MLB insider floats high upside trade target for Brewers to address third base problem

Any minute now, the Milwaukee Brewers are officially going to enter their "life without Willy Adames" phase. The superstar shortstop is on the open market and a prime candidate to be swiped off the board by the likes of the Astros, Blue Jays or Dodgers; all of whom can easily outbid the Brewers for his services.

This means Joey Ortiz is going to shift over to shortstop in 2025, which leaves a wide open hole at third base for the Crew. There are a multitude of utility-type options on hand as internal pieces, but the Brewers would be smart to explore external candidates, too.

As relayed by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, one interesting piece the Brewers could look to bring in via trade is Brett Baty, a former top prospect of the New York Mets. Baty is an obvious change-of-scenery candidate after posting below-average numbers in the big leagues in each of the past three seasons.

However, there's a reason he was widely regarded as such a can't-miss prospect for so long. The Brewers feel like the perfect team to try and catch lightning in a bottle and snag some of that upside out from under the Mets.

Brett Baty is an interesting trade target for the Brewers to fill third base need

Baty, 25, has 15 home runs in 169 big-league games, alongside a .215 average, .607 OPS and 70 OPS+. You're forgiven if none of those numbers jump off the page at you.

Down in the minor leagues, he's been a certified slugger for years now. In just 62 Triple-A games this past season, Baty hit 16 home runs with 45 RBI and an .854 OPS all while sporting a walk rate north of 12 percent.

Historically, Baty has been a high-power bat with a strong sense of patience at the plate that results in him getting on base a ton. Even though he hasn't shown much of that promise at the game's highest level, he certainly should not be stamped with that dreaded "Quad-A" label just yet. He stands out as a player who would benefit from switching teams, so the Brewers should be all over it.

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