Brewers’ payroll woes costing them a golden opportunity with latest FA market news

Every Milwaukee Brewers fan is well-aware of the team's financial limitations at this point. The Brewers are right up there with any team in getting the most bang for their buck and succeeding despite not spending freely, but there is no denying that their inability to spend is a disadvantage that they have had to work around.

Those limitations have a two-fold effect this time of year. The Brewers felt forced to make the decisions to let the beloved Willy Adames leave in free agency as well as to trade Devin Williams because of their tight purse strings, but the impacts on their 2025 roster do not end there.

According to reports, both Anthony Santander and Jack Flaherty are open to short-term deals as their markets haven't developed the way they hoped. If that is truly the case, the Brewers could be missing out on a golden opportunity to improve their roster next year.

Anthony Santander and Jack Flaherty's softening markets are an opportunity that the Brewers (probably) won't take advantage of

It is important to remember that players' markets can change very quickly. All it would take for Santander and Flaherty's price tags to go back up is two teams deciding they need to make a push for either player. Both are flawed free agents to be sure, but it wouldn't be crazy to see their markets rebound given that both also have skills that have a lot of value for contenders especially.

However, lets just assume for the moment that these guys can't end up finding the bigger multi-year deals they sought at the beginning of the offseason. While Santander isn't a great fit for the Brewers as they tend to prioritize defense and base-running and he stinks at both of those things, being able to scoop up Flaherty on a short-term deal would have been a massive win for a Milwaukee rotation that is banking heavily on Brandon Woodruff returning to form especially after the departures of Frankie Montas and Colin Rea.

Unfortunately, that does not appear to be on the table as it seems as though the team is steadfast on keeping their spending levels in place from 2024 and they are already at those levels despite losing Adames and Williams. Even if Flaherty is willing to take a discounted contract for 2025 (which is not a sure thing to be fair), Milwaukee's frugality is likely to keep them out of the bidding despite the obvious roster fit.

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