Milwaukee Brewers Rumors: Crew In “Heavy Pursuit” Of Unknown Infielder

The Milwaukee Brewers are not done making moves after signing catcher Yasmani Grandal to a one year contract last night.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Milwaukee Brewers are in “heavy pursuit” of another infielder to fill the hole at second base or possibly third base.

This infielder is unknown at the moment, but there are limited options for who he could be given the current marketplace.

Who Could They Be Pursuing?

DJ LeMahieu

LeMahieu is considered the top free agent second baseman on the market. He’s only 30 years old and has been looking for a multi-year deal. But players like Ian Kinsler, Daniel Murphy, and now Brian Dozier have all signed deals before him. With few remaining teams needing a second baseman, LeMahieu could be forced to settle for a one year deal.

It was unexpected for Grandal to sign a one year deal, and the same would go for LeMahieu. But he’s a big bat and would make this Brewers lineup even more deadly. The Giants are rumored to have interest in LeMahieu, but that’s really all we know of his market at this point.

If the Milwaukee Brewers could convince Grandal to take a one year contract, perhaps they’re doing the same to LeMahieu.

Jed Lowrie

Lowrie would be my guess as to who the infielder the Brewers are heavily pursuing is. He’s going to be 35 years old this season and would be more amenable to a one year contract than LeMahieu. He’s a pretty solid bat that can draw walks and bring some power from the left side. 19 of his 23 home runs last season were as a lefty. As we all know, Miller Park is very friendly to left handed power.

Also, Lowrie is a switch hitter, just like Grandal, meaning the Brewers can keep matchups even more on their side during the 2019 season.

Mike Moustakas

Passan did say third base was an option as well. Unless they’re the mystery team for Manny Machado, that sounds to me like they’re pursuing Mike Moustakas still. Ken Rosenthal did confirm yesterday the Brewers have talked about bringing Moose back.

He would push Shaw to second and would likely only come back on a one year deal. But Moose is going to wait to sign until after Machado does, so it probably isn’t him.

Asdrubal Cabrera

Cabrera is another decent bat out on the market, but he’s struggled defensively lately. With the amount of shifting the Brewers do, that risk could be mitigated though.

Marwin Gonzalez

This has probably been the least talked about option for the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason. Gonzalez is a good hitter and is extremely versatile, which is something the Brewers love. But he’s been expected to land a multi-year contract this offseason, possibly three or four years guaranteed.

But Gonzalez is still out there, which means he’s going to have to come down on his asking price. Would he now be willing to sign a one year deal?

Josh Harrison

The Brewers were rumored to like Harrison earlier this winter. Perhaps they could be ramping up their pursuit of him now that they have their catching situation figured out. Harrison would be a cheap option and a versatile stopgap that likely won’t demand everyday playing time.

His bat has been declining for the past few seasons, and he wouldn’t be the best option out there. But he is an option.

When Could A Deal Be Reached?

Today, possibly. We never truly know how close a team is to signing someone. It’s just rumored interest and then next thing we know Ken Rosenthal, Jeff Passan, Jon Morosi, or Jon Heyman are telling us a deal has been reached.

Given David Stearns’ history of making big deals back to back, don’t be surprised if this happens soon.

The Milwaukee Brewers need another infielder to add to their roster and could possibly stand to add another starting pitcher. Outside of that, there’s not much left for the Brewers to do with this team.