During offseason, Milwaukee Brewers tried to maintain level of success. But organization also eyes payroll closely, too.
Anyone who follows the Milwaukee Brewers closely knows that the organization is well known for eyeballing its payroll situation all the time.
Whether it involves making a trade, like the one they did with Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets, or even keeping a pitcher in-house like Brandon Woodruff, the bottom line is always going to be around financials.
Any MLB team looking at the Los Angeles Dodgers and how they spend money probably wishes it had a baseball equivalent of a never-ending supply of cash. Still, the Brewers are one franchise that has been excellent in the past couple of seasons.
Of course, last season, Milwaukee won a franchise-record 97 regular-season games and reached the National League Championship Series.
Can the Brew Crew repeat those numbers and even potentially get to the World Series? According to Chad Jennings of The Athletic, who reviewed how each National League team did in the offseason, the Brewers only have a 1.6% chance of reaching the Fall Classic.
Trading Peralta was viewed as the Brewers' biggest loss, while adding starting pitcher Brandon Sproat as part of the Mets' deal for Peralta got high marks.
"For the past decade, the Brewers have been one of the most consistently successful franchises in baseball," Jenning wrote. "But as a small market team with limited payroll, they’re constantly balancing short-term opportunity with long-term sustainability.
"To that end, yet again, they’ve traded one of their best players, sending No. 1 starter Freddy Peralta to the Mets (along with swingman Tobias Myers) for a package of prospects, including starting pitcher Brandon Sproat and versatile Jett Williams, each of whom could play a Major League role this season," Jennings continued.
"They also traded third baseman Caleb Durbin to the (Boston) Red Sox for a package that included lefty starter Kyle Harrison," Jennings wrote.
"The Brewers re-signed Brandon Woodruff, who’s now their ace; they traded left fielder Isaac Collins for lefty reliever Angel Zerpa, and they signed a couple of backup catchers (Reese McGuire and Gary Sánchez) and a new bat-first infielder (Luis Rengifo) as they try to stay on course following an MLB-best, 97-win season," Jennings added.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy has a chance at Spring Training to see how all of these new additions to his ballclub are working out.
If Woodruff can fully embrace his ace position in Milwaukee's pitching rotation, then the Brewers will be in a pretty good spot.
What Brewers fans can look for as Cactus League play starts in a couple of days is how the roster is taking shape. Don't expect to see Brewers players in regular-season form right now.
They, like all the other MLB teams at Spring Training in Arizona and Florida right now, are still getting their legs under them, if you will. But let's see if Milwaukee can take some positives away from Cactus League play.
Join the Community
Don't miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news!
It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!