Milwaukee Brewers: 2018-19 Offseason Brewers Team Needs

The Milwaukee Brewers enter the 2018-19 Offseason with fewer holes on the roster than they entered last offseason with. But there are still ways to improve this roster.

The outfield for the Milwaukee Brewers figures to be full of high quality talent for years to come. There shouldn’t be too many additions to that group this winter, although we thought similar things last offseason before the acquisitions of Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain.

It seems impossible to predict what Brewers GM David Stearns will do. We expected a big frontline starting pitcher last offseason, and he instead opted for Jhoulys Chacin, a career mid-back end of the rotation starter, and Chacin had the best 2018 of all the free agent SPs from last year.

With that said, there are still expected areas to look for improvement. The Brewers fell shy of reaching their ultimate goal in 2018, and Stearns needs to address the deficiencies of this team in order to get to the World Series next season.

Need #1: Fix The Rotation

This was the top need last offseason as well. Interestingly enough, this offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers have too many qualified pitchers and not enough spots in their rotation. Here’s how I think the rotation battle currently stands:

• In rotation: Jhoulys Chacin, Corbin Burnes, Jimmy Nelson, Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff
• Out of rotation: Zach Davies, Chase Anderson, Junior Guerra, Adrian Houser

Davies and Anderson were left off the postseason rosters in order to keep the young players active and available. I think that’s a pretty telling sign that the veterans could have been jumped on the depth chart. If that’s the case, maybe it’s time for Davies and/or Anderson to get new homes in a trade this winter.

Those two aren’t high-ceiling pitchers in a rotation full of young arms that should turn into studs next year. The regression they saw in 2018 is not a good sign for their future potential.

However, the Brewers likely aren’t going to be content starting three pitchers who will have their first full year in a big league rotation in 2019 with Burnes, Peralta, and Woodruff. Not to mention Jimmy Nelson who missed all of 2018 recovering from shoulder surgery. That’s a lot of question marks.

Because of that, the Milwaukee Brewers should be looking to acquire one of the top-flight starting pitchers on the free agent or trade market this winter. Patrick Corbin and Dallas Keuchel are the two top free agent starters available. David Stearns has shown he’s willing to go after the top players, but he won’t go past a certain price point for them.

On the trade market, Madison Bumgarner might be available should San Francisco decide to go all-in on a rebuild. The New York Mets probably should start a rebuild and trade some of their starting pitchers like Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, and Noah Syndergaard, but no one is really sure what they’re going to do.

Those are just a couple of options for David Stearns to consider, but the rotation will need to be addressed before spring training begins. They have a lot of current options, but don’t have a very high ceiling. In order to raise that ceiling, there’s going to be need to be an addition and a subtraction or two from the current group.

Need #2: A Plan For Second Base

Jonathan Schoop did not play like the Milwaukee Brewers or their fans hoped he would when he was acquired. The original plan was for him to platoon with Travis Shaw at second base for the rest of 2018 and then assume full time second base duties in 2019 with Shaw moving back to third base when Mike Moustakas left.

But after Schoop hit .202 with a .577 OPS including an 0-for-8 in the postseason, many are questioning if Schoop will be back. In fact, on the RtB Podcast this past week, we believed that Schoop could be a non-tender or trade candidate this winter and that he won’t be back in Milwaukee in 2019.

If Schoop goes, and Moustakas leaves, what’s the plan at second base? Young prospect Mauricio Dubon was just about big league ready in April before he tore his ACL and was out for the season. Can the Brewers trust Dubon to start at second to begin the season coming off that injury and having never made his big league debut yet? Keston Hiura is not yet ready and likely won’t see significant big league time in 2019.

The Brewers could choose to roll the dice on Schoop and hope he can bounce back in 2019 and earn that projected $10.1 million salary.

Should they move on from him, there are a couple of options on the open market. Players like Marwin Gonzalez, DJ LeMahieu, and Brian Dozier figure to get multi-year deals this winter, which could put them out of play for Milwaukee if the Brewers truly believe Keston Hiura will be ready to start in the big leagues in 2020.

If they’re looking for a one-year stopgap that can plug the hole without blocking any prospects long term or break the bank, someone like Jed Lowrie could be a nice option. He’s going to be 35 next season and has been a solid hitter the last two years.

Mauricio Dubon should gain strong consideration, but it’s tough to see the Brewers depending on him since he hasn’t made his debut yet and is coming off a major injury.

If Schoop stays, the whole need is moot. Schoop will then start the majority of games at second base, and if he succeeds, then he’s the full time starter all year. If he fails in the early going again, the Brewers could then turn to Dubon to take over.