How Jacob Misiorowski's continued 2026 dominance should shape Brewers' trade deadline plans

With just two months remaining in the regular season, Jacob Misiorowski is continuing to impress every time he takes the mound. The 24-year-old, who currently owns an MLB-best 1.58 ERA, while leading the league with 185 strikeouts, has undoubtedly taken the biggest "quantum leap," to steal a term from manager Pat Murphy, of any Milwaukee Brewers player this season.

While Misiorowski's immense potential was never in doubt, few expected him to reach this level of sustained dominance so quickly. His performance this year currently has him the favorite to win NL CY Young, which, if he maintains that position through the end of the season, would make him the fourth player in franchise history to capture the award.

With having a game-changing ace like Misiorowski firing on all cylinders, the question shifts to if this should alter the Brewers' approach to this year's trade deadline?

Jacob Misiorowski's 2026 Cy Young caliber season should push more chips on the table for the Brewers at this year's trade deadline

Too often in sports, franchises are criticized for wasting a superstar's prime by failing to surround them with enough talent to contend for a championship. Misiorowski isn't even in his physical prime yet, but if this isn't his prime from a results perspective, it's scary to think what might be.

There are no guarantees in the game of baseball, and while it sure feels like Misiorowski's dominance will continue for several years to come, a game-changing performance like the one he's putting together in 2026 can't be taken for granted, especially when it comes from a starting pitcher, who are notoriously more injury-prone than any other position in today's game. Therefore, just because Misiorowski has five more years of team control beyond this season, doesn't mean the Brewers should wait to surround him with the necessary pieces to capitalize on his success now.

Take Christian Yelich as an example. On his way to winning National League MVP in 2018, he was surrounded by one of the deepest lineups in baseball, featuring Lorenzo Cain, Travis Shaw, Jesús Aguilar, and an aging, but still clutch, Ryan Braun. However, the Brewers still acquired Mike Moustakas and Jonathan Schoop at the trade deadline, and ultimately finished one game shy of their first World Series appearance since 1982.

A year later, with Moustakas returning and Yasmani Grandal signing a one-year prove-it deal, Yelich was once again putting together an MVP-caliber campaign before a late-season knee injury abruptly ended it. This point isn't to bring up what could have been, but illustrates that Milwaukee's front office must capitalize on Misiorowski's dominance in the present day by swinging for bigger, more impactful additions to support their quest for a championship. It sure looks like the Brewers' window of contention will remain open for several years to come, but that shouldn't prevent them from making a move or two that gives them the best chance to win it all in 2026.

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