The Brewers have informed interested teams that they are unwilling to trade co-aces Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff or short stop Willy Adames, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Milwaukee general manager Matt Arnold declined to comment on specific individuals, but generally confirmed that the team plans to “build its group of core players around them” “to do the best thing here in 2023.” we can” (via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com).
Burnes, Woodruff and Adames would certainly qualify as core players in the Milwaukee roster. All three are entering their penultimate season of arbitration, leading to loose speculation that a Brewers team with a mid-tier payroll might be trying to move them at the peak of their trade worth. However, ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported early in the offseason that Milwaukee planned to build around its core group. Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal similarly suggested last night that the Brew Crew are unlikely to treat any of that trio ahead of the start of the season.
The early stages of the Milwaukee offseason didn’t exactly follow that script. The Brewers parted ways with helpers Brent Suter and Brad Boxberger in the first few weeks. They exercised a $10 million option Kolten Wong and offered an arbitration deal with an expected salary of $11.2 million Hunter Renfroe, but both players immediately found themselves caught up in trade rumours. They are now divisional rivals in the AL West. Milwaukee sent Renfroe to the Angels two weeks ago for a trio of pre-arbitration pitchers. This afternoon they traded Wong to the Mariners in a roughly cash neutral trade that netted the corner outfielder/designated hitter jess winker (who will earn $8.25 million next season) and Arbitrator-eligible infielder Abraham Toro.
Subtracting Renfroe and Wong while adding Winker, Toro, and Jugs Elvis Peguero and Janson Junk (acquired from Anaheim) likely represents an early demotion for Milwaukee’s roster. But parting with prolific but not elite regulars like Renfroe and Wong is certainly not as impactful as parting with Burnes, Woodruff or Adames would be . That’s especially true in the case of the Wong swap, which wasn’t intended to cut the payroll that much, but to trade from a strong roster strength area to add a potential offensive upgrade. Milwaukee has highly respected prospects Brice Turang as an option to board at second base while Toro joins Luis Urias and Mike Broseau as an internal contender for second or third place.
The Brewers took a similar course at the close last summer. That Josh Hader The trade was heavily maligned both then and in the aftermath, when Milwaukee pulled off one of the sport’s best helpers in the middle of a playoff race. Hader’s high arbitration salary and the window of control shrinking to a season and a half certainly played a part in the front office’s calculus, but the deal wasn’t designed to wave the white flag for the 2022 season. The Brewers brought back a highly respected late-inning pitcher of their own Taylor Rogers and additional perspectives Esteuri Ruiz and Robert Gasser to the organization. Rogers underperformed during his few months with the Brew Crew, and former president of baseball operations David Stearns admitted in retrospect that he hadn’t quite anticipated how badly Hader’s loss would be taken at the clubhouse. But even if this trade did not work as intended, it is clear that it was not intended to ignite any kind of reconstruction.
Adames is being projected an arbitration salary of $9.2 million by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. Burnes and Woodruff are each forecast at or just above $11 million. Those are remarkable numbers, but still significant bargains compared to these players’ productions. It would make them an object of strong interest in the trade market, but also key contributors to a Brewers team looking to improve on last year’s 86-win season. None of these salaries are so exorbitant that Milwaukee would feel urgent financial pressure to take them off the books.
The Brewers opened the 2022 season with just under $132 million in wages, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Roster Resource currently forecasts its 2023 commitments – including arbitration estimates – around $116 million. While owner Mark Attanasio isn’t interested in a significant raise, Arnold and his staff should have enough room to keep each of Adames, Woodruff and Burnes while making a few targeted upgrades elsewhere on the roster. That’s before considering the possibility of trades draining a few more side players. Rowdy Tellez, Adrian Hauser and Keston Hiura are all speculative trade contenders this offseason, and it’s not entirely out of the question for the Brewers field to offer winkers.
Adding another racquet in the outfield/DH mix corner might be in order. Winker is probably best suited for pure bat work when he’s on the list, which would leave right field Tyrone Taylor how things are currently. Milwaukee has a few prospects that could flow into midfield Garret Mitchell He led the group after his debut in late 2022 but could be looking for an experienced addition to add some depth. The Brewers also saw catchers Omar Narvaez Hit Free Agency, which means they could explore ways to upgrade Victor Caratini. First base, currently occupied by Tellez, is another area where the club could look to breathe life into an offense that was only marginally above the league average last season.