Milwaukee Brewers: What Does the Future Hold?
By Josh Schwam
The Milwaukee Brewers have been one of the worst teams in baseball in the past couple of years. How can they climb out of the cellar?
Over the last few seasons, the Milwaukee Brewers have gone from playoff contender to one of, if not the worst team in Major League Baseball. In 2011, the Brewers won 96 games, and came within one win of going to the World Series. The Brewers were an elite team with players like Jonathan Lucroy, Carlos Gomez and Zack Greinke. In 2016, Greinke and Gomez have been lost, and Lucroy is the subject of much trade conversation along with teammate Ryan Braun.
The Brewers have been rumored to blow up the team; to trade all major assets which are Braun and Lucroy. Other than those two players, the Brewers have little to no value on their roster. Players like Jonathan Villar and Kirk Nieuwenhuis should not be in consideration for an everyday major league lineup.
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So, what to do? There are two main options for Milwaukee to get themselves up the ladder again. First, they could trade Braun and Lucroy, and get prospects in return. Next, trade some of the major league roster for prospects, and effectively play mostly Triple-A players the rest of the season. Obviously this would cause attendance to drop significantly, as well as merchandise sales, but it may be the best long term option if the Brewers want to get back on the map.
The second option is to not trade Braun and Lucroy, which in turn would keep attendance and merchandise sales stable, but in the process would delay the comeback process by at least a couple of years. Not trading Braun and Lucroy would most likely be a better financial move, but a terrible move to try to win faster.
The Milwaukee Brewers should trade Braun and Lucroy; the best way to get good in baseball is to be bad for a while. Take a look at the Houston Astros, going from almost 100 loses to almost 100 wins in just a couple seasons; the Cubs were bad for decades with splurges of deep playoff runs, but now are in the midst of building a dynasty. Trading the heart and soul of a terrible team, and getting the future heart and souls of that same team in one trade is the way to go. Also, by causing the Brewers to be bad for several years, this gives their young manager Craig Counsell a chance to learn about how to be a leader in times of despair, when the team is not doing well. Those experiences will translate well to when the Brewers are back playing competitive baseball.
Despite early speculation and rumors that a trade was near in Milwaukee, more recent reports have said the Brewers do not plan on trading Lucroy and Braun. While it is hard to argue that keeping the team financially stable is bad, going down for a short period of time by trading Lucroy and Braun will shoot the team up in the long run. The Brewers have no reason to keep Braun and Lucroy except to the keep the earnings coming, but they need to take a risk and trade them.
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Overall, when a professional sports team needs a major overhaul, it is vital for them to recognize it, and then take action. As of right now, it is not clear if the Brewers have recognized there is a problem, and that will certainly hurt them in the recovery years to come.