4 Surefire Ways For The Brewers To Fix Their Horrendous First Base Situation
The Brewers have some work to do at first base
First base is the most obvious position the Brewers need to upgrade this offseason. That's been the case largely for the last decade or so, and it's the case once again.
This season, Rowdy Tellez became the first player to be the Opening Day starter in back to back seasons at first base for Milwaukee since Prince Fielder back in 2011. The position's constantly in turnover. Tellez struggled beginning in mid-May and then an injury wiped out most of his second half, leading to his non-tender in November.
Prior to non-tendering Tellez, the Brewers acquired 28 year old journeyman Jake Bauers, a career .663 OPS hitter. He and Owen Miller are the only first basemen currently on the roster. To say Milwaukee's first base situation right now is horrendous would be an understatement.
Reinforcements from the farm system like Brock Wilken, Wes Clarke, or Mike Boeve are at least a year away. The Brewers need to make an external addition to address first base.
Here are four different ways the Brewers could address first base and avert disaster at the position this offseason.
1. Sign Free Agent 1B Rhys Hoskins
The simplest solution is oftentimes the best one. Former Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins is coming off a torn ACL he suffered in spring training last season. He's been a very productive bat in his career, hitting 242/.353/.492 with a career 125 OPS+.
Hoskins can reliably be counted on for around 30 homers a season, a .245-.250 batting average, and an .800-.900 OPS. That's the kind of bat the Brewers need in the heart of their lineup. The top home run hitter for the Crew in 2023 was Willy Adames with 24. They didn't hit for enough power and the struggles at first base were a big reason why. Plugging Hoskins in at first base would solve a major need.
Typically, Hoskins would be heading for a long-term contract this offseason that would take him out of Milwaukee's price range. But because he missed all of 2023 with an injury, it's likely he'd be available on a one year contract to re-establish his value on the open market. Signing Hoskins would give the Brewers a player motivated to put up the best season possible and an opportunity to give him a Qualifying Offer next winter and recoup a draft pick.
The Brewers have been willing to make these kinds of one year deals in the past, signing Yasmani Grandal to a one year deal with a higher value so he could re-establish his value because he wasn't getting the long-term offers he wanted. Hoskins is unlikely to find long term offers to his liking this offseason and a one year deal in a hitter friendly park in Milwaukee is a great spot for him to bounce back.
Even on a one year deal, Hoskins won't be cheap. He'd be worth it, though.
2. Trade for Mets 1B Pete Alonso
This is a rare situation that could simply end up being too good to pass up for the Brewers if Pete Alonso is actually available.
Back during the Trade Deadline, the Brewers got in "field goal range" in trade talks with the Mets for All Star first baseman Pete Alonso. Despite the large budget of the Mets, they haven't been able to come to terms on a contract extension with Alonso. He's entering his final year of arbitration before free agency and is set to make around $22MM next season.
Now, I'm not under any delusion that the Brewers would be able to pay Alonso what he wants for a long-term deal if the Mets aren't even able to do it. A trade for Alonso would strictly be a one and done situation for Milwaukee. Get him for one year, make the World Series push with a stud first baseman, and then recoup a draft pick when he walks next offseason.
Former Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns is now in charge of the Mets. He's intimately familiar with the Brewers farm system and that could help facilitate a trade between the two sides.
Stearns has said he'd rather extend Alonso than trade him, but if they aren't able to come to terms, they may end up parting ways, just like what Stearns did with the Brewers back when he was running the team. Until Alonso gets extended, there's a possibility he could get traded. The Brewers can hang around his market and have some conversations and strike if negotiations ever break off.
Alonso has a career .870 OPS and has hit 40+ home runs in each of the past two seasons. In his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2019, he slugged 53. Alonso brings effortless power to the heart of a lineup.
It would be costly in a trade. Talks last summer would've required one of the Crew's top five prospects, but now with only one year of contractual control available, perhaps the price may have dropped a little bit.
3. Sign Free Agent Justin Turner
The Brewers have been trying to get Justin Turner for years. They've pursued him multiple times in the past and never were able to land him. With Turner hitting free agency once again, perhaps now they'll finally get together on a deal.
Justin Turner can still hit. He proved that this year with the Red Sox, hitting .276 with an .800 OPS and 23 homers. He's heading into his age-39 season and has shown no signs of slowing down yet.
Turner is no longer an everyday third baseman like he used to be, but he can handle first base duties and may DH some as well. He successfully made the move to the other side of the infield last year and the Brewers could certainly use him there if they don't want him to just DH.
Milwaukee also does need help at DH, so the Brewers theoretically could add someone else, perhaps even from this list, along with Turner and the both of them could help take care of first base duties and the DH problem.
At this point in his career, Turner is only going to be getting short-term contracts. A one year deal perhaps with a club option for a second should be doable for both sides.
4. Trade for Rays 1B Harold Ramirez
Harold Ramirez seems to be out of a position in Tampa Bay despite hitting .313 with an .813 OPS last season. Ramirez can play either the corner outfield or first base. Randy Arozarena and Josh Lowe occupy the outfield spots and Yandy Diaz had a fantastic season at first base for Tampa this year. That leaves Ramirez with nowhere to get regular playing time.
Ramirez is entering his second season of arbitration, where he's projected to make $4.4MM, a palatable sum for a small market team like the Brewers. He'll have two years of team control as well, another attractive characteristic for Milwaukee.
Brewers GM Matt Arnold used to work for the Rays before he came to Milwaukee and the two teams have linked up on several trades over the years. The familiarity between the two teams could help facilitate a deal.
Ramirez doesn't have a ton of home run power like Pete Alonso or Rhys Hoskins. He hit just 12 homers last year and that's his career high. But, when you hit .300 or better in consecutive seasons, a career K rate of just 17.8%, and crush lefties with a .966 OPS against them, you're someone that brings a ton of value to a lineup and the Brewers need as many valuable and talented hitters like that as possible.
Ramirez should be available this offseason and the price tag won't be exorbitant. He'd be an excellent addition to the lineup that could solve the first base problem not only for 2024, but for 2025 as well.
Whichever path the Brewers choose to take, whether it's one of these four or some other path entirely, the Brewers need to find some way to upgrade their first base position because right now that depth chart is horrendous.