Milwaukee Brewers: The 5 Biggest Stories of 2022

August 1st, 2022: The Brewers trade All-Star closer Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline

Though there were some bumps in the road, the first two thirds or so of the 2022 season had gone well for the Brewers. Well enough that they were in first place in the NL Central for most of it, anyway. The team still had its flaws though, so fans were hoping for some impact additions at the trade deadline.

Those same fans had also been dealing with trade rumors surrounding the team's star closer, Josh Hader, for the past couple years. That in itself wasn't surprising. Hader was getting closer and closer to free agency and a small market team like Milwaukee all but certainly wouldn't put up the type of money he'd command to lock him up long-term.

But even though Hader was just over a year away from free agency at the time of the 2022 trade deadline, a first place team wouldn't trade away their star closer and one of the best relief pitchers in the entire league, right? Right?

Wrong.

Brewers fans were dealt a blow when it was announced that Hader was being shipped off to the Padres just a day before the 2022 MLB trade deadline. In return, Milwaukee was receiving relief pitchers Taylor Rogers and Dinelson Lamet as well as two prospects, outfielder Esteury Ruiz and Robert Gasser.

Rogers was to be a rental that would soften the blow of losing Hader a bit as he was a decent closer in his own right that year before running into a similar rough patch in the middle of the season. Lamet was to add needed bullpen depth. Ruiz could contribute a bit, but he and Gasser were also brought in to give the team more "bites at the apple" in form of future season contention.

The trade, as we now know, was a disaster. Rogers disappointed during his tenure. Lamet was for some reason designated for assignment before he'd even get a chance to contribute. Ruiz was barely used. And no other moves of consequence were made at the deadline to make up for all of that mess.

And then there were the behind the scenes issues....

September 5th, 2022: Former outfielder Lorenzo Cain roasts Milwaukee Brewers management

Center fielder Lorenzo Cain had been one of the fan favorites since being reunited with the Brewers prior to the 2018 season. Helping bring the team back to the playoffs for the first time in seven years that season helped, but the giant smile, fun references to his three kids, and hustle on the field endeared himself to the fanbase as well.

But you could tell things were coming to an end in 2022. Cain struggled hard all season. He was hitting below the Mendoza Line, had an OPS below .500, and hadn't barreled a single ball all season. In mid-June, however, he found himself approaching the big milestone of 10 years of MLB service time and the Brewers wanted to get him there.

Cain got there, and shortly thereafter, the team designated him for assignment. The move was reported to be mutual and gave the outfielder some time to decide whether to catch on with another team or spend some time away from the game.

That would not be the last fans would hear from the veteran, though. In early September, Cain met with the team for some fantasy football related activities and took some time to speak with Brewers beat writer for MLB.com Adam McCalvy. In doing so, he offered up a rather scathing analysis of the club's upper management.

Among other things, he spoke about how the team's chemistry had seemed to have taken a hit, how as a veteran and leader that he didn't feel as though he got respect from certain coaches and members of management, and how things just generally seemed to be off with the team.

In retrospect, it's hard to argue with his comments on the chemistry. Things never looked the same with the team from the trade deadline to the end of the season, one that saw them miss the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

It has also now been admitted by multiple members of the club, from president of baseball operations David Stearns down to manager Craig Counsell, that no one considered heavily enough just how much the Hader trade in particular would affect the players and the clubhouse.

Call it what you will: sour grapes by a released player or expert analysis by a veteran who was close enough to see it. Either way, it was the type of talk fans hadn't really seen from a player like Cain in his four years with the team.

October 27th, 2022: David Stearns steps down as Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations

Even though the most recent season ended without a playoff appearance, the last half decade has represented an unprecedented run of success for the franchise. So much of that was because of the man in charge of baseball operations: David Stearns.

He brought in a new franchise cornerstone in Christian Yelich, who went on to immediately win an NL MVP and almost won a second. He helped build a system that started churning out pitching talent at a high level. And the disappointing drafts of the past have turned into ones that have produced some intriguing prospects for the future.

Most importantly, the Brewers have won. It took some rebuilding after taking over the team in 2015, but the team ended up making four straight postseason appearances from 2018 to 2021, by far the longest playoff stretch in franchise history.

Over that time, Stearns saw his title change from General Manager to President of Baseball Operations. Running an MLB front office at a high level must take its toll, though, and now he has neither of those titles as he stepped down from his most recent position at the end of October.

Stearns remains with the club in an advisory role. And though some fans thought the move was just going to preclude a move to the front office of either the New York Mets or Houston Astros, he has stated that he has no intent to do either of those things, at least for now.

With Stearns no longer at the helm, it's now general manager Matt Arnold's show to run. The new head of baseball operations has already made some moves to improve the team for 2023, including one big one....

December 12th, 2022: The Brewers receive catcher of the future William Contreras plus two pitchers in a three-team mega trade

Of the positions the Brewers needed to upgrade for the 2023 season, catcher was a big one. Three-year starter Omar Narvaez was a free agent, leaving the team with the light-hitting (in 2022, anyway) Victor Caratini and some other options with limited MLB experience.

Outside of a few options that were either pushing our outside of Milwaukee's price range, however, the free agent catching market was light. And finding a worthy replacement via trade could mean sending out a good amount of players or prospects. Matt Arnold had his work cut out for him.

And then word of a blockbuster started leaking. It began with news of Oakland A's catcher Sean Murphy heading to the Atlanta Braves. Then, Brewers fans found out that their team was getting in on the action and making it a three-team trade....and that catcher William Contreras was coming to Milwaukee.

This was a huge get for the Crew. Contreras was coming off an All-Star season, had better offensive numbers than nearly ever Brewers player in 2022, and had a whopping five years of control remaining. The team not only had their catcher for 2023, but for a long time after that.

More details of the trade would end up coming out and we would learn that two pitchers were also coming to the Brewers: journeyman reliever Joel Payamps and a pitching prospect in Justin Yeager. Finally, a Milwaukee contribution to the trade was also revealed: outfield prospect Esteury Ruiz.

Ruiz was a top 10 prospect, but the Brewers had several other highly regarded top outfield prospects, so the loss didn't sting. Fans would then wait to see who else Milwaukee was giving up in the trade. Because that couldn't be all they would have to give up in this mega-deal, could it?

As it turns out, it very much could. The Brewers were able to get their catcher of the future, a bullpen piece for 2023, and a lottery ticket pitching prospect for their fifth best outfield prospect. Arnold had pulled off the first heist of his tenure.

And with that, we end 2022 on a high note. Who knows what stories 2023 might bring? At the very least, we can all hope that one of them will be the Brewers starting another run of playoff appearances, hopefully one that will last even longer than the last one.