Brewers: 4 Things That GM Matt Arnold Needs To Accomplish At The Winter Meetings

The MLB offseason calendar is highlighted by a flurry of activity that's going to be happening this week, at the annual Winter Meetings. This is where things happen. Rumors, trades, free agent signings, the Draft Lottery, the Rule 5 Draft, everything. The next few days will be highly active as front offices from around the league descend on Nashville.

But just how active will Brewers GM Matt Arnold be? He's been pretty silent on the free agent market so far, and he's made some minor trades early on, but there hasn't been much going on in the way of improving this roster from last season. There's a lot of work left to do and while there's plenty of time, the Winter Meetings are the perfect time and place to make things happen.

Arnold won't be able to accomplish everything he wants to do this offseason all at the Winter Meetings. It's only four days and there's still more than two months to go until pitchers and catchers report. Still, he can check these four things off his to-do list over the course of the next four days.

#1 - Make it clear which direction the franchise will head in 2024

The Brewers are in a bit of an odd position this offseason as no one seems to know which direction the team is heading. They're coming off a season in which they won the NL Central handily, and the division figures to be winnable again next year. They have a young core of hitters that's made their way to the big leagues and more reinforcements are coming in 2024. They also have just lost Brandon Woodruff to an injury and non-tender and are reportedly engaging in trade talks surrounding Corbin Burnes.

Are they stepping back from trying to compete for a World Series in 2024 or are they going to bring in experienced players and try to build a World Series winning roster? After their early offseason moves, it's still hard to tell.

They've traded away Mark Canha, but they were likely to decline his club option for $11.5MM anyway, they've sent out some low-level prospects to acquire some big league roster additions, but Oliver Dunn and Jake Bauers are hardly needle-moving acquisitions.

Whether it's stepping back with a trade of Corbin Burnes, for example, or whether it's pushing chips into the middle and trying your best to win in 2024, Matt Arnold should have made it clear what the Brewers' intentions are this offseason by the end of these Winter Meetings.