Milwaukee Brewers: And Now The Offseason Begins

Now that the Milwaukee Brewers season is over, we are officially into the offseason. And it should be an exciting one for Milwaukee.

The last time the Milwaukee Brewers made the NLCS, we knew franchise cornerstone Prince Fielder was likely leaving in free agency and it would difficult to replace him. But this year, that isn’t a concern.

Practically the entire core group of players on this team are under contract to return next season. With current cornerstones Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain under contract for four more seasons, there’s still a bright future ahead.

With that in mind, here’s a look at the important dates of the upcoming offseason calendar.

Important Dates & Deadlines

Free Agency – Six Days After WS

MLB Free Agency officially opens six days after the conclusion of the World Series. Game 7 is scheduled for October 31st, which means the latest free agency will begin is November 6th. Since the Brewers don’t have any Qualifying Offer candidates, those deadlines won’t apply.

Gold Glove Awards – November 4

Lorenzo Cain should be in line to win his first career Gold Glove this season. The defense he provided in center field for the Milwaukee Brewers was nothing short of tremendous. If he doesn’t win, I’ll be completely shocked.

The finalists haven’t been announced yet for these awards, but Cain figures to be among them.

GM Meetings – November 6-8

These aren’t the big Winter Meetings where all the trades and free agent signings get worked out, but these are important. This is where the groundwork for those trades and free agent contracts are worked out. Very few deals are completed at these meetings, but it’s where GM David Stearns will learn where every other team stands on the trade market.

MVP Award – November 15

This is when we’ll learn whether Christian Yelich’s MVP caliber regular season was enough to earn him the award. He’s the odds-on favorite with his explosion during the month of September and should win the award handily.

Non-Tender Deadline – November 30

This is the first big deadline for the Milwaukee Brewers. This is also the deadline for putting players on the 40 man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft at the end of the Winter Meetings. The Brewers have a lot of young players to protect on their 40 man roster and a lot of players eligible for arbitration.

Winter Meetings – December 9-13

These are the big ones. In fabulous Las Vegas, the MLB world will converge on Mandalay Bay as front offices from all 30 MLB teams will be in the same building. We’ll see a flurry of free agent signings, trades, and all sorts of chaos as GMs look to improve their organizations.

It was at these meetings where David Stearns landed Travis Shaw (2016) and Freddy Peralta (2015). These four days are the most exciting of the MLB offseason.

Rule 5 Draft – December 13

The Rule 5 Draft is a part of the Winter Meetings, but it’s basically something else entirely. Teams can draft players from other organizations and put them on the big league roster. With the Brewers currently in a roster logjam, it will be interesting to see who gets left off the roster and who is taken away.

The Brewers could also draft a player to their group, but it’s already a crowded 25 man group. Last year, the Brewers did not select a player in the major league portion of the draft.

Spring Training – February 13

Pitchers and catchers report to Milwaukee Brewers spring training on February 13. That’s 115 days from now. It feels like forever, doesn’t it?

With the 2018 regular season in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look ahead to what should be an exciting offseason as David Stearns continues to mold this ballclub into a winner.