Brewers: What Moves Are Next For Brewers After Wong Trade

It has been a busy couple of weeks for Matt Arnold since taking over as the General Manager for the Milwaukee Brewers.

The ball club has made a number of moves, including trading away former outfielder Hunter Renfroe for a few pitching prospects. It didn't end there. Just 11 days after the Brewers trade away Hunter Renfroe, they deal their former starting second baseman Kolten Wong to the Seattle Mariners.

It was rather surprising when Milwaukee exercised Wong's $10 club option, considering most anticipated the Brewers to let him walk and replace him with their number 4 prospect in Brice Turang. Wong was floated around in trade discussions since the club picked up his option, and now a deal finally get's done. So, what could be next for the Crew?

What moves could we expect to see next following the Brewers' trade for Jesse Winker?

Potential Move #1: Brewers trade away Keston Hiura

Keston Hiura most likely lost his role on the roster following the Brewers' acquisition of Jesse Winker. There are a couple of reasons why Winker will most likely slide into Milwaukee's primary designated hitter role: they have an excess of talented outfielders ready to contribute in 2023, and Winker's poor defense could keep him out of the outfield.

The Brewers have a plethora of young outfielders waiting for their shot to contribute at the big league level. Those prospects include Esteury Ruiz, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, and Joey Wiemer, all of whom I expect to see to some degree in 2023. Coupling the prospects with established players such as Christian Yelich and Tyrone Taylor, there will be a lot of mouths to feed in the outfield. After all, this was one of the reasons many believed the Brewers ended up trading away Hunter Renfroe.

Additionally, Jesse Winker grades out as a very poor defender. He has below average arm strength, and in 2022 he ranked in the 1st percentile in both Outs Above Average and Outfielder Jump per Baseball Savant. It would be wise for the Brewers to avoid having both Yelich and Winker manning the corner outfield spots, which gives Winker a good chance at locking down the designated hitter role.

This means that Keston Hirua may be the odd man out. The Brewers have their starters at each of the infield positions, and if the Brewers can get the 2021 version of Jesse Winker, he will be too valuable not to play. With Keston Hiura seeing half of his at-bats as the DH in 2022, it feels as if the Keston Hiura era in Milwaukee is close to coming to an end. While it's unfortunate that Hiura was never able to replicate his rookie season with the Brewers, it may be best for the team to move on from Hiura and get assets for him while they still can.

Potential Move #3: Brewers flip Jesse Winker and package him in another trade to bolster pitching depth

There is a chance the Brewers have more moves up their sleeve, and that could include a deal with Winker himself. There is clearly a market for Winker, who is expected to have a bounce back year in 2023. I would not rule it out for the Brewers to leverage him in a trade to get more MLB ready pitching talent.

While the Brewers got 3 pitching prospects for Hunter Renfroe, they will likely still need to add some more pitching depth that can contribute immediately in 2023. With the Brewers losing Trevor Gott to free agency and waiving Brent Suter, the bullpen lost some key contributors from 2022.

Trevor Gott pitched in 45.2 innings in 2022 for the Brewers. He finished the season with a 4.14 ERA and a WHIP of 1.03. Gott had a very solid early stretch of the year for the Brewers last season, but ultimately had his season derailed by a handful of injuries. He now finds himself reunited with Kolten Wong on the Seattle Mariners roster.

Brent Suter was truly a fan favorite and was the longest tenured Brewer on the active roster, so it was fairly surprising to see him placed on waivers. He had a very valuable role in Milwaukee's bullpen throughout the years, and it will be a role that will need to be filled as Suter pitched just over 66 innings for Milwaukee last year.

Pitching still remains a need for this roster. Many believed this was an area the team would address in free agency, and there are still some arms available on the market that could be good fits. However, this acquisition of Winker gives the Brewers flexibility if they wish to acquire arms via trade. With Winker being owed over $8 in 2023 and set to be a free agent after the season, he likely is not in the long term plans for the Brewers and could be on the table as a trade chip.

We should get more clarity on how the 2023 Milwaukee Brewers roster will shake out in the coming months. There have already been a number of interesting moves in the Matt Arnold GM era, and I would expect there to be even more to follow. Clearing the way on the roster for prospects to get playing time, and adding pitching depth are two actions I could see happening as we creep closer to the 2023 season.