Milwaukee Brewers Can Learn from Chicago Cubs Rebuild
The Chicago Cubs’ rebuild process could serve as a template for many franchises looking to lift themselves out of the gutter. One of those teams in particular is fellow NL Central occupant the Milwaukee Brewers.
It remains to be seen how far the Chicago Cubs advance in this year’s postseason, but it’s not surprising that other teams are already talking about wanting to rebuild “the Cubs way.” Led by team president Theo Epstein, the Cubs have come a long way over to past several seasons to transform from bottom-feeder to current World Series favorite.
One of the clubs inclined to follow the Cubs’ lead can be found in their own division. The Milwaukee Brewers are ensconced in a full-scale rebuilding effort that has yet to bear fruit in its early stages. At the moment they own a 68-82 record, placing them fourth in the NL Central. Since they finished last year with 68 wins, the Brew Crew is moving the in right direction at least, although not exactly by leaps and bounds.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel traced the respective paths of the Brewers and Cubs in recent seasons, detailing the reasons as to why the two franchises trended in opposite directions. Could what worked for Chicago also work for Milwaukee as it attempts to climb back up the standings in the future?
It’s important to note that not too long ago, the Brewers were the class of the division while the Cubs wallowed near the cellar. In 2011, Milwaukee won the NL Central with 96 victories and Chicago finished fifth with a 71-91 mark. Only the Astros (who lost 106 games) were worse in the division that year.
The Brewers continued trying to cling to that success, but their performance deteriorated in each of the following seasons. Haudricourt highlights 2014 as a turning point: the club led the division for most of the year, but they collapsed over the season’s last month and missed the postseason. Milwaukee’s front office decided that the late-season stumble was a fluke and elected to approach the following offseason in a holding pattern. A crucial error in Haudricort’s eyes, and it’s hard to disagree with him.
Milwaukee started the 2015 campaign in ugly fashion, leading to the replacement of Ron Roenicke at manager with Craig Counsell. Since then, the organization has effectively entered rebuilding mode, aiming to set itself up for prosperous times ahead.
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Meanwhile, the Cubs have slowly but surely built themselves back up into a powerhouse. Patience is a virtue, and Chicago orchestrated that philosophy to perfection. It also doesn’t hurt to have a likely Hall of Fame executive overseeing the project. You can point to a litany of sharp trades over the years that netted the Cubs some of their most important pieces, like Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks. Sound drafting added a strong young foundation to the mix, headlined by last season’s Rookie of the Year and this season’s MVP candidate Kris Bryant.
There’s always a degree of luck involved in the prospect development process, but the Cubs put themselves in a good position to benefit from the talent in their system. The Brewers seem to be doing well in that regard. MLB.com’s Jim Callis placed their farm system #1 in his midseason rankings, buoyed by the addition of top prospects Lewis Brinson, Luis Ortiz and Phil Bickford in the Jonathan Lucroy and Will Smith trades.
The Brewers now have eight representatives (tied for the most with the Astros) in MLB.com’s Top 100 list. That could be a nice pool from which to draw in the coming years. They could further add to it by dealing Ryan Braun this coming winter.
However, the part of the Cubs’ strategy that the Brewers may have difficulty emulating is the willingness to spend on the free agent market if needed. After reaching last year’s NLCS (their “coming out party,” if you will) the Cubs were aggressive in free agency, bolstering their roster with Ben Zobrist, Jason Heyward and John Lackey. This brought their payroll up to about $171 million, which Haudricourt believes the Brewers would never do.
You can’t build your team entirely through free agency anymore, but signing the right players at the right time is still a valuable way to fill in the gaps on your team. Though Heyward has been a major disappointment, Zobrist and Lackey have played key roles in the Cubs’ success this season. It’s a way to get your team “over the hump,” and for this year’s Cubs that means getting to the Fall Classic.
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If the Brewers’ current crop of prospects pan out the way they hope they do, they will be in a much better situation than they are now. But would they be willing to strategically increase payroll to go the extra mile? It can make the difference between being a good team and a great team. If Milwaukee is serious about drawing inspiration from the Cubs’ rebuild, they will have to answer that question at one point or another.