Brewers Rumors: Former Brewers Trade Partner Could Help Bolster 2024 Rotation

When it comes to Milwaukee Brewers fans, the thought of trading with the Miami Marlins should be
music to their ears. And according to a recent report by Ken Rosenthal, it could happen again this
offseason.

The two teams made a huge trade back in 2018, bringing future MVP Christian Yelich to Milwaukee. After some front office shake-ups in Miami, it appears they are looking to trade some pieces once again. This time being a spot of need, for the Brewers; starting pitchers.

The Brewers still need to complete and bolster their starting rotation for the 2024 season. Brandon
Woodruff is no longer with the team. Corbin Burnes could be dealt during the offseason. There is a chance the starting rotation is Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser, Colin Rea, Aaron Ashby and Janson Junk.

With the names the Marlins are possibly looking to move, the Brewers could be in a great spot to land some solid arms for next season.

The Brewers should target Marlins pitchers Edward Cabrera or Trevor Rogers in trade talks.

The two names from Rosenthal’s report were right-hander Edward Cabrera and left-hander Trevor
Rogers. Although it appears the team isn’t in a rush to trade their pitchers, they are drawing plenty of interest. Miami recently traded away Pablo Lopez and will be without Sandy Alcantara next season.

The team still has Jesus Luzardo, Braxton Garrett and Eury Perez, but Rogers and Cabrera add decent depth. A trade, however, could help bring in some young talent for the team. The Marlins were ranked 24th overall for their farm system as of midseason 2023 and only had one top 100 prospect. Their top three prospects are pitchers right now, so they could move some young talent up sooner if a trade was made.

Edward Cabrera, 25, has 43 MLB games under his belt. His career record is 13-14 with a 4.01 ERA over almost 200 innings. The Dominican Republic native has been a little injury prone, but still young enough to grab and develop if healthy. He was placed on the 15-day injured list in August and October of 2022 and June and July of 2023. He did make 20 starts last season, and ended with a 7-7 record and a 4.24 ERA. Those stats don’t jump off the page, but knowing the Brewers pitching lab, he seems like an ideal candidate for the Crew. His strikeout rate is solid, but there is some concern with his walk rate. Cabrera would still be pre-arbitration in 2024 and still have four years of team control after that.

Trevor Rogers is a 26-year-old lefty that made his MLB debut for the Marlins in 2020. In 2021, he was named the NL Rookie of the Month in April and May. His first full season ended with a 7-8 record, 2.64 ERA and finished second in NL Rookie of the year voting.

Since then, it hasn’t been as great. His career numbers now sit at a record of 13-23 with a 4.12 ERA over 59 games. A lot of that is due to the injury bug. In 2022, he ended his season early with a left lat strain in September and with a 4-11 record and 5.47 ERA. Last season, he only had four total starts. He was pulled from a game in April with a left biceps strain. Trevor started a rehab assignment in late May, but was then put on the 60-day injured list in June and was just activated on November 6th.

His injury risk a bit concerning, but again, another potentially high-reward arm with the Brewers pitching lab and a team that could use some depth. 2024 would be Rogers’ first year of arbitration, so there would be three years of control for the Brewers.

What Would a Marlins Arm Cost Milwaukee?

That all depends on what Miami would want and need in a trade. For the Brewers, trading will be the
easiest avenue to fill a roster this offseason. The free agent starting pitching market is off to a very high start when it comes to salary. Luis Severino got a one-year, $13M deal from the Mets. Sonny Gray got $75M over three years from the St. Louis Cardinals. The Detroit Tigers just paid $12M a year for Kenta Maeda. It would be a lot easier for the Brewers to trade for some arm depth.

What would the Brewers have to give up? Probably one of their group of young outfielders. Miami does have Jesus Sanchez and Jazz Chisholm in the outfield, but could use an upgrade over former Brewer Avisail Garcia and could use the depth. Chisholm is an infielder by trade that played outfield last year out of necessity.

After the news of Milwaukee signing top prospect Jackson Chourio to a possible 8-10 year extension before reaching the majors, most of their outfield would already be filled. Having too many outfielders is a great problem to have, but they can’t keep Yelich, Chourio, Tyrone Taylor, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell and Joey Wiemer all on the active roster.

Someone will probably get moved of that group. Would the Marlins accept a package of Joey Wiemer and another prospect for one of the pitchers? They might. Miami is also very thin at catcher. On their active roster, they only have Nick Fortes listed, and their first catching prospect is Joe Mack at number 20. Would the take a young arm or another catching prospect like Matthew Wood? He is listed as the number 22 prospect for Milwaukee and would add some depth for the Marlins. Moving some of Milwaukee's outfield surplus to address pitching needs allows both teams to deal from positions of strength to improve positions of weakness. Since both arms aren’t guaranteed to be healthy, a few lower prospects might get it done too.

The Brewers will need pitching. Some hitters as well. Good thing there is have plenty of time and ammunition to get it before Opening Day 2024.