{"id":779,"date":"2024-10-23T23:32:38","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T23:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=779"},"modified":"2024-10-23T23:32:38","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T23:32:38","slug":"breaking-news-6-players-brewers-should-retain-and-8-guys-they-should-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=779","title":{"rendered":"Breaking News: 6 Players Brewers Should Retain\u2026 and 8 Guys They Should Move"},"content":{"rendered":"

The coming offseason will have some tough decisions for the Brewers. Whom do they keep from a team that won the NL Central Division title, despite long odds? From whom do they need to move on?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The 40-man roster is the defining constraint of roster-building in MLB. At times this season, the Brewers had to cut loose some talented options, like\u00a0Enoli Paredes\u00a0(now with the Cubs),\u00a0Janson Junk\u00a0(with the Astros),\u00a0James Meeker\u00a0and\u00a0Taylor Clarke. We\u2019re likely to see some more painful departures this offseason, too. Let\u2019s look at who the Brewers should keep and who should go, after a little bit of roster math.<\/p>\n

The Brewers have a full 40-man roster, plus seven players (JB Bukauskas,\u00a0Robert Gasser,\u00a0Wade Miley,\u00a0Brandon Woodruff,\u00a0Rob Zastryzny,\u00a0Oliver Dunn, and\u00a0Christian Yelich) on the 60-day injured list. Miley,\u00a0Willy Adames,\u00a0Joe Ross,\u00a0Frankie Montas, and\u00a0Gary S\u00e1nchez\u00a0are either pending free agents or have options that won\u2019t be exercised. So, the Brewers have to drop two players to hit the 40-man limit.<\/p>\n

It gets a little more complicated from there, because there are players eligible for the Rule 5 draft and potential minor-league free agents\u2014including\u00a0Shane Smith,\u00a0Logan Henderson,\u00a0Russell Smith,\u00a0Ernesto Martinez, and\u00a0Chad Patrick\u2014who have to be added to the 40-man roster in order not to be made freely available to the other 29 teams. So, who stays and who goes?<\/p>\n

Drop: SS<\/b>Vinny Capra
\nCapra isn\u2019t a bad player, but is he really going to break past\u00a0Joey Ortiz,\u00a0Brice Turang, and\u00a0Andruw Monasterio? The Crew might shake up their infield mix after Willy Adames departs this winter, but Turang and Ortiz, alone, make Capra somewhat redundant.<\/p>\n

Add To 40-Man: 1B\/OF Ernesto Martinez<\/b>
\nMartinez has had a long, laborious path through the minors, but he had a breakout in 2024 with Biloxi. He not only plays excellent defense at first base, but his offensive profile looks like an excellent fit for American Family Field. He can also chip in as an outfielder, making him an intriguing fit for a spot currently taken up by…<\/p>\n

Drop: 1B\/OF\u00a0Jake Bauers<\/a><\/b>
\nBauers had some hot streaks that helped carry the Brewers when injuries hit in 2024. He\u2019s got good OBP skills, some pop, can steal a few bases, and provides good defense at first base or in an outfield corner. The problem is, his batting average didn\u2019t quite crack the Uecker line. Between\u00a0Tyler Black\u00a0(already on the 40-man) and Martinez, he\u2019s really the third-best option to complement\u00a0Rhys Hoskins.<\/p>\n

Add To 40-Man: RHP Logan Henderson<\/b>
\nHenderson\u2019s stuff is just too good to leave exposed in the Rule 5 draft. He\u2019s a candidate to take the path\u00a0Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff followed in 2018, and although that’s always a longshot, the Brewers should shield him from being plucked away and see how things play out in 2025.<\/p>\n

Drop: OF\u00a0Brewer Hicklen<\/a><\/b>
\nIf you\u2019re adding Martinez, then Hicklen isn\u2019t someone who can stick around. Even if you aren’t, he did relatively little to force his way into the conversation in his cup of coffee last year. Milwaukee just has too much outfield depth for Hicklen to take up a valuable slot throughout the winter.<\/p>\n

Add To 40-Man: RHP Shane Smith<\/b>
\nSmith has pitched well in the minors as both a reliever (becoming Brewer Fanatic\u2019s\u00a02023 Minor-League Reliever of the Year) and as a starter. He offers the potential to become a superb multi-inning reliever, perhaps joining\u00a0Bryse Wilson\u00a0and\u00a0Bryan Hudson\u00a0in that role.<\/p>\n

Trade: RHP\u00a0Devin Williams<\/a><\/b>
\nThe Brewers will probably trade Williams this winter, rather than pay him as much as $8 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility. The surest way to maximize value for a player like Williams is to be open to taking back a player already on the 40-man as part of the package; teams will force a discount if you force them to send you players you don’t have to roster. Besides, proximity to the big leagues will matter, and most close-to-ready prospects are already on the 40-man. That said, if they can get a dazzling pair of young players who aren’t yet taking up spots, it would give them some welcome and unexpected options.<\/p>\n

Add To 40-Man: LHP Russell Smith<\/b>
\nSmith has blossomed as a late-inning relief option, and some teams could try to take him in the Rule 5 draft to bolster their bullpens. He issues too many walks and doesn’t yet evince elite stuff, but he’s a 6-foot-7 lefty who had good numbers in Double A this season. He might come in handy as Hudson insurance.<\/p>\n

Drop: RHP\u00a0Kevin Herget<\/a><\/b>
\nIt\u2019s not that Herget is a bad pitcher, but he will be 34 in 2025, and the Brewers have pitchers who can provide more over the long term than Herget can. However, he can still be optioned to the minor leagues, which makes him a more modular piece than some other fringy relievers and might keep him around a while.<\/p>\n

Add To 40-Man: C\u00a0Darrien Miller<\/a><\/b>
\nMiller has superb OBP skills and bats left-handed. This makes him an excellent complement to\u00a0William Contreras\u00a0and\u00a0Jeferson Quero\u00a0over the long term, even if it’s in a purely up-and-down capacity. Every team needs a viable third catcher on their 40-man roster.<\/p>\n

Drop: IF Oliver Dunn<\/b>
\nThere was a lot of hope for Dunn back in the spring, but his offensive profile just isn\u2019t working out for him. His swing-and-miss was calamitous in MLB this year, and his injury casts doubt on the viability of his defense anywhere but first base. Perhaps a change of scenery could help.<\/p>\n

Add To 40-Man: RHP Chad Patrick<\/b>
\nPatrick didn\u2019t seem like much when the Brewers acquired him for\u00a0Abraham Toro, but he blossomed into a superb starter almost out of nowhere in 2024. His stuff doesn’t suggest a high big-league ceiling, but he could be useful depth and pitch in the big leagues as soon as next April or May.<\/p>\n

Trade: RHP\u00a0Elvis Peguero<\/a><\/b>
\nFor some time now, it has seemed like Peguero might have more value to some other team than to the Brewers. They have so much depth, and so many pitchers they’re more comfortable using against lefties\u2014against whom Peguero finds most of his success. He wouldn’t be high-end trade bait, but they should be able to swap him out for some lesser version of himself, perhaps with a skill set the team needs more.<\/p>\n

Drop: LHP Rob Zastryzny<\/strong>
\nZastryzny comes pretty near the modern ideal of the replaceable left-handed reliever. He’s not terrible, but there’s nothing he does exceptionally well, either\u2014and he can’t be sent to the minors, which nukes his utility on a roster that already features a surfeit of southpaws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The coming offseason will have some tough decisions for the Brewers. 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