Brewers: 3 Teams The Brewers Could Trade For Offense From

The Brewers are reportedly looking to acquire some more offense this winter in trades.

The Brewers need help on offense.

After posting the worst team batting average in franchise history, the Milwaukee Brewers made the expanded postseason by the skin of their teeth. Unsurprisingly, the offense sputtered against the Dodgers pitching staff and the Crew was quickly eliminated.

Things could have easily been different if Christian Yelich and Keston Hiura had played anywhere near their normal levels. Still, even if they had produced as expected, the rest of the lineup struggled.

With a number of players performing poorly and several of them entering free agency this offseason, the Brewers have a couple of holes on offense they need to plug with hopefully long-term solutions.

The 2021 payroll budget is going to be limited, which hampers the ability to go after big free agents. That means making trades is going to be the more likely way the Brewers can add to their offense.

Robert Murray of FanSided recently reported that the Brewers are making calls, looking to trade for more offense and offering up players from their pitching surplus. They have needs at both corner infield spots and possibly catcher.

What teams could line up well on a trade? Here are three.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The World Series champion Dodgers have an incredible amount of position player depth. A few of those players are free agents, namely Justin Turner, Joc Pederson, and Kike Hernandez. If any one of them return, some of the young up-and-coming players that deserve playing time won’t get that playing time.

With rosters dropping from 28 players back down to 26 players next year, there’s even fewer spots available for that bevy of position players.

A trade with the Brewers could really help clear that logjam.

What would the Brewers give up to get some help for their offense? The first name that comes to mind is Josh Hader.

It’s been widely known that the Dodgers have been interested in trading for Hader for quite some time now. With Kenley Jansen entering the final year of his contract, acquiring Hader could give them their closer of the future and another powerful bullpen arm.

In return, the Brewers can patch some holes on this roster. Getting someone like Gavin Lux, who is big league ready but lacks a starting spot in a loaded Dodgers infield would be huge for the Brewers. Whether or not the Dodgers would part with Lux in a Hader trade remains to be seen but if negotiations begin, GM David Stearns is likely to ask for Lux.

The Dodgers also have a logjam at the catcher position. Both Will Smith and Keibert Ruiz have been coveted prospects but Smith has essentially taken over the starting role. That leaves Ruiz with basically no path to the starting job in Los Angeles. He could have that job in Milwaukee, especially if they move on from Omar Narvaez, who struggled offensively in 2020.

Los Angeles has offense to spare, the Brewers have some pitching to spare. Even if it doesn’t involve Josh Hader, there’s trade possibilities here.

Los Angeles Angels

The Brewers are reportedly willing to trade from their pitching surplus to get offense. The Angels have some offense. They also have absolutely no pitching.

A large chunk of the Angels’ payroll is tied up in Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Anthony Rendon, and Justin Upton. Each one of them is making at least $23MM next season. Those pieces aren’t going to be trade targets for the Brewers, but the other members of their offense might.

Two guys that immediately catch my attention are David Fletcher and Jared Walsh. They both had strong seasons in 2020 and can fill needs for the Brewers.

Fletcher can play pretty much all over the place, but spent most of 2019 as the third baseman for the Angels. After the addition of Anthony Rendon, Fletcher mostly played middle infield in 2020. He can hit for a high average and although he lacks home run power, he had 30 doubles in 2019 and 13 doubles in 2020. He improved to a .801 OPS and 121 OPS+ this season.

Jared Walsh is a first baseman with big time power. In Triple-A in 2019, he hit .305 with 30 doubles, 36 home runs, and a 1.109 OPS in just 98 games. Then in 2020, he played in just over half the games for the Angels (32) and posted a .293/.324/.646 slash line with nine homers in 99 at-bats.

What’s interesting about Walsh is that he came almost out of nowhere. He was a 39th round pick out of the University of Georgia and never really showcased much power, only hitting six total home runs over three seasons. But he also spent time as a pitcher, starting eight games for the Bulldogs his junior season, going 5-2 with a 2.60 ERA.

The Angels have continued to use him as a two-way player, having him also pitch in the minors and he even made five appearances out of the bullpen in 2019. He continues to walk too many guys when he’s on the mound, and his long term future is likely as a hitter, especially given how his power has shown up in recent years.

Walsh and Fletcher both have numerous years of control remaining, are young, and have a lot of potential. Acquiring either one of them is going to have a high cost.

Another potential offensive option is catcher Max Stassi. Stassi has two years of team control remaining, both through arbitration. Unlike Omar Narvaez, Stassi had a good offensive season in 2020. However, Narvaez has a track record of success as a starting catcher while Stassi has been a backup most of his career and 2020 was by far the best season of his career.

The Angels are going to search far and wide for some additional pitching. The Brewers have some they can spare, and even though the Angels aren’t super deep on offense at the moment, they have some pieces that would intrigue the Brewers.