Milwaukee Brewers: Changes in Approach Bring Changes to Roster

With the surprising, yet predictable move of Scooter Gennett being released and claimed by the Cincinnati Reds, the expectations in the Milwaukee Brewers organization seem to have taken a turn since last season.

Prior to 2016, the Brewers were a land of opportunity for the likes of forgotten veterans trying to once again prove their worth in major league baseball.

Some would point to the signing of veteran outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis. He was expected to be nothing more than a placeholder for a “throw away season”. Instead, he ended up signing a one-year arbitration contract worth $900,000 and is now expected to be the Brewers’ fourth outfielder for 2017.

With the atmosphere slowly changing and the Brewers starting to develop a winning mentality, the opportunities for veterans trying to prove themselves seem to be fading. In order to finally see what the Brewers have in the lower levels of their organization, there will be fewer additions and more subtractions of Major League-level talent in the near future.

With the subtractions,fans should always keep in mind the growing talent already within the organization, but not yet on the 25-man roster. In 2017, the Brewers will rely on success from their young prospects, Lewis Brinson and Josh Hader to finally make their much-anticipated debuts at the Major-League level and become the early building blocks for a future championship caliber team in Milwaukee.

While the team is also desperately in need of a healthy season from outfielder, Domingo Santana and for Keon Broxton to start the season where he left off in the second half of 2016, their results will most likely determine their place on this team in the coming years, or if they should be replaced by what GM David Stearns describes as “young and controllable talent”.

Like most Brewers fans I am very anxious to see which direction this team is truly heading it will be a fun season to finally witness this rebuild take the next step, even if that means saying good-bye to current stars in order to make room for future ones.

Next: 5 Lessons Learned From Spring Training

Who are you looking forward to seeing this year in Milwaukee, Brewers fans? Hit us up in the comments section or let us know on Twitter @ReviewingTheBrew.