Trading Veterans for young talent has always been a tenet of the Brewers' offseason playbook. They could afford the 58 million, but did they WANT to spend that money? Probably not. But trading him before his free agency, and risking losing him for only draft compensation, down the road. 

Brandon Sproat is young but still in development and packs a punch with his pitching arsenal. He will make a great 3rd starter in the rotation, and hopefully, he can bolster his stats and gain more big-league experience on the mound.