Brewers: MLBTR Predicts 3 from 2022-23 Top 50 Free Agents List to the Crew

What's not to love about free agent season? Fans of MLB teams like the Milwaukee Brewers get to try and wonder which players might end up being signed by their favorite team. It can be almost as fun as watching the games themselves.

And with free agent season comes free agent predictions. Plenty of MLB sites around the internet try to predict where some of the top free agents will land. One of those pieces comes from the writers over at MLB Trade Rumors.

The site has once again compiled a list of their top 50 MLB free agents for the 2023 season. And like last season, a few of their writers have predicted three free agents who they think the Brewers will bring in to help start up another playoff streak next season.

What type of players are the Crew predicted to sign? Some position players to give the offense some more consistency? Some needed depth for the starting rotation or the bullpen? Let's find out.

Here are three free agents that MLB Trade Rumors predicts the Brewers will sign for the 2023 season.

1. C Christian Vazquez

The Brewers face an offseason of potential turnover at the catcher position. For starters, Omar Narvaez, the team's primary catcher for the last three seasons became a free agent when the offseason began and there are no indications yet that the team plans a reunion with him.

Milwaukee still has their other main catcher from last season, Victor Caratini, but there is no guarantee that he will be tendered a contract for 2023 based on a subpar offensive performance last season.

And the other three catchers on the 40-man roster are prospect Mario Feliciano, Alex Jackson, and the recently re-acquired Payton Henry. Those three have a combined 89 games of major league experience between them.

Thus, Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors predicts that the Brewers will sign the newly crowned World Series champion Christian Vazquez of the Houston Astros, who is one of the top two catchers out on the free agent market this offseason.

Prior to his midseason trade to Houston, Vazquez had spent his entire MLB career, which began in 2012, with the Boston Red Sox. He has a career .261/.310/.386 slash line and has amassed 55 homers and 276 RBIs in 733 games. He has also caught 34% of base stealers for his career and has compiled a 7.0 total bWAR.

Vazquez is a good defender who provides enough on offense to be the type of catcher that Milwaukee tends to like. At a projected $27MM over three years, it could be a worthwhile price to pay for a more proven catcher than the team has had in a while.

Here are three free agents that MLB Trade Rumors predicts the Brewers will sign for the 2023 season.

3. OF/DH Michael Brantley

When it comes to the outfield, the Brewers could go in a number of different directions. Former MVP Christian Yelich could stay there or move to designated hitter. Hunter Renfroe has been involved in trade rumors. They have a bunch of young prospects ready to step up. And Tyrone Taylor is no lock to stay on the roster for 2023.

The same could be said at designated hitter. Andrew McCutchen is no longer an option as he has hit free agency. Keston Hiura could be, though his status is somewhat enigmatic for next season. Again, Yelich could be an option but he'll likely mostly play his natural outfield position, as would Rowdy Tellez at first base.

One free agent could help address both positions and allow the Brewers to reunite with an old player in the process.

That free agent, according to Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors, is Michael Brantley. Brewers fans probably remember him as a piece of the infamous trade that brought in CC Sabathia back in the 2008 playoff season.

Brantley has had quite the career after 10 seasons played with the Cleveland Guardians and the last four with the Houston Astros. He is a five-time All-Star, has won a Silver Slugger, and finished third in American League MVP voting in 2014.

The numbers aren't too shabby either. Brantley has a career .288/.370/.416 slash line with 127 home runs, 713 RBIs, 346 doubles, 125 stolen bases, and 751 runs scored. And at 35 years old, he hasn't particularly slowed down with age.

Unfortunately, Brantley was limited to 64 games due to a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery, so Milwaukee would need to hope that the injury doesn't start to slow down some of his production.

And there is also the price tag as MLB Trade Rumors projects him at a one-year deal for $15MM. That's an even more expensive deal than the McCutchen one that didn't work out that well last season, though Brantley comes with a better recent track record.

Unless that injury plus age causes a serious immediate decline, Brantley would provide a lot more consistency for Milwaukee's offense. If the team is serious about improving the part of the team this offseason, perhaps its an investment worth making.

It could be a few months before we know if the Brewers sign these or any other free agents for the 2023 season. Hopefully that's what happens because even one of these guys could go a long way toward getting the team back on track next year.