Milwaukee Brewers: Complete 2018 Off-Season Preview

The Milwaukee Brewers were eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday and that means the off-season will begin for GM David Stearns after Game 162.

This is definitely going to be an interesting off-season for the Milwaukee Brewers. For the past couple years it’s been mostly selling off veteran assets to get quality young prospects. That’s what we’ve come to expect from a rebuilding club. But the Crew are just about done rebuilding.

The 2017 season saw the Brewers stay in playoff contention until the penultimate game of the season. That doesn’t sound like a rebuilding club. Now that Stearns can be more aggressive in building his roster for 2018, don’t be surprised to see a free agent or two come to Milwaukee this winter.

Owner Mark Attanasio has stated that the Brewers could have some more financial flexibility this winter. Everyone knows how much Attanasio loves to win and he could give the green light to David Stearns for whatever acquisitions he may deem necessary.

Expectations are raised for this Milwaukee Brewers ball club and the 2018 team needs to be able to live up to those expectations. David Stearns is certainly going to be busy this winter.

This will be the final rebuilding winter. A few more tweaks to make with the young talent before the core is finalized. Next winter, the Brewers will behave more like a perennial contender with fewer trades for prospects and more acquisitions of veterans. The free agent market that year is stacked with top tier talent and the Brewers will set themselves up to get some of it.

Keep in mind barely any of the prospects acquired over the past few years have made their mark on this big league roster. Only Domingo Santana, Orlando Arcia, Josh Hader, and Brett Phillips have seen significant time. The rest have been scrap heap players that have played career years and are trying to make their case to belong in the big leagues.

There are many aspects of the off-season, including: impending free agents, the free agent market, trades, arbitration, and the Rule 5 draft.