Brewers

Fans of baseball see the massive amount of money spent, though fans of the Milwaukee Brewers look on from afar. While it is still a couple of months out, with Opening Day on March 30th this year, there could be a reason to be concerned.

In the 54 seasons (1969-2022) the Milwaukee Brewers/Seattle Pilots have played, there have been a lot of players. Some have stood out more than others, though. So who were the best players to play each position? We will start with catcher – those who donned the “tools of ignorance” and work our way around the diamond.

Manager Craig Counsell's contract expires at the end of the 2023 season. About five weeks before Milwaukee Brewers' pitchers and catchers report to Arizona, it's curious that things have been quiet regarding a possible extension. Is there something holding one side or the other back?

The Brewers front office staff have been more creative with Major League Baseball in a spending flux. Relatively quietly, they swung a trade with the Seattle Mariners to bring in slugger Jesse Winker, who may be primed for a big season in Milwaukee.

With the mega-deals to Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander setting what looks like an impossible market for the Brewers to extend Corbin Burnes, trading Burnes seems the best option.

On Saturday evening, the Milwaukee Brewers announced that they have traded right-handed reliever Justin Topa to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for minor-league righty Joseph Hernandez. 

The Milwaukee Brewers made Matt Arnold their top decision-maker after David Stearns stepped down into an advisory role. Arnold is set to have his contract with the club expire at the end of the season. How could that effect the Brewers' 2023 season and beyond?

Fernando Vina was not a big man - 5’9” and 170 pounds - and thus lacked power. He had a good glove and thus profiled as a light-hitting utility infielder - except for one thing - his mediocre arm limited him to second base. For a guy like Vina - that is often a professional death sentence. Luckily for Vina, he got a chance to play every day in the majors with Milwaukee - and in time, he developed into a quality contact hitter - which enabled him to carve out a successful 12-year career.

Signing Wade Miley to a one-year contract isn't going to turn many heads for the Milwaukee Brewers. However, the club's acquisition of another starting pitcher opens up several strategic options for the team to explore. Do the Brewers already have something in mind, or will they sit back and let the answer come to them?

As we say goodbye to the holiday season and flip the calendar to 2023, Spring Training will be here before we know it. The Milwaukee Brewers appear to have a postseason-level club, but several important questions remain before the first exhibition pitch is thrown in Arizona on February 25. The answers to these four essential questions could determine the club's path today and in the future.

While the Brewers face some very harsh realities regarding market size and payroll, they are not impossible to overcome. This team has already demonstrated that it has been able to adapt and overcome these challenges over the past five years. Can they continue to do so?

You gotta love it when perseverance pays off. We've all heard the stories - the ones about a player spending 10+ years bumming around the minors - crappy pay, crappy hotels, crappy bus rides - all for the chance to reach the Show. Former Brewer reliever Mark DiFelice is one of those stories - albeit with a rather abrupt ending.