In the frigid months of winter, Major League Baseball remains a hot topic with the movement of players via trades and free agency. Several teams have attracted and secured players of great interest or made the trades necessary to acquire them. But, up to this point, the Milwaukee Brewers are not among any of them. 

Sure, the Brewers are not known for having a propensity for big free agent spending or headline-grabbing trades. Milwaukee is a small market, and the Brewers represent that by being quiet, methodical and effective in getting the most out of who is on the roster.  

It is how Milwaukee has won the National League Central Division three years in a row and achieved the best regular season record in baseball last season, but what if it is time to make something happen? 

Recently, Chad Jennings of The Athletic constructed a tier list based on what MLB’s teams are doing this offseason. Titled “MLB offseason tiers: Which teams are actually trying this winter, and which are sitting it out?”, Jennings is examining all 30 clubs, and the Brewers are not in a great position. 

Jennings placed Milwaukee in the eighth tier titled “Doing very close to nothing?” The Brewers headline this category as Jennings kept in short in his reasoning for their placement. 

“It cost a ton of money (a buyout and a qualifying offer) to bring back veteran starter Brandon Woodruff, and they did trade some outfield depth (Collins) for relief help (Angel Zerpa), but that’s about it for the team that had the best record in the NL last season,” he wrote. “Still unclear whether Milwaukee could be enticed to trade ace Freddy Peralta.” 

Woodruff’s one-year salary of $22.025 million could prove to be an albatross quickly for a pitcher who has rarely been healthy in recent years. When on the mound, Woodruff remains highly effective, but are his small samples of great play worth the second-highest salary on the team in 2026? 

The Brewers have Peralta on the roster after choosing to pick up his $8 million club option following a brilliant 2025 campaign.

But there is a chance he could be gone before Opening Day given that the organization will likely balk at the idea of letting him walk for nothing when he inevitably gets a higher offer in free agency than what Milwaukee can afford. 

Angel Zerpa’s fifth year in the majors bore solid results as the 26-year-old appeared in a career-high 69 games for the Kansas City Royals, but it cost a promising player in Collins. With Spring Training on the horizon, the Brewers may want to move beyond the margins and avoid stagnation. 

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