Scathing Brewers offseason grade doesn't give Milwaukee's front office enough credit

Bob Nightengale of USA Today has cultivated something of a... peculiar reputation within the MLB insider community. He works for a respected publication and has frequently been the primary and initial source on many league-wide transactions.

The problem is that he also frequently gets things wrong (remember the Zac Gallen-Cubs fiasco earlier this offseason?) and doesn't have the best track record when it comes to forecasting a team's future.

That preamble is meant to prepare you for the fact that Nightengale is at it again, this time giving the Milwaukee Brewers a "D" grade for their offseason work. And, even if the grade isn't outright outrageous, his defense of it has to be seen (or read) to be believed.

Bob Nightengale gives Brewers fans plenty of told-you-so ammunition for 2026 season

Nightengale's article (linked below) attempts to assign grades to every MLB team based on how they've performed this offseason. There are some that are defensible and accurate (the Dodgers begrudgingly deserve an "A"), but also some that are impossible to understand (how did the Yankees get a "C" when the Brewers got a "D"?).

MLB offseason grades: Dodgers get top marks, plenty of Fs to go around

Keeping the focus strictly to baseball, Nightengale cites the Brewers' losses of Freddy Peralta (reasonable) and José Quintana and Rhys Hoskins (what?) as the primary reason for their near-failing grade. He also conveniently leaves out the additions of Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams while mentioning Ángel Zerpa as the team's key acquisition.

His most fervent defense of the grade comes via the following (incomplete) sentence: "The small-market Brewers, who spent a grand total of $1.25 million on free agents this winter (outfielder Akil Baddoo), but every time you think they’ve got no shot, they find a way to playi in October."

He ends the Crew's section by claiming the Cubs are now the better team in the NL Central (he gave them an A-).

That last point is one we've already refuted plenty of times this offseason — and one the Brewers have refuted many times in previous seasons — though it is fair to argue that Milwaukee did get worse this winter. Losing Peralta is a huge blow, and unless Sproat can immediately fill his shoes, the rotation likely will need a year or two to fully recuperate from the absence of a full-fledged ace.

Likewise, the fact that the front office has indeed only signed Baddoo to a major-league contract is indeed cause for concern. Like Nightengale, a lot of the predictive models and forecasting metrics project a steep decline for the 2026 Brewers after their 97-win campaign a year ago.

And yet, this team has won four division titles in five years. They led the league in wins last season. They were one of the final four in the postseason bracket, and Hoskins wasn't even a part of the postseason roster. The ceiling may have dropped slightly, but the floor is still incredibly high.

Certainly, the Brewers' front office has earned more respect at this point.