Yelich is an exceptional two-way player under cheap team control for years to come. Both are moving into parks that are much more hitter-friendly than their old homes. Yelich in particular has been known more for his contact skills than his power, but his slugging percentage away from cavernous Marlins Park is a strong .465, and a paltry .396 in Miami. There should be plenty of dingers coming off his bat in 2018.
For the time being, though, the Brewers are positively overflowing with outfielders. Given that Ryan Braun will presumably still be the left fielder, ascendant talents Domingo Santana and Brett Phillips look slated for the bench and Triple-A, respectively. They’ll probably want to keep one of them around given Braun’s tendency to get hurt, and that top prospect Lewis Brinson went to Miami in the Yelich deal. Santana’s coming off a year with a 120 wRC+, so he isn’t exactly a bench player, and Phillips is the sort of talent who should probably be getting everyday plate appearances.
Basically, they’re both attractive trade chips. The Brewers still have plenty of good prospects left after shipping some off to Miami, and could easily put together a package to fetch a starting pitcher or a good reliever. It’s difficult to ascertain who would be willing to move a starter right now. The Rays could theoretically move someone like Jake Odorizzi for the right price, and probably wouldn’t trade Chris Archer to Milwaukee now that they can’t get Brinson or Monte Harrison. Danny Duffy of the Royals or Michael Fulmer of the Tigers could possibly also be had, but prices would be high for both.
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A more elegant solution would be to simply sign Yu Darvish or Jake Arrieta. No cumbersome trade negotiations would be required there, just however much of Mark Attanasio’s money is needed to get the job done. Milwaukee needed a frontline starter even before Jimmy Nelson underwent shoulder surgery in September. Chacin and Gallardo are stopgap additions at best. Even if they can provide innings, they can’t necessarily provide good innings. The Brewers need good innings, and there’s no real reason to not back up a truck for Darvish or Arrieta.
Ideally, Milwaukee would sign one of these pitchers in addition to using one or both of their spare outfielders to acquire a pitcher. They’re perfectly capable of doing both, and the only good reason not to is not being able to find a trade partner willing to give up a good enough pitcher. Acquiring Yelich and Cain is an all-in move, and the Brewers need to commit to that ethos. A middling addition to the pitching staff after this would be a letdown and a failure.
Even though there may be some regression to the team’s breakout players, there’s still the foundation of a good team. Travis Shaw may not hit quite as well. Eric Thames may strike out even more. Braun could break down even further. That could all happen, or it couldn’t. It’ll all be for naught if the Brewers don’t act they’re serious. They’ve taken the first steps to do just that.
This shouldn’t be cause for celebration. It’s just the right thing to do. But given that the offseason has been highlighted by an overwhelming amount of teams actively shrugging at the idea of beefing up their rosters in the name of keeping payrolls down, it’s exciting to see a small market team like Milwaukee start to go for the jugular.
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