Armed with a surplus of elite prospects, the Milwaukee Brewers seek strategic additions to bolster a rotation plagued by injury while avoiding a high-stakes rental.
The Milwaukee Brewers have one of, if not the, best farm systems in all of baseball.
Time and time again, this team manages to churn out pitching phenoms and top-rated prospects who sign long-term contracts before ever playing in MLB.
Milwaukee locked up Jackson Chourio for eight years, and they later signed Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara for a combined amount that comes out to nearly Chourio's exact $82 million price tag.
Being in a smaller market certainly has its share of problems, but the Brewers have found ways to navigate that. A potential upcoming lockout could change everything, but for now, Milwaukee is working with what they have.
Brewers named trade deadline buyers
MLB.com recently named 10 teams with "willingness" and "prospects" to move at the upcoming trade deadline.
To no surprise, the Brewers were included in that list. They're rich in young, talented prospects, and that could help them bring in a rental or another team-friendly contract that sets them up for years to come.
Jim Callis wrote, "I don't think they're gonna go out and get [Tigers ace Tarik] Skubal or anything like that, but it's a winning team. The Brewers have been consistent winners in baseball recently, they just haven't broke through to the World Series. So I think that's in the back of their minds to some extent."
Even with the Detroit Tigers being as bad as they are, a rental like Skubal is still going to cost a pretty penny. Should the Brewers be interested, they need to take a step back and ask themselves if Skubal is the one piece they need to help break through to the World Series. Ultimately, that answer seems to be no.
Milwaukee has a ton of prospects but must be smart
Guys like Jesus Made and Andrew Fischer are obviously off the table, but Callis believes the Brewers have a "surplus" of position players to trade that wouldn't "really wreak havoc on their farm system."
Starting pitching injuries have plagued the Brewers, but they also don't have a power bat who can change the game on one given swing. Jake Bauers has been tremendous, and it comes as no surprise that Brice Turang and William Contreras have been big contributors as well.
That said, the Brewers seem to be focusing on making a few smaller trades rather than going for it all on a guy like Skubal and hoping he ends their World Series drought.
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