4 budget free agent targets for the Brewers that would help them contend in 2025

4 budget free agents that could help the Brewers in 2025

Matthew Boyd - LHP

Let's assume the Brewers pick up the options of both Peralta and Rea. This leaves Aaron Civale, Tobias Myers and Woodruff as the remaining names to round out a five-man rotation. Aaron Ashby should be on-hand as a backup as well, but there's a name the Brewers could target that could fill a swingman role with ease at the big-league level.

Boyd, 33, missed the vast majority of this year as he recovered from a 2023 Tommy John surgery. He didn't sign with the Cleveland Guardians until the end of June and he didn't make his first appearance in the big leagues until the middle of August.

What followed, though, was a thoroughly impressive eight-start stretch for the veteran left-hander. He didn't surrender more than three runs in any of his outings and struck out six or more batters five times, highlighted by a nine-strikeout performance against the White Sox in September.

Boyd looked strong with the Guardians, but he's also got a checkered past when it comes to durability. He made just 15 starts in 2021, 10 relief outings in 2022, 15 starts in 2023 and eight more of them this year. It's been a while since he had a full 30-plus-start season, so this is likely going to bring his value down to where the Brewers would be comfortable bringing him aboard.

The 10-year veteran has experience as both a starter and a reliever and could easily be a long-man/sixth starter if he doesn't make the rotation out of spring training. He's not going to cost much and would be coming to Milwaukee as an experienced southpaw who also had one heck of an ALDS this year against the Tigers. That playoff experience has value, and the Brewers should strike if given the opportunity.