Brewers: 3 Players Who Should Be Ditched Before The All Star Break

There’s a week to go before the All Star Break. The Brewers seem to be limping into the break this year after a losing homestand. Some players should probably not make it to the All Star Break with the big league club.

It’s a little upsetting to see the Brewers lose two series at home against teams far below them in the NL Central standings like the Cubs and Pirates. It’s especially upsetting to see them lose in the fashion that they did in these games. Poor defense, lack of situational hitting, and a pitching staff showing signs of fatigue and needing a break are all contributing to these ugly losses.

While the upcoming four day break should be a good time to rejuvenate the members of this Brewers team, some players may not stay on the roster long enough to reach that break.

The Brewers should ditch these 3 players off the active roster prior to the All Star Break.

1. RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez

You could almost be forgiven for completely forgetting Chi Chi Gonzalez was on the Brewers roster heading into Sunday. He hadn’t pitched in eight days and has only made a handful of appearances after being claimed off waivers a few weeks ago. Then we were reminded why he hasn’t been seen much on the field.

Gonzalez was brought into a one run game on Sunday with two outs in the 9th. All he had to do was get the final out and give the Brewers a solid chance to come back in the bottom half. But instead he messed around with Ke’Bryan Hayes, eventually giving up a walk, then fell behind 3-0 to Daniel Vogelbach. He battled back to make it a full count before throwing a meatball that Vogelbach crushed to dead center for a 3 run homer.

Gonzalez is not a reliable arm in that bullpen and although he needed to just get some work, that type of outing simply cannot happen. To pour salt in the wound, Andrew McCutchen hit a 2 run homer in the bottom of the 9th that would’ve made for a walk-off win for Milwaukee had Gonzalez not allowed those three runs to score.

Sure the Brewers may need some rotation depth with Adrian Houser and Freddy Peralta injured, but surely they can find better than Chi Chi Gonzalez and his 6.87 ERA.

2. OF Jonathan Davis

Both Tyrone Taylor and Hunter Renfroe are slated to come off the IL this week during the San Francisco series. Once both are back, there’s very little playing time to be had for Jonathan Davis and he’s likely to be sent back down.

He’s been solid defensively, but Davis is a light hitter, as shown by his .210 average and .591 OPS. Andrew McCutchen has been getting some reps in centerfield and could spell Taylor in that role for the time being when Taylor and Renfroe return.

With centerfield as a major priority for the Brewers at the trade deadline, Davis isn’t a long term solution for the Brewers roster through the rest of the season. They’re going to add and that will push Davis down the depth chart

In order to make the roster math fit to bring back both Renfroe and Taylor, Davis is the odd man out.

3. C Pedro Severino

The Brewers cannot carry three catchers through the rest of the season. They just can’t and they won’t. Pedro Severino returned from his suspension a week ago and he’s only played in two games. His defense still looks shoddy behind the plate and, well, you can only draw so many conclusions about his bat through two games.

It’s clear that Omar Narvaez and Victor Caratini are the top two options for Craig Counsell behind the plate, and the pitchers certainly prefer to have one of those guys back there as well given Severino’s defensive troubles.

So what are they to do? Unless he can play some first base, which we have yet to see him do in the big leagues so far, where is he to play?

Severino is ineligible for the postseason, so parting with Narvaez or Caratini make no sense, especially given their levels of production this year. Caratini does have a minor league option, but that isn’t a realistic idea given how well he’s played and it likely wouldn’t go over well with Caratini or the rest of the clubhouse.

So Severino has to be the odd man out. Perhaps they can trade him for something. The Brewers clearly liked him coming into the year, but his suspension changed everything. He, Caratini, and Narvaez cannot co-exist on this roster for long.

The Brewers should ditch these players off their active roster prior to the All Star Break. Severino might stay through it, but he probably shouldn’t.