Milwaukee Brewers Rumors: Now They’re Looking For A Catcher

The Milwaukee Brewers haven’t gotten much offensive production from their catchers this season. Now they’re reportedly looking for upgrades on the trade market.

Manny Pina has regressed a lot from his 2017 breakout season. He posted a .279 average with a .751 OPS in 2017, but has struggled mightily this year. Pina has a .220 average with a .635 OPS this season, even though he’s been showing some signs of progress lately.

The loss of Stephen Vogt has hurt the offensive output from this position and has put the Brewers in a tough spot with their catching group.

But Brewers GM David Stearns is known for being thorough in his quest to upgrade this team. He places calls on just about every available player on almost every position. And that search has included looking for a catcher.

The starting pitcher interest has been well documented. But the catching interest has only been speculated and never confirmed.

Adding A Catcher

The problem with adding a catcher mid-season is getting that catcher to learn a completely new pitching staff. But the Brewers added Stephen Vogt last year and Erik Kratz earlier this year and they both have learned the pitching staff just fine.

The more immediate problem is the lack of desirable options on the trade market. The top name is J.T. Realmuto of the Marlins. But he’s going to cost some high level prospects and it’s highly doubtful the Brewers would be serious pursuers of him.

Outside of that, there’s Wilson Ramos, who is currently on the disabled list with a hamstring strain. Ramos is actually the most desirable option, hitting .297 with 14 homers and a 132 OPS+. For offensive upgrades, Ramos would be a serious boost to this lineup.

Then there’s options like Devin Mesoraco and Nick Hundley that could be available. Hundley is a backup catcher that has shown some pop this year in limited playing time behind Buster Posey. Mesoraco has been better since joining the Mets but would still only be a marginal upgrade over Pina and Kratz.

The lack of good options on the market will make it difficult for Stearns to find a catcher worth the acquisition cost that would actually upgrade the team.

Getting impending free agents like Mesoraco or Hundley would not cost much for Stearns to acquire. There wouldn’t be any big name prospects going in return for those players should Stearns acquire one of them.