Milwaukee Brewers: Giants Could Look to Milwaukee for Outfield Help

The San Francisco Giants just made a big trade deal with the Rays to acquire Evan Longoria, but in the process they got rid of one of their starting outfielders Denard Span. With trade rumors with the Milwaukee Brewers already on the surface, they could increase without Span.

The Giants main interest from the Milwaukee Brewers outfield was right fielder Domingo Santana, one of the Brewers best hitters last season. Santana has drawn interest from a lot of teams. But GM David Stearns has said it will cost a lot to take him away from Milwaukee. So the Giants could look elsewhere in the Brewers plethora of outfield talent.

The player the Crew would most likely be willing to trade is Keon Broxton. He is a player with a lot of power and great defensive ability, but struggles mightily with strikeouts and getting on base consistently. Broxton is a valuable player though, and the Giants could definitely use his power in the pitcher friendly AT&T park.

The Giants have more than likely asked on younger outfielders as well, such as Brett Phillips or Lewis Brinson. However, the Brewers would need a big package for either of them as well. Both project well at the MLB level in 2018 after good showings in the previous year.

If a deal were to be done between these teams, it would be interesting to see who the Brewers would look to get in return. This most likely would be an all Major League deal. Meaning there wouldn’t be any prospects involved. The biggest fit I see in Milwaukee would be second basemen Joe Panik.

Second base is a position of need for the Milwaukee Brewers. Panik is the type of player the team is missing from their lineup. He can get a lot of hits near the top, and hit for a high average. As proven by his .288 average last season. Which is higher than any mark set by a Brewer. And yes, I know batting average isn’t the only telling of a good hitter, but it would help out the lineup.

A guy like Panik would be a nice change of pace in a powerful lineup with a lot of strikeouts. Guys like Broxton, Eric Thames, Ryan Braun and others in the lineup have heavy amounts of strikeouts. But also produce a lot of runs. Panik would score a ton of runs hitting in front of some of the big guys.

Whether the Giants are ready to give up Panik or not, a swap of he and Keon Broxton makes sense for both teams. The Giants would be getting a solid overall player with a lot of speed, which is needed in the large center field in that stadium. The Milwaukee Brewers would be getting a hitter who would be a good change to their lineup in a big position of need.

The biggest problem while trying to make a deal between these two teams is that both teams are clearly looking to contend next season and beyond. No one knew which way the Giants would go after a very disappointing season last year. But with the acquisition of Longoria it is clear that the Giants are looking to be back to winning ways.

Next: The Crews Version of Shohei Ohtani

Most trades involve a team “buying” and a team “selling”, which usually involved prospects and up and coming players. However, the only deal that makes sense between these teams would be swapping lower level major league talent in positions of need. That way neither team is losing talent or depth in positions of need  in the minor league system. And both teams are improving on both the defensive and offensive sides of the game.