2 Brewers offseason additions who are exceeding expectations, 2 who need to be better

The Milwaukee Brewers made a number of moves this past offseason, both via trade and free agency, with the goal of reinforcing their roster without straying from their proven formula. Keeping one eye on the present and the other on the future, the Brewers once again turned soon-to-departing veterans into prospects and made a limited number of low-risk free agent signings.

The roster construction strategy, which allows the Brewers to both replenish their roster with young talent at the beginning of their MLB careers and keep their future ledgers clean of any potentially hamstringing long-term free agent contracts, certainly doesn't result in the flashiest of offseasons. However, in recent history, this strategy has generally proven to be successful by the end of the season.

That said, when you're swimming in the uncertain waters of unproven prospects and second- or third-tier free agents, it's rarely going to be a 100% hit rate. Though the Brewers have typically done well with the limited financial resources they have to work with each year, expecting perfection when it comes to the free agent market, and the trade market for that matter, is unreasonable.

Early returns on offseason moves should absolutely be taken with a grain of salt. At this time last year, Caleb Durbin, who the Brewers acquired last offseason in the Devin Williams deal, wasn't yet up with the big-league club, and he went on to become a finalist for the NL Rookie of the Year award. That said, if the Brewers are going to repeat as NL Central champions this year, there are a few offseason additions who need to be better than they've been thus far. Let's first start, however, with two offseason acquisitions who have impressed in the early goings of the 2026 campaign.

Gary Sánchez and Kyle Harrison have delivered for the Brewers early on

Halfway through April, Gary Sánchez is tied with Jake Bauers for the team lead in home runs with five. After a massive game-tying three-run blast against the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon, Sánchez went deep once again in last night's series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.

After signing with the Brewers for just $1.75 million in mid-February, Sánchez's 1.227 OPS -- carried by a .812 slugging percentage -- looks like an early steal of the 2025-26 free agent market. With Andrew Vaughn, Jackson Chourio, and now Christian Yelich on the injured list, Sánchez will continue to see consistent opportunities in the Brewers' lineup, and his welcomed production will need to persist for Milwaukee to have any chance of staying afloat amid their growing injury concerns.

Meanwhile, on the mound, 24-year-old Kyle Harrison has posted the second-best ERA (3.07) among Milwaukee’s starters, trailing only Chad Patrick, who has allowed just one earned run. Through three turns in the rotation, Harrison has provided steady, reliable production, surpassing five innings pitched twice and gutting through 4.1 innings his last time up despite injuring his knee on the first play of the game.

Harrison, who the Brewers acquired from the Boston Red Sox in the Durbin trade, has stepped up during a time when Milwaukee is without key rotation piece Quinn Priester. He's shown maturity and poise well beyond his age and appears to be someone the Brewers can rely on in their rotation for several years to come.

Milwaukee needs more from Luis Rengifo and Brandon Sproat

The Brewers signed just three major league free agents this offseason; one was Sánchez, another was outfielder Akil Baddoo, who is on the injured list to start the season, and the final one was utility infielder Luis Rengifo. After trading Durbin to the Red Sox, the Brewers elected to replace his production at third base with the combination of David Hamilton, who was included in the trade with Boston, and Rengifo, who cost Milwaukee $3.5 million on the free agent market.

Though Durbin has had a tough start to the season, with a .390 OPS to prove it, Rengifo has been nearly just as bad (.393 OPS). He's currently in an 0-for-19 slump at the plate that has left Brewers fans more than concerned about the state of their left side of the infield. On the bright side, Rengifo has been slightly better than league-average as a defender at third base, which was one of the biggest concerns fans held when the team signed him two months ago.

As for Sproat, the 25-year-old right-hander has battled intermittent command issues early on. While he’s been in the strike zone 47% of the time, just a tick below the MLB average, he’s also issued at least three walks in all three of his appearances, and his misses in the zone have been detrimental. The result is a 10.45 ERA through his first 10.1 innings in a Brewers uniform.

That said, it's not difficult to see the potential that Sproat possesses. If he can better harness his powerful arsenal, he could become a real asset for the Brewers, but right now he’s still searching for consistency and not quite firing on all cylinders. After skipping his last start and electing to have him appear in a relief role during the Nationals series, the Brewers are giving Sproat the ball in tomorrow afternoon's series finale against the Blue Jays.

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