Brewers: Ranking the Crew's Biggest Positions of Need at the 2023 MLB Trade Deadline

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With just eight days left in the month of July, this year's MLB trade deadline is rapidly approaching. And if this weekend's series against the Braves was any indication, the Milwaukee Brewers should highly consider making some moves.

The Brewers remain a half game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the NL Central lead with a 55-45 record. But although they played a competitive series against Atlanta over the last three days, they got outslugged at home on their way to dropping two of three games in the series.

Milwaukee has done a good job so far at fending off challengers to the NL Central lead, even if they've briefly lost it for a few days. But, if they want to ensure they're on top of the mountain by season's end, and if they want to be able to contend with the big boys like Atlanta, there are some positions they should prioritize more than others when the trade deadline rolls around next week.

Here is a ranking of the Brewers' biggest positions of need at this year's trade deadline.

1. Designated Hitter

It goes without saying that the Brewers need to focus most of their trade deadline on improving an offense that sits in the bottom third of the league. That needs to start with the DH position, which we've already lamented doesn't stand for "designated hitter" when it comes to Milwaukee, but "doesn't hit."

Brewers designated hitters have by far accounted for the worst offensive production on the team and are arguably the worst in the entire league. Per FanGraphs, Brewers DH's have compiled a -1.7 fWAR, 56 wRC+, and a .539 OPS, all the worst marks at that position in MLB and it's not particularly close.

The Brewers have afforded offseason acquisition Jesse Winker every opportunity to grab hold of that position with mostly little success. DH should be a source of easy offense, though, so it's either time to trade for one of the many available offensive players and plug them in, or possibly even bring in a catcher and give William Contreras, one of the most consistent offensive players on the team, some additional time at the position.

2. First Base

Earlier this season it didn't seem like we'd find first base very high on this list. Rowdy Tellez was performing at an All-Star level and the offense was clicking. Now, not only did Tellez hit a major sustained slump, he is on the IL until at least mid August while some previously planned backup options are either also injured (Darin Ruf) or no longer with the team (Luke Voit, Jon Singleton).

Brewers first basemen have a 75 wRC+, which is the second worst at that position in MLB. Owen Miller has been primarily filling in since Tellez went out, but he has cooled down since a hot start and is slashing just .194/.232/.274 in July.

Even with Tellez set to return, the Brewers could use some help at first base for the rest of the year. C.J. Cron of the Rockies and Carlos Santana of the Pirates are two of the better options out there, though the latter could cost an intra-division tax of sorts.

3. Third Base

Like at first, the Brewers got decent production at third base early on in 2023 as Brian Anderson was one of the more consistent offensive performers in the first month of the season. But like Tellez, he also both saw that production decrease and is currently on the injured list.

Meanwhile, the player who was supposed to share the most time with him, Luis Urias, is currently in Triple-A after an extremely slow start to 2023 that was exacerbated by injury (though he has started looking better as of late). Rookie Andruw Monasterio has held up decently, but doesn't exactly put up the type of numbers you'd like from a position like third base.

Justin Turner of the Red Sox (if they do indeed end up selling) hasn't played a ton of third base this season but would be a clear upgrade. Jeimer Candelario of the Nationals would be another great option, though he is one of the better trade targets available and will have plenty of suitors.

4. Outfield

At this time last week, acquiring an outfielder might've been first or second on the Brewers' trade deadline priority list, particularly due to the horrible production they were getting in right field. Then, No. 2 prospect Sal Frelick got called up on Saturday and the conversation changed.

Frelick has only been up for two games but has already had a positive impact on the team, especially in his debut where he almost singlehandedly led the team to a win over the Braves. We're not saying that this means he's all of a sudden about to be the top offensive player for the team, but he appears ready enough to make right field much less of a liability.

That said, Milwaukee's backup outfield options have largely been underwhelming this season. The Brewers have traditionally liked having multiple solid options to rotate throughout their outfield, so grabbing someone who wouldn't mind being part of a rotation is something to consider, but only if they can go a long way toward addressing the first three positions of need.

5. Middle Relief

One of the big priorities for this season was to add some pieces to the bullpen in an effort to make the unit more consistent than it was in 2022. At the back of the bullpen, that has definitely been the case. Elvis Peguero, Joel Payamps, and Devin Williams have evolved to form a fearsome three-headed monster while Hoby Milner and Bryse Wilson have also performed very well this season.

Outside of that, especially at middle rethere have still been questions. Javy Guerra, Matt Bush, Gus Varland, and Tyson Miller are no longer with the team while several others have been frequent travelers of the Milwaukee-to-Nashville bullpen shuttle.

The Brewers do have some internal reinforcements to utilize here, though. Highly anticipated prospect Abner Uribe was recently recalled and has looked impressive while Justin Wilson, who was acquired in the offseason with the knowledge that he wouldn't be back from injury until the summer, could join the team any day. It never hurts to add extra relievers, but it's much less pressing of a need than other positions (which is good, because their relief acquisitions at the deadline haven't gone great the last couple of years).

The trade market has only barely sizzled so far but is sure to heat up. When it does, the Brewers need to target more than one of these positions if they want to make a serious run to finish this season.

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