Here are the free agents the Brewers should avoid during this offseason

LHP Aroldis Chapman

The Brewers were two outs away from advancing to the NLDS when disaster struck and Devin Williams surrendered a three run home run to Pete Alonso, propelling the New York Mets forward and the Brewers to their eventual elimination in the NLCS.

That fateful Thursday night could potentially spell an end to Devin Williams in a Milwaukee jersey as not only does the fan base now have a sour taste in their mouth every time his name is mentioned, but Williams is also a free agent at the end of the 2025 season. The Brewers have often dealt pending free agents for prospects with team control before they get expensive and Devin Williams may be the next in line.

Should the Brewers decide to deal Devin Williams, that opens up the closer role for someone new. Trevor Megill filled in admirably and should absolutely get a shot at the everyday closer role, but then who takes Megill's spot? Very possibly a free agent.

Looking at some high leverage free agent pitchers, the first name that pops out is Aroldis Chapman. Chapman signed a one year, $10.5 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates (for whatever reason), and is now a free agent. The Brewers would do well to steer clear of Chapman for multiple reasons.

Firstly, Chapman will be 37 before the 2025 spring training slate gets started which is getting up there in age. Secondly, he looks to be in early stages of what could be a major decline. From 2019 to 2022 his ERA steadily increased from 2.45 all the way to 4.46, prompting the New York Yankees to refrain from bringing him back and leading to a split season with the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers before signing with the Pirates last season.

In 2023, Chapman did have a respectable 3.09 ERA. However, 2024 Chapman went back up to a 3.79 ERA this past season which makes 2023 looks more like an outlier among steadily decreasing production than it does like a bounce back season.

Lastly, Chapman's name is bigger than his game. Chapman has dominant stuff, there's no questioning that, but his WHIP numbers are very troubling. Brewers fans already feel like they have to sweat out every Devin Williams appearance because he allows the occasional baserunner. With Chapman, a baserunner is almost guaranteed to be on every appearance. Since 2019 when Devin Williams came into Major League Baseball, his WHIP is 1.023. In that same time span, Chapman's WHIP is 1.262. So if Devin Williams makes you sweat, Chapman would make you need another shirt.