Milwaukee Brewers: Grading the 2021-2022 Offseason Moves

Here are grades for each of the major Milwaukee Brewers’ 2021-2022 offseason moves.

8. Brewers sign free agent OF/DH Andrew McCutchen

Arguably the biggest post-lockout question for the Brewers was what they were going to do at designated hitter now that the new CBA has brought it to the National League. Would they try to go with an internal option or make a move to bring someone in to man the position?

That question was answered on March 14th when Milwaukee made what currently stands as their final move of the offseason. That day, they agreed to a one-year deal with free agent outfielder, and now DH, Andrew McCutchen.

McCutchen comes to the Crew after three seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. While his average dipped to a career low .222 last season, his 27 homers and 80 RBIs were his highest marks since 2017, numbers that will play well at DH, where the Brewers reportedly plan to use him in a majority of his games, though he can obviously back up in the outfield as well.

Once the most popular target in Nelson Cruz was off the market, there weren’t many other obvious DH options left that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. In McCutchen, the Brewers get to fill the position with a player with a proven offensive track record who happens to hit well in Milwaukee. That’ll play.

Grade: A-

So with all the moves combined, how does the overall grade for the Brewers’ 2021-2022 offseason shake out?

Overall Grade: B

The Brewers went into this last offseason needing to improve the offense and specifically address a few main positions, namely designated hitter, bullpen depth, and backup catcher. For the most part, they were successful.

On top of that, they were able to upgrade the right field position in a surprising trade and add to their utility depth with another swap.

A couple questions still remain. Will the players who were added be enough to improve the offense to a level worthy of a deep playoff run? Milwaukee added a few players to the bullpen mix, but could they have done more?

All-in-all, the Brewers did an above average job of fixing the spots that needed to be fixed. Could some of the moves have been better? Maybe. But this gives Milwaukee a good starting point for the 2022 season with some flexibility to still make moves after the season begins.

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Who knows, it’s possible the Brewers make one more move before spring training ends. But if they don’t, they’re as set to compete for a 2022 playoff run as anyone.