Milwaukee Brewers: Options to fill the hole at second base

MILWUAKEE, WI - OCTOBER 19: A general view of the exterior of Miller Park prior to Game 6 of the NLCS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, October, 19, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MILWUAKEE, WI - OCTOBER 19: A general view of the exterior of Miller Park prior to Game 6 of the NLCS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, October, 19, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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SURPRISE, AZ – NOVEMBER 03: AFL West All-Star, Keston Hiura #23 of the Milwaukee Brewers watches from the dugout during the Arizona Fall League All Star Game at Surprise Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The long term plan at second base for the Milwaukee Brewers is clear, get to Keston Hiura. Getting there is a whole different issue.

After deciding to part ways with the no doubt expensive figure attached to Jonathan Schoop there is no real answer at second base right now for the Milwaukee Brewers. That is something that will obviously figured out before Spring Training hits. As far as I know, there are no analytics saying playing without a second baseman is helpful.

The biggest issue is going to be the timing of it all. In the most generous of guesses, Keston Hiura will be ready to go around the All-Star Break. In the harshest of assessments, he will be in the 2020 conversation.

Nobody but David Stearns and company knows the true plan. What we do know is that Hiura can hit the ball with the best of them. His glove is not polished, but his bat is creating all the hype in the world.

In truth, the Milwaukee Brewers should be looking for a cheap stopgap until Hiura can take over full time. That could have been Mauricio Dubon, but he is coming off a torn ACL. So he will likely not be in the talks for Opening Day.

The early name connected to Milwauke is Jed Lowrie. Of course, there are clear issues with going for him after a career year. Plus, there is no guarantee that the answer comes from the free agent market.

There will be challenges to filling the hole at second base no matter what route is chosen. At the end of the day there are three real options: In house, free agency, and trade. Off the bat, trade seems to be the least likely of the three, and it is not even close. Though Stearns has surprised people before *cough* Schoop*cough*.