Brewer Daily News for October 2nd, 2013: Melvin talks about offseason

Good morning everyone and welcome to the Wednesday edition of Brewer Daily News.  Even with the winning record in the second half of the 2013 season, Milwaukee Brewers’ general manager Doug Melvin talked about the team going forward with stronger finishes and their upcoming plans.

The Brewers played well down the stretch even though they were out of contention. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

In their last 10 games of the season, the Brewers went 6-4, which included road series wins over the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets. Still though, Melvin feels that the team needs to get on track within the coming year to stand a chance in the tough National League Central.

"“I can’t stand here every year and say we had a great second half,” Melvin said. “That doesn’t work. … It doesn’t win championships, it doesn’t get to the postseason.” – via Brewers.com"

Melvin did say that the Brewers’ second half this season was “encouraging” for the way things may be in 2014, but that he still has work to do. The Brewers will more than likely stay in house if they make any moves and aren’t expected to pursue any big name free-agents.

One of the plans Melvin may tackle is whether or not the team will re-sign free-agent to be Corey Hart who missed all of 2013. If the Brewers do make an effort to bring Hart back, that would fill in the void for first base in 2014. Beyond that, Melvin hasn’t exactly said whether or not Hunter Morris would fill in at first.

With the issue of second base between Rickie Weeks and Scooter Gennett, this is also expected to be a toss-up. Weeks will be owed $11 million next season, which will mark the last year on his contract before the team option in 2015. Gennett did well in Weeks’ absence, hitting .324 with 21 RBIs, 19 extra base hits and scored 29 runs.

The other issue that the organization has to deal with is right field and who they want to play the position next season. Recently, it was announced that the Brew Crew expressed interest in bringing back Norichika Aoki, but he may be trade bait with Khris Davis proving himself as an everyday player.