3 Brewers Free Agents Who Will Leave, 2 Who Could Return In 2024

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The Milwaukee Brewers have several free agents hitting the open market this offseason and not all of them are going to return in 2024.

Some players are hitting the market coming off solid seasons while others just had the worst season of their career, making it a difficult time for them to enter the market and difficult to see them returning to Milwaukee. The Brewers also have payroll matters to take into account. They won't have a ton of payroll space this offseason, which will impact their free agent pursuits.

Let's dive into who could stay, and who is going to be let go as free agency unfolds this offseason.

Brewers Free Agent Who Will Leave: 3B Josh Donaldson

Josh Donaldson had an interesting 2023 season, starting with the Yankees and ending up on the Brewers. More than half of his hits were home runs with 13 long balls in 25 total hits. He hit just .152 on the season between the two teams.

After coming over to Milwaukee, Donaldson was slightly better than he was in New York, hitting .169 with a .680 OPS and three homers over the final month. Seven of his 10 hits with the Brewers were for extra bases. Still, that's not going to be enough to warrant the Brewers bringing Donaldson back for another go around in 2024.

Donaldson is going to enter his age 38 season next year and his age is starting to catch up to him. He still can hit homers, but he can't make contact as consistently as he previously did.

Brewers GM Matt Arnold named Andruw Monasterio and Tyler Black as the in-house options for third base next season and Donaldson did not appear to be in Milwaukee's plans for 2024. The Crew will be going a different route as Donaldson looks to continue his career elsewhere.

Brewers Free Agent Who Could Return In 2024: C Victor Caratini

The Brewers tend to like experienced catchers. Victor Caratini is as solid as it gets, bringing quality defense and pitch calling as well as a pretty decent bat. Caratini was much improved in 2023, hitting .259 with a .711 OPS and seven homers in 62 games backing up William Contreras.

Milwaukee doesn't have another catcher on the 40 man roster beyond Contreras right now, which means getting a backup catcher will be a priority this winter. Bringing Caratini back would be the best case scenario for the Brewers.

Caratini already knows this pitching staff, which means they won't have to spend another full spring training with a new catcher learning a completely new staff if they sign him back. The Brewers have a top catching prospect in Jeferson Quero that spent all of this past season in Double-A. Quero is still a year away from the big leagues and won't be ready to backup Contreras to start 2024. He could maybe be ready for a promotion mid-way through the 2024 season.

A one year deal to bring back Caratini could be the perfect stopgap to get to Jeferson Quero. He'll allow the Brewers to take their time developing Quero and give comfort to a veteran pitching staff as the Brewers look to compete again in 2024.

Caratini was the personal catcher for co-ace Corbin Burnes this year, and that's not nothing. This is Burnes' final year under contract as well and another year with that tandem could mean good things for both those players and the Brewers.

Caratini may look to sign with a team where there's a better opportunity to be the starter, but if he can't find that, a return to Milwaukee makes a lot of sense.

Brewers Free Agent Who Will Leave: DH Jesse Winker

The Jesse Winker plan did not work out for the Brewers in 2023. They were hoping he'd be healthy this year and bounce back to his previous performance, but he was not healthy and did not bounce back. His numbers got even worse from last year. Winker hit just .199 with a .567 OPS and only one home run.

Maybe Winker just needs to be further removed from the surgeries he underwent in the 2022-23 offseason, but the Brewers should absolutely not bring him back in 2024 and give him another chance.

Winker's poor performance was a black hole in the lineup and on the roster. He wasn't one of the Brewers best 26 players and keeping him on the roster only led to more problems for Milwaukee.

After the year he had, Winker will be lucky to find a major league deal, and it'll likely only be for one year. He may have to look to a rebuilding team with available at-bats to give to help him get back on track.

For the Brewers, the DH spot is likely going to be covered by a combination of Christian Yelich, William Contreras, and the extra top outfield prospects as they sort out which of their multiple outfielders are the ones worth keeping for the future.

Brewers Free Agent Who Could Return In 2024: RHP Colin Rea

I could very easily see the Brewers looking to bring back Colin Rea in 2024. They signed him to a minor league deal before the season and he ended up pitching 124.2 IP for the Crew with a respectable 4.55 ERA.

Rea was never spectacular, his outings were never sexy, but he ate up a bunch of innings and gave the Brewers a good chance to win each of the games he pitched. He doesn't walk many guys and was a reliable arm. You always knew what you were going to get from Rea.

With Brandon Woodruff likely out for all of 2024, the Brewers will need to add to their starting rotation this offseason. They're also losing Eric Lauer, Julio Teheran, and potentially Wade Miley to free agency this offseason.

GM Matt Arnold clearly stated the Brewers needed more pitching depth this winter and they would be aggressively pursuing it and that was before we knew about Woodruff. Bringing back Rea isn't going to be the crown jewel of the Brewers pitching additions, but he's proven to be a quality, reliable pitcher that provides depth in a group that clearly needs it.

Rea could be looking at a one year deal perhaps with an option for a second year. There's even a chance some team will give Rea two guaranteed years after his performance in 2023. It's unlikely the Brewers go for a second guaranteed year, but there will be some competition for Rea.

Brewers Free Agent Who Will Leave: LHP Eric Lauer

The Brewers outrighted Eric Lauer off the 40 man roster and he's already elected free agency. Lauer was heading for his final year of arbitration but seemed likely for a non-tender after an awful 2023 season.

Lauer lost his rotation spot early, then got injured and the Brewers didn't really know what was wrong with him. He was taken off the field for a couple weeks to figure things out in Arizona. Then he remained in Triple-A for the rest of their season. The Brewers called him up at the end of the season to make a final start, and he had an awful game against the Cubs, finishing the season with a 6.56 ERA.

The Brewers do have a need for pitching depth, as previously explained, and Lauer is one of the few lefties that's been on this team. If Miley leaves, the only lefty starter on the 40 man will be Aaron Ashby, who just missed all of 2023 with injury. That does leave a hole to be filled, but the Brewers will likely fill it with someone besides Lauer.

It was clear as the season went on that Lauer had fallen out of favor with Milwaukee, given his extended time in the minors. The fact that the Brewers quickly outrighted him to clear a roster spot well before the non-tender deadline meant their decision to move on was hardly a difficult one. Lauer will seek an opportunity to earn a rotation spot somewhere in 2024, but it won't be Milwaukee.

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