Across 115 regular season at bats, and 22 more in October, former Milwaukee Brewers DH-OF Jesse Winker did enough with the Mets last season after being traded from Washington to earn a one-year contract for 2025. Between the Mets and Nationals in 2024, Winker hit 14 homeruns, drove in 58, and produced a slash line of .253/.360/.405, good for a 2.0 WAR. He also stole a career-best 14 bases despite swiping just three in 7 prior seasons.

He also returned to the outfield after being relegated to DH in his single unfruitful season with the Brewers in 2023. Appearing in the field in 92 of 145 games played, Winker made 85 defensive starts, mostly in leftfield. The Mets already have Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto, signed in the offseason to an MLB-record 15-year, $765 million deal, manning the corner outfield spots, so barring injury Winker will likely see most of his at bats in a DH platoon with Starling Marte, per ESPN’s Jorge Castillo.

Wearing the Milwaukee Brewers Logo, Jesse Winker Was Abysmal

Winker’s 2023 campaign with Milwaukee was not one to remember. Plagued by injuries, he appeared in only 61 games (all but 6 as a DH) and hit just .199 with a .247 slugging. He managed just one home run and five doubles in 166 at bats.

During the 2022-23 offseason, the Brewers sent second baseman Kolten Wong to Seattle to acquire shortstop Abraham Toro and the formerly powerful Winker (24 HR, .556 slugging in 2021). Winker was awful. Toro played just nine games and was playing for the Oakland A’s next season. Wong hit .185 for the Mariners and they shipped him off to the Dodgers mid-season. The move paid off for no one.

After signing with Washington, however, Winker made a resurgence in 2024, enough so to warrant interest from the playoff-hopeful Mets. While he wasn’t as productive post-trade, he turned it up in the most meaningful moments of the season. In 10 games of playoff baseball, he went 7-22 with a homerun, four RBI, and 7 runs scored. He drew 7 walks, stole a base and was hit by the pitch three times. All of that amounted to a slash line of .318/.531/.1168 and a very fiery Jesse Winker.

The Mets took down the Brewers in the Wild Card Round, two games to one, kicked off by an 8-4 Game 1 victory that featured a two-run Winker triple in the third inning to erase Milwaukee’s early lead. In no time at all, the passionate showman was a fan-least-favorite among Brewers faithful.

Success with Mets Set Stage for Winker to Play Postseason Pariah

Feeding off the negative energy, Winker welcomed jeers from the home crowd at American Family Field.

“As far as Milwaukee goes,” he admitted, “I’ll hate them forever. It’s part of sports, these fans, they can react to you however they want. They pay the tickets. They’re the veins and lifeblood of our sport. But I’ll hate the city of Milwaukee forever.”

Brewers fans certainly don’t miss him, not after they gave up a capable starter for Winker to have the worst season of his career in Milwaukee. Leaving the DH spot free full-time means Christian Yelich can stay off his feet more often, preserving his health for hitting. Hopefully that is a point of emphasis in 2025, as back surgery ended his 2024 season after 73 games played, 47 of them outfield starts.

As starting left fielder, 20-year-old rookie Jackson Chourio recorded 21 HR, 79 RBI and 22 SB while slashing .275/.327/.464 and accumulating 3.8 WAR. His stellar season booked him a nomination as an NL ROY finalist.

In right field, Sam Frelick used speed and defense to make up for his lack of power (just two HR but 2.1 WAR). This season, the Brewers are also counting Garrett Mitchell to carry over a career .805 OPS to increased playing time in center field. The team has a lot to work with in the outfield.

Still, fans might not want to endure Winker’s antics more than they have to. Milwaukee won’t see him until July 1 in New York, the first of two three-game series against the Mets in 2025; the second kicks off a Brewers homestand in early August.

The team has already made several moves of their own this offseason, bringing back first baseman Jake Bauers on a minor league deal as well as pitchers Aaron Civale and Trevor Megill, and acquiring Yankees starter Nestor Cortes in exchange for reliever Devin Williams. With a month to go until spring training, there is still time to add a name or two as Milwaukee looks to build on a 93-win division crown last season.