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Last week was a busy week across major league baseball as teams had a few deadlines to take action on. The Milwaukee Brewers were as busy as anyone as decisions on the 40-man roster had to be made as well as what arbitration-eligible players would be tendered contracts. Among the moves, fan-favorite Brent Suter was waived, claimed, and agreed to a contract with the Colorado Rockies.
On top of that, Tuesday night, the Brewers also swung a trade with the Los Angeles Angels offloading Hunter Renfroe’s contract and acquiring three pitchers in return. After all that roster movement, major league baseball gets ready for the Winter Meetings, which begin on December 4th. Here are some of the remaining questions for the Brewers 2023 roster.
Collecting catchers
As of right now, the 40-man boasts four catchers. The Brewers did tender Victor Caratini a contract. He currently slots in as the starting catcher. The other three catchers include two prospects, Mario Feliciano and Alex Jackson, alongside recently acquired Payton Henry.
The Brewers could go into the season with Caratini starting and one of the other three catchers on the 40-man as the backup and get some decent results. The question going into the Winter Meetings remains if the Brewers may look to upgrade at catcher, pushing Caratini to the bench and adding some needed offense simultaneously.
Free agent names include Willson Contreras, Christian Vazquez, and reunion with Omar Narvaez. Matt Arnold could also have conversations with the Blue Jays, who are reportedly shopping their backstops in trade.
Relief Help on the Way?
Devin Williams will continue to provide a solid backend to the bullpen. Without Josh Hader, Taylor Rogers, and Trevor Rosenthal there is room to build around the complimentary pieces around Williams. Matt Bush and Adrian Houser (who right now is listed as a long reliever on Roster Resource) will return after agreeing to contracts and adding Javy Guerra through a trade.
While there can be dreams of adding one of the big names on the free agent market like Kenley Jansen, even the mid-tier relievers would help this bullpen. That may be the idea behind two of the pitchers acquired in the Renfroe deal. While Janson Junk is slated to compete for the rotation, according to Arnold, Adam Seminaris, or Elvis Peguero could realistically figure into the bullpen at some point in 2023.
Of course, there are always the off-the-radar moves that could happen and do happen every offseason. Bill Ripken has one in mind for the Brewers.
Payroll Expectations
The Brewers ended last season with a payroll of around $137 million. All signs pointed to the Crew needing to find ways to cut some of their payroll to fill gaps on the roster for next season or sign key players like Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, and Willy Adames to extensions.
Before last night it was hard to see how the Brewers were going to move forward with $126 million on the payroll, according to Roster Resource. It always seemed like with the Brewers payroll limits that it would be challenging to fill out the active roster with both Kolten Wong’s $10 million option (with a $2 million buyout) and Renfroe’s estimated $11.2 million in arbitration money on the books. With Renfroe in LA, there is certainly more room for signings or extensions. Even though the chances have likely slimmed, with some teams still seeking out second base help (looking at you, Mariners), there is still the chance something could happen with Wong out there.
The hard part with Renfore off the roster and potentially Wong is that there is no sure way to replace their offense from within the organization. Arnold seems confident in the young outfielders the Brewers have. Garrett Mitchell leads the way in that conversation, as he did his best to prove himself in 28 games this past season, hitting .311/.373/.459 for a 136 wRC+. It will remain to be seen if Arnold is as comfortable with Tyrone Taylor as an outfielder that will receive significant playing time.
Speaking of Wong and infield bats...
The Infield
Even if Wong remains on the roster, how confident can the Brewers be in either Luis Urias or Mike Brosseau as the team's starting third baseman? With third base being a traditionally easy place to add offense, will Arnold consider poking around during the Winter Meetings to see if the team could upgrade?
The free agent market isn't impressive this offseason, with Josh Turner leading the group. There is always the possibility for another trade, or how confident the Brewers are in the recent 40-man add and prospect Brice Turang?
On the other side of the diamond, there is shaping up to be a potentially strange platoon between the likes of Rowdy Tellez, Jon Singleton, and Keston Hiura. Heading into the Winter Meetings the first base/designated hitter role looks like an area where some movement could also happen.
The offense was already a question mark before trading away Renfroe’s bat. Eyes will undoubtedly be on Arnold during the Winter Meetings and beyond to see if he attempts to add offense in some fashion before Spring Training.
What questions remain for you when it comes to the Brewers roster?
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