Brewers Rumors: 5 Trade Targets For The Crew At The 2022 Winter Meetings

The 2022 Winter Meetings are almost here. Members of the Milwaukee Brewers front office will soon be in San Diego at the annual meetings with lots of work to do on their roster.

So far, the Brewers have been pretty active on the trade front, most recently acquiring three young pitchers from the Angels for Hunter Renfroe. Because of the Brewers' perennial budget constraints, and their seeming desire this offseason to cut payroll, a headline-making free agent signing is unlikely to happen for the Crew. But, a headline-making trade, or a trade of any kind really, is definitely on the table.

Who could the Brewers be targeting in trades at the 2022 Winter Meetings? Here are 5 potential trade targets that could very well be on the move this week.

Brewers Winter Meetings Trade Target #1: Blue Jays C Alejandro Kirk/Danny Jansen

This is the biggest splash I could realistically see the Brewers making. Milwaukee has a big need at catcher and Alejandro Kirk or Danny Jansen would fill that job perfectly.

The Blue Jays have three catchers and two spots on their roster. Their top prospect, Gabriel Moreno, is also a catcher and is ready for the big leagues. They're looking to move one of these three guys and the Brewers should be in the market for any one of them. The Brewers generally prefer their catchers to have a little more experience and with a prospect of their own in Mario Feliciano ready, they'd be more interested in a veteran like Kirk or Jansen.

It's highly likely that one of these Blue Jays catchers will be on the move during the Winter Meetings, and Matt Arnold would be wise to make sure that he is the one that gets them. Kirk was an All-Star in 2022 and Jansen is a Wisconsin native that slugged 15 homers last season. Either would present a tremendous upgrade over Victor Caratini.

If the Blue Jays are prioritizing a maximum return in a trade at the Winter Meetings, Alejandro Kirk will be the one they look to move. He has four years of control left and isn't yet eligible for arbitration. He would net Toronto a nice haul and the Brewers do have the prospect capital to make that trade if they so choose. If Toronto is simply prioritizing a fair deal that works for both sides, the Brewers would likely choose to pursue Danny Jansen. He already is into arbitration and has only two years of control left, but he would cost less to acquire.

The Brewers have a need at catcher and the Blue Jays are looking to trade one of these two catchers. They are clear targets for Milwaukee at the Winter Meetings.

Brewers Winter Meetings Trade Target #2: Tigers LHP Gregory Soto

The Detroit Tigers have a solid group of relievers in the back end of their bullpen, yet are nowhere near contending. Reports are they are willing to trade from their group of relief arms. Joe Jimenez, Alex Lange, and Gregory Soto all shared late inning duties for the Tigers, with Gregory Soto earning the bulk of the saves (30).

The Brewers already have an excellent closer in Devin Williams, but with Josh Hader now in San Diego, they lack a clear backup option at closer should anything happen to Williams. Matt Bush is currently slated to be the setup man, but building that late inning bridge to Williams and adding high quality arms should be a priority for GM Matt Arnold.

What the Brewers also lack is left-handed relief options. Currently, the only left-handed reliever on the 40 man roster is Hoby Milner. The departures of Hader and more recently Brent Suter have put the Brewers in a situation where they lack left-handed options and they need to address that.

That makes Gregory Soto a very attractive trade candidate for the Brewers. While Jimenez and Lange are also quality relievers in their own right that would make great additions to the Milwaukee bullpen, they are right-handed and would leave the Brewers still needing another left-hander.

Soto, 27, posted a 3.28 ERA in 60.1 IP in 2022 and is entering his first season of arbitration eligibility. He's projected to earn $3.1MM in 2023 and has three seasons of team control remaining, becoming a free agent after the 2025 season.

With the free agent relief market quite active and perhaps the prices a little inflated, that could push the Brewers to look at the trade route to improve their bullpen once again.

Brewers Winter Meetings Trade Target #3: Rays 3B Yandy Diaz

We thought the Rays might look to trade Yandy Diaz a few weeks ago at the 40 man roster deadline because they had so many prospects to protect and an already full roster. They made some moves, but nothing major like a move of Diaz.

But there still is a roster crunch and Diaz is one of the highest paid Rays players. Don't let that scare you, Brewers, he's only projected to earn $5.4MM in arbitration this year. For the production that he puts up, that's an incredible value as well.

The 31 year old Diaz slashed .296/.401/.423 this season with nine homers, a 14% BB rate, and just a 10.8% K rate. He is everything this Brewers offense needs. He makes great contact, hits for a very high average, draws walks, doesn't strike out, and gets on base more than 40% of the time.

Everything the Brewers have struggled at offensively, Yandy Diaz excels at. If the Brewers aren't on the phone every day with Tampa Bay trying to get a deal done, they're doing something wrong.

Diaz has two seasons of team control left and would immediately solidify the third base position for Milwaukee. The Rays are always in deal-making mode and he'll be available at the Winter Meetings for the right price. They have plenty of depth to make up for moving him, just like they did with Willy Adames. The Brewers would be well served to get another infielder in a trade from Tampa.

Brewers Winter Meetings Trade Target #4: Athletics C Sean Murphy

The trade market for catchers has a couple of options for the Brewers (and other teams) to choose from. We talked about Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen earlier, but another intriguing trade candidate is Sean Murphy of the Oakland A's.

Murphy has three years of team control remaining and is projected to earn just $3.5MM in 2023. He's coming off a season in which he hit .250/.332/.426 with 18 homers, a 122 wRC+, and a 5.1 fWAR. Yeah, that'll play for Milwaukee. That'll play for anybody.

As much as fans complain about the Brewers payroll restrictions, at least we aren't Oakland. Their payroll is projected to be just $35MM for 2023 right now and Murphy is one of their highest paid guys. Yet they're looking to trade him this winter.

Oakland will want prospects, as usual. The Brewers have a number of players who could be of interest to the A's. It's going to cost quite a bit in prospect capital, but just like Alejandro Kirk, the Brewers have the ability to pay that price if they want to. Whether or not they want to pay the prospect price is a different story. Still, the market is strong for Murphy and this team would massively benefit from having him on their roster.

Murphy has improved every season in his career and he just turned 28 years old, he's right in his prime and ready to help a contender right now. His defensive excellence will also be of high value to the Brewers, who place a premium on that with their catchers. With his market heating up and teams ready to make deals, look for Murphy to potentially be on the move at the Winter Meetings.