No surprise, finding offense must be a priority at the deadline

The Milwaukee Brewers have been fun to watch at times in the 2023 Major League Baseball season and frustrating to watch at times.

In other words, pretty much what fans expected from a team that has some pitching strength, some youth, some defensive strengths and not enough offensive star power to strike a ton of fear into opposing pitching staffs.

Let’s be real, when the season began at the end of March, no one was projecting the Brewers to threaten the 100-win mark.

But, after a 5-1 stretch against the Cincinnati Reds, including a weekend road sweep, the Brewers took a two-game lead in the National League’s Central Division and a 52-42 record into Philadelphia Tuesday, starting a key two-week stretch that includes three games against the hard-hitting Phillies, six games against the 61-31 Atlanta Braves who, by far, have the best record in the Majors thus far in 2023, and three more games against the young and energetic Reds, who will be looking to make amends for losing the last two series to the Brewers surrounding the All-Star break and re-gain the divisional lead. It’s not a bad position for Milwaukee to be in. But this also doesn’t feel like a team that’s going to seriously threaten for the franchise’s first-ever world championship if it does hold off Cincinnati, win the division and get into the playoffs. That will especially be true if the Brewers don’t stop coming up with a new injury seemingly every day.

The team’s position today makes the fast-approaching Aug. 1 trade deadline fascinating.

Should the Brewers be active? Absolutely. The division is very winnable and, as the saying goes, once you get into the tournament, anything can happen.

Will they make a move or two? Most likely. The Brewers rarely do nothing at the deadline.

What kind of move or moves will be made? That is the multi-million dollar question.

In a similar position last year, the first-place Brewers made an odd seller’s move, dealing All-Star closer Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres in a trade that basically killed their season. Upon departing as Brewers’ general manager last off-season, David Stearns was quoted as saying how the front office underestimated how that move would deflate clubhouse morale. If he had to do it all over again, he probably wouldn’t.

Pitching ace Corbin Burnes is that guy this year. Like Hader last year, his contract expires in just over a year and the small-market Brewers are going to have a tough time re-signing Burnes and/ or fellow pitching ace Brandon Woodruff for market value. Last year’s lesson would seemingly steer current GM Matt Arnold to wait until the off-season to address Burnes’ status and do what he can to win this season. The story is out that Arnold has told Burnes he doesn’t expect to trade him now. But stories change when other teams’ offers change too.

Odds are the Brewers will continue to be the Brewers, making a minor deal or two to add a relief pitcher or someone who can play multiple positions in the field and maybe get a hit or two here and there as well. It’s the Milwaukee/Craig Counsell way of filling out a lineup card.

Hey, any pitching help is welcome at the end of a long season, especially one where, once again, the stress of having to keep opposing teams to three runs or less tends to wear pitching staffs out come September. With the fourth straight season of offensive production that ranges from inconsistent, if you’re kind, to awful if you’re not, this team needs to find an impact bat if it’s going to A) get to the post-season and B) do damage.

Woodruff’s anticipated return from injury in August could be like making a major trade deadline acquisition. The Brewers are 10 games over .500 without him. Having him at peak form –– and with no wear and tear –– by September, that could be huge.

But this lack of consistent offense is reaching a point for dedicated fans where it’s gotten beyond tiring. Willy Adams this year, bad. Rowdy Tellez, bad. Joey Wiemer, the occasional big hit but is hitting just over .200. Brice Turang, great defense, bad offense since week one. Owen Miller, one good hot streak but nowhere near the power threat this team needs. Jesse Winker and Tyrone Taylor, non-existent. Brian Anderson, big hits early, now injury prone. Thank goodness Christian Yelich is back to about 80% of his old self. I have to admit, I didn’t think that was going to happen again.

Fans of the Brew Crew have to be asking, is there some way, any way to get an impact bat at the deadline without giving up too much of the Brewers’ minor league talent that management I’m sure is patiently banking on to take the Major League team to the next level in the near future?

I would think the team’s top prospect and the number-two prospect in all of baseball, double-A outfielder Jackson Chourio, is untouchable, along with 102mph power pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, the team’s fourth-ranked prospect. At double-A, 20-year-old catcher and thirdranked prospect Jefferson Quero is making noise. There are still people high on lefty Robert Gasser, who was part of the Hader trade last year and is the team’s seventh-ranked prospect, though he’s already 24. He’d better get to the Majors soon. Could number-two prospect, outfielder Sal Frelick, who’s missed most of this year with a thumb injury, be trade bait?

The Brewers’ last successful offensive trade deadline pickup was Mike Moustakis in 2018. They need to hit on one again this year if they’re going to hold off the Reds and challenge teams like Atlanta and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason. To do that, they have to end the broken-record pattern that’s held since 2020. They have to start winning more 9-2 games and have fewer 2-1 games where starters go six innings and the same relievers are needed every day to nail it down at the end.

Matt Frey is the Sports Editor at The Star News.

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