What are the Milwaukee Brewers doing at the corners? 3rd Base edition

Third base free agent options

One name the Brewers have been linked to in the past is Justin Turner. Turner played for the Boston Red Sox last season and is not currently in their plans for 2024. Plenty of teams will likely be vying for his services this offseason. Could the Brewers swoop in under team's noses and snag Justin Turner? Maybe.

Another option the Brewers have is to bring in one of a few familiar faces. Jean Segura and Eduardo Escobar are free agents, but the two that I would suggest the Brewers focus on are Mike Moustakas and Josh Donaldson.

Moustakas was having a decent season in Colorado before being traded to the trainwreck that was the second half Los Angeles Angels. In Colorado before the trade, Moustakas was slashing .270/.360/.435 equaling a .795 OPS. The downside of a Moose reunion is defense. Moustakas still has a respectable fielding percentage but his range is completely gone.

Essentially the opposite of Mike Moustakas is Donaldson. As a Brewer, he left something to be desired at the plate but was an above average defensive third baseman. Either way, both of these two represent stop-gap options at best given their age.

There are, however, a couple flyers the Brewers could take on some guys from the Triple-A bargain bin.

The first is Robbie Tenerowicz. In the Seattle Mariners farm system at the Double-A and Triple-A levels, he slashed .282/.391/.451 totaling an .842 OPS. He batted 49-for-156 (.314) with runners in scoring position, one of the Brewers biggest areas that need improvement.

What sold me on Tenerowicz was that in 47 games at Triple-A Tacoma, he batted .333/.426/.578 (1.004 OPS) against left-handed pitching. In 54 plate appearances against lefties, he struck out just 10 times (18.5 percent).

The second is Joe Dunand who elected free agency from the Atlanta Braves organization after spending the entire 2023 season in Triple-A. In 2023, Dunand slashed .268/.362/.481, adding up to an .844 OPS. He hit 17 home runs in 95 games but did have a slightly high 26.6% strikeout percentage.

Similarly to Tenerowicz, Dunand won me over with his numbers against left-handed pitching. He had 117 at bats against lefties and slashed .325/.444/.564 (1.008 OPS) with seven home runs and five doubles. Dunand was also respectable with runners in scoring position, slashing .258/.375/.423, equaling a .798 OPS.

With both Tenerowicz and Dunand, the Brewers could sign them to minor league contracts with invites to spring training and see if either of them can do enough to earn a spot on the major league roster. Considering what's out there both on and off the current roster, it's as good a shot to find a potential third baseman of the future as any.