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.

2. Find an actual solution to the First Base problem

Nobody actually believes Jake Bauers is a legitimate solution at first base for the Brewers. They were going to non-tender Rowdy Tellez and the only other player who could play first base on the roster was going to be Owen Miller. Prior to that being the case, Bauers was brought in via trade.

He had a power breakout last year, but also struck out nearly 36% of the time and Bauers has never been a productive regular at the plate. The Brewers need an actual solution at first base.

The ideal scenario would be signing Rhys Hoskins to a one year contract coming off his ACL tear. He'd be affordable because he's looking for a pillow contract to re-establish his value and prior to his injury, Hoskins was a stud at the plate. There's no such thing as a bad one year contract. Also a trade for Pete Alonso would be a nice pipe dream solution.

Whether it's one of the top first basemen on the market or not, Matt Arnold needs to come home with an answer at first base. Going into the season with Bauers and Miller as the top first basemen on the depth chart would be a sign that the direction Arnold chose to go from the aforementioned need was taking a step back.

Some other possibilities for the Brewers on the free agent market include Jeimer Candelario, Justin Turner, and Carlos Santana.

3. Add to the starting pitching depth

The pitching market is bonkers at the moment and there are sure to be several starters that sign during these Winter Meetings. While Milwaukee isn't likely to be shopping in the Blake Snell and Eduardo Rodriguez aisle of the pitching market, there are going to be a number of lower tier pitchers that sign as well.

Starting pitching depth was already going to be a major need this offseason and that was before Brandon Woodruff underwent shoulder surgery and then was non-tendered. Now with reports that Corbin Burnes could end up traded as well, that's two more arms they need to replace and it's their two best arms. Adding one or two established arms who can eat up innings should be a priority.

The rotation depth chart currently includes Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser, Colin Rea, Aaron Ashby, and Janson Junk. Those are the only starters on the 40 man roster and Ashby may not be ready for the rotation just yet after missing all of 2023 with shoulder surgery.

A reunion with Wade Miley would make a lot of sense. The Brewers already re-signed Rea and they could do the same with Miley as he explores his options on the open market. Miley was an important veteran leader on the 2023 squad and he was also one of the Crew's best pitchers. He'd certainly be more affordable than a lot of the options out there and he'd be available on a short-term contract.

The free agent market has names like Frankie Montas, Sean Manaea, James Paxton, Noah Syndergaard, and Hyun-Jin Ryu that all could be in Milwaukee's price range.

The trade market may be more fruitful, as it includes names such as Alek Manoah, Shane Bieber, Edward Cabrera, Trevor Rogers, Tyler Glasnow, and Ryan Yarbrough.