Are the Brewers looking for another starter?

Johan Santana has not pitched in the majors since 2012. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills -USA TODAY Sports

Recent reports have shown that the Milwaukee Brewers may indeed still be in the market for a starting pitcher. Whoever that pitcher may be, if there is anyone at all, will hopefully benefit the Brewers should they reach a deal.

The latest report had the Brewers checking in on free-agent Johan Santana. By checking in, this does not mean the Brewers offered him anything or will offer him a deal. It does however give an indication that the team might be looking for another starter outside of the organization to complete the rotation.

With manager Ron Roenicke announcing yesterday that Tyler Thornburg would be the tentative fifth starter, it brings up a certain question, are the Brewers looking to sell Yovani Gallardo or Kyle Lohse? If Roenicke is confident that Thornburg, Johnny Hellweg or Will Smith could be in the rotation and that the team is checking in on other starters, does that put the jobs of Gallardo and Lohse at risk? Maybe, maybe not, but it’s certainly weird to think that they would want a starter considering the Brewers’ typical approach of working from within.

It’s not like last offseason where the Brew Crew had lost Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, leaving them pretty much in the open to where they had to sign Lohse. The Brewers have starters to play with and although most lack a significant amount of starting experience at the major league level, they’ll have time to work out the kinks. Smith and Thornburg look to be the most capable players the Brew Crew has to stick into that fifth slot and sooner than later, guys like Jimmy Nelson will be battling for it.

If the Brewers had an interest in a starter, but are just publicly revealing it now, it makes me wonder why the wait? Was to see what Corey Hart did? Perhaps, but you cannot invest on one person’s answer to make other decisions regarding the team. Santana may be an option for the Brew Crew, but there are others available like Scott Baker and Daisuke Matsuzaka or Masahiro Tanaka if he’s posted and if the Brewers are feeling the need to be spendthrifts.

Maybe there’s another starter out there, or maybe I’m just reading too much into the situation. It certainly wouldn’t hurt if the Brewers had the extra room, monetary and roster wise, to try and squeeze in another starter.

What do you think? Should the Brewers pursue another starter or should they stick with the pitchers they have? Let us know your thoughts!