Ranking 5 trade candidates Brewers could shop around this offseason

RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez

Another young prospect the Brewers were expecting more out of in 2024, Carlos F. Rodriguez has seen his prospect shine dim a little bit. When the Brewers starting rotation was in desperate need of help early on in the season, Rodriguez was struggling in Triple-A, delaying his promotion and allowing a relative unknown in Tobias Myers to earn some opportunities.

Eventually, Rodriguez did earn some big league starts, just three, and they didn't go particularly well, pitching to a 7.30 ERA. His results in Triple-A weren't great either, finishing with a 4.51 ERA, though he pitched much better in the 2nd half. Rodriguez was passed up by Myers, who earned a regular rotation spot the rest of the season and Rodriguez was not seen in the majors again.

A bad three starts doesn't mean Rodriguez isn't ever going to be able to cut it at the major league level, but it does put into question where he fits in on this 2025 Brewers roster. While you can never have enough pitching depth, the Brewers will have a large number of starting rotation candidates entering next spring and Rodriguez is highly likely to be on the outside looking in.

Brandon Woodruff will be returning from injury, DL Hall and Aaron Ashby could very likely be heading back to rotation roles, Jacob Misiorowski could go back to starting, and Logan Henderson is likely to get a 40 man spot.

The Brewers could trade a young, controllable starter in Rodriguez and get a pretty decent return back. Because there's always a need for pitching, I wouldn't put the chances of a Rodriguez trade very high, but it wouldn't be all that surprising either.

Probability of being traded: 15%

RHP Aaron Civale

The Brewers traded for Aaron Civale in early July to help fill their desperate rotation need. They gave up a quality prospect in Gregory Barrios to get him for a year and a half. That extra year of team control gave Civale value that the Brewers wanted.

Civale had an ERA north of 5.00 when the trade was made. With the Brewers, Civale shaved his ERA to 3.53 in those 14 starts. That's a much more tolerable number.

Civale is projected to earn $8MM in his final year of arbitration in 2025. That last year before free agency is around the time the Brewers have looked to trade some veterans. Corbin Burnes was traded with one year to go. Granted, Civale has nowhere near the accolades nor potential earning power of Burnes, but the final year of team control is something to consider. Adrian Houser is another example who had one year left before free agency and was traded during that offseason.

This isn't to say the Brewers should trade Civale. The starting rotation could certainly use him and the innings he can provide, especially since he improved down the stretch. There's no guarantees with what Brandon Woodruff will be able to bring next year, or if DL Hall and Aaron Ashby can earn back rotation spots. Keeping a bona fide starter like Civale would make sense.

This is simply to say the final year of team control plus the arbitration price tag could combine for the Brewers to be open to moving Civale for the right return.

Probability of being traded: 20%

1B Jake Bauers

It appears likely that Rhys Hoskins will opt-in to his 2025 contract and return to the Brewers next year. Should Hoskins return, it seems highly unlikely that the Brewers would retain both Jake Bauers and Tyler Black as well, which is why both are on this list of trade candidates.

Bauers somewhat surprisingly made it through the entire season on the big league roster as the backup first baseman, despite hitting just .199 on the year. He added some power off the bench, including a clutch home run in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card, but there simply wasn't enough overall production.

Some may ask what Bauers could actually net you in a trade. Well, he performed in 2024 about the same as he has for his whole career and the Brewers traded two low-level prospects in Jace Avina and Brian Sanchez for him. Both prospects had a lot of upside but also were high risk and were very far away from the majors. That's probably similar to what the Brewers could expect to net in return for a Bauers trade this winter.

If the Brewers don't trade Bauers, they could simply non-tender him instead. Bauers is projected to earn $2.3MM in arbitration next year and he has two years of team control left. He's a likely non-tender candidate just like he was in New York a year ago when the Brewers decided to trade for him.

The Brewers can shop Bauers around the trade market before the tender deadline and if a team wants to make a deal for Bauers, it would not be surprising to see that deal get done. It's probably a 50/50 chance Bauers gets traded this offseason and if he doesn't, a non-tender is the fallback option.

Probability of being traded: 50%

RHP Devin Williams

There's a very high chance that Brewers fans have seen Devin Williams pitch in a Brewers uniform for the last time, and it was when he blew the save in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card. It would be an unfortunate end to a very dominant run in Milwaukee for Williams.

Williams is entering his final season of team control. Right before heading to an arbitration hearing last year, the Brewers and Williams agreed to a $7MM salary for 2024 with a club option for $10.5MM for 2025. The Brewers can pick up that option, and likely will, and avoid having to negotiate an arbitration salary again. If they decline the option, they'll have to go one more round of arbitration. That is, unless they trade Williams first.

The Brewers don't like paying big salaries for relief pitchers, which is why the Josh Hader trade ended up happening. They're on the same path with Williams except this time they learned their lesson to make that move in the offseason. Trading Williams at mid-season, when they're likely back in a pennant race and he's a simple rental won't net Milwaukee much of a return, meaning this winter is their last best chance to cash in on Williams' value before he hits free agency.

Milwaukee has plenty of options to take over the closer's role next year. Williams can net the Brewers an immediate everyday player to plug whatever hole they need, plus perhaps some prospects. There's little chance Williams signs a long-term deal with the Brewers. Their philosophy on relievers hasn't exactly changed much over the last several years. If they wouldn't pay Hader, they won't pay Williams.

For what it's worth, the Game 3 implosion Williams had doesn't have any bearing on the Brewers trading him. A Williams trade this winter appeared highly likely even before that game. The playoffs changed nothing about this, except the last memory fans will have of Williams as a Brewer.

One year of a high priced reliever that won't re-sign and would fetch a huge return is a surefire trade candidate. Milwaukee has done it before and they'll likely do it again.

Probability of being traded: 90%