For the last five or so years, the Milwaukee Brewers have been lucky enough to be in positions where there are obvious moves at the MLB Trade Deadline. While they haven’t always made that move (mainly the Josh Hader trade to San Diego), it’s been clear what the Brewers have needed to do to either make the team a contender or to blow it up and wait for the next season.
This MLB Trade Deadline is an odd one for the Brewers. They have been ravaged by injuries, and have seen star players like Corbin Burnes and Willy Adames struggle, yet are still in the thick of NL Central division race and the Wild Card hunt. Although the Brewers have a solid shot at making the playoffs, it would be best to blow it up. Mark Attanasio clearly doesn’t want to fork over the money necessary to truly contend, so it’s clear the Brewers will not be a true contender until he changes his tune, or he is no longer the owner.
With many tough decisions coming up this offseason, Milwaukee can mitigate that by making these moves by the MLB Trade Deadline.
Milwaukee Brewers Players to Deal at the MLB Trade Deadline
Willy Adames
It is well understood that Willy Adames is a great player to have in the clubhouse. He is an exciting player and is beloved by virtually all Brewers fans. With that out of the way, let’s remove the emotions and be real with ourselves here: Willy Adames is not good enough to start in the MLB right now. Adames, at his peak, is a heck of a player, but he is currently not cutting it.
Since hitting .285 during his first season with the Brewers in 2021, Adames hit just .238 last year and is hitting just .213 this year, even with a recent power surge. Adames hits a lot of home runs, but his on-base percentage has now been under .300 for the past season and a half. This is more than just a slump.
With all that being said, Adames has plenty of value at the MLB Trade Deadline since he is still just 27 years old and is a great team guy. The Milwaukee Brewers should easily be able to flip him to a contender who would likely be more than willing to part with some solid prospects or players in hopes they can get Adames back to his 2021 self.
Corbin Burnes
I love Corbin Burnes, and in a perfect world, Burnes would never play a single game outside of a Milwaukee Brewers jersey. With that being said, the writing is already on the wall for Burnes to leave after his contract expires. Remember back in February, the Brewers went to arbitration over just $750,000 for Burnes. On top of that, they tried to blame Burnes being hurt for why the Brewers just made the playoffs last year. With powerhouse agent Scott Boras representing Burnes, Attanasio would have to pay handsomely for Burnes, and we know he won’t do that.
Burnes is having a bad season, by his standards, but he is still one of the best pitchers in the league and is only 28 years old. Add in that Burnes has a year left under contract as well, and he’d be the most prized asset on the block at the MLB Trade Deadline. While it would be hard to see him go, the Brewers would see a king’s ransom in return. Better to lose him for something than nothing in two years’ time.
Julio Teheran
Julio Teheran has been absolutely incredible for the Brewers since signing as a free agent. Even though he’s been in baseball since 2011, Teheran is just 32 years old. While he does sport a 2-3 record, he has a 3.64 ERA through eight starts. At the current moment, not many big arms appear to be available on the trade market. With that absence of star pitching talent available, Teheran could get the Brewers a bigger return than normal.
Teheran is slated to be an unrestricted free agent next year after signing a one-year deal with the Brewers this year. His salary is just $1.5 million this year, so he’d bring virtually no cap hit to a contender which is another huge bonus. The name of the game at the MLB Trade Deadline is to buy low and sell high, and you could argue Teheran could be sold higher right now than he ever has been before.
Milwaukee Brewers Should Sell at the MLB Trade Deadline
While it hurts to lose a season, especially one in which the team has shown spurts of brilliance, it would be wise for the Brewers to sell at the MLB Trade Deadline. Even if the Brewers were to buy at the deadline, the Cincinnati Reds have been a wrecking ball since June and show no signs of slowing down.
At the end of the day, it is better for the Brewers long term to sell now and miss the playoffs, than to get embarrassed by a juggernaut like the Los Angeles Dodgers in the wild card and have gained no future assets. The Brewers can start their miniature rebuild off right by shipping away Willy Adames, Corbin Burnes, and Julio Teheran.
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