Brewers should look to sell hard
The Milwaukee Brewers have not won a World Series in the franchise’s history. They are not going to break through in 2016.
Milwaukee is currently in fourth place of the National League Central going into Friday’s action, sitting at 37-47 and a healthy 15 games behind the Chicago Cubs for first place. Frankly, the season has perhaps gone better than expected for the Brew Crew, who entered the season with a couple known bats and absolutely nothing in the way of pitching.
In the end, though, the result is still going to be the same. Milwaukee is going to miss the postseason once more and fans are already starting to avoid the ballpark in droves. Who can blame them? The Brewers seem to be pereptually spinning their wheels, only stopping during that brief window of contention during the beginning of the decade when they traded for Zach Greinke and CC Sabathia. Since then? Nothing.
With only three weeks until the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline, the Brewers have to make some decisions. While Milwaukee could hold firm and go into the offseason with marginal talent in some spots and none in others, it would be the poor choice. If we are being real, the Brewers are never going to be a huge destination landing spot for free agents, mostly because of locale and market size.
The problem is trading chips. Milwaukee only has two players that would be worth moving in outfielder Ryan Braun and catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Infielder Jonathan Villar could net a huge haul, but he’s under cheap control for years and moving him would be a blunder.
Lucroy would seem the most obvious option. He’s got a team option on his contract for next year at just over $5.2 million before becoming a free agent following the 2017 season. At that rate, considering his position and numbers, he is a great get. Lucroy could bring back a top prospect and perhaps something else. This year, the backstop is hitting .302 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI.
Braun is a trickier situation. He’s still playing great baseball at age 32, but he has another four years on his deal for $76 million before a mutual option kicks in for 2021 at $15 million. The Brewers could decide to hold onto Braun, who is hitting a team-high .322 with 13 homers and 44 RBI, or put him on the block and hope to land major prospects back. If Milwaukee wants to be prudent and build toward the future, the right move is shopping Braun while he still has legitimate value.
Milwaukee started the process on Thursday by moving third baseman Aaron Hill to the Boston Red Sox for a pair of prospects. Now the Brewers have to keep going and continue to get young and cheap, hoping to build a window of contention.
