The way this offseason had gone so far has most certainly not been to the benefit of the Milwaukee Brewers. Not only did they lose Willy Adames to the Giants and trade Devin Williams away, but free agent prices have been objectively insane thus far. One need only look at Frankie Montas' deal with the Mets as proof.
For the Brewers that have lost a good bit thus far and would probably like to make some moves on a budget, this is a problem. Milwaukee was never going to be a player for the top free agent names on the market either way, but that the middle tier guys are getting paid real dollars threatened to price the Brewers out altogether.
Fortunately, there is at least one sign that the free agent market could be softening a bit after the Tigers managed to ink Gleyber Torres to a surprisingly reasonable one year deal.
Gleyber Torres' deal with the Tigers gives hope free agent market could be turning to the Brewers' favor
To be fair, Torres wasn't a blue chip free agent or anything, but signing him to a one year, $15 million deal is still a bit surprising. He made $14.4 million in 2024 and predictions before the offseason projected Torres to get a three or four year deal. While he has his warts as a player given how inconsistent he is on both sides of the ball, but that Torres had to take a one year deal is a bit promising for Milwaukee.
Now that most of the top names are off the market and those that remain seem hellbent for holding out for offers that aren't coming, free agents are going to start wanting to get signed and guarantee they are in good situations for themselves. With the Brewers still looking like one of the best teams in a weak NL Central, Milwaukee could be able to pick up some quality players without paying the premiums that were present earlier in the offseason.
However, Torres is just one man and if the Brewers are looking to add a starter, there hasn't been much indication that that market has cooled down just yet. Relievers haven't really been signing much this offseason, so that could be an opportunity there and grabbing a budget bat is more likely now, but Milwaukee may be better served to wait out the rotation market until pitchers start getting more nervous and their asking prices drop if adding an arm is on their shopping list.