3 potential trade targets for the Milwaukee Brewers
The 2022 season has not been easy for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Injuries have made their presence felt as the Brewers are now missing two of their top three starters from last year. Josh Hader has needed to miss time due to family emergencies. Center field has been a disaster offensively. There was a point where four pitchers made their major league debuts in a five game span.
Three trade targets for Milwaukee Brewers
Yet, despite those issues, the Brewers entered Monday tied with the Cardinals for first in the NL Central. An eight game losing streak, and losing nine out of ten games, may have taken them from the driver’s seat, but they are still right there. It may just be a matter of getting the right pieces to make a run.
The Milwaukee Brewers still have plenty of time to seize control of the NL Central. Let’s look at three trade targets that could help.
Josh Bell
Rowdy Tellez is a folk hero for the Milwaukee Brewers and he has been a solid player this season. He has hit ten homers and 15 doubles thus far, making him one of the better power hitters on the team.
However, for all of the power that the Brewers have, they still have very specific issues on offense. The Brewers are 12th in the National League with a .309 on base percentage and 13th with a .233 batting average. All of the homers they hit do not matter if they do not have anyone on base.
Josh Bell would help in that regards. Not only is he a powerful bat in his own right, but he has gotten on base at an impressive clip. Bell had put together a strong .294/.378/.476 batting line in his 290 plate appearances entering Monday, hitting 11 homers and ten doubles. He would clearly be a major upgrade to the lineup.
Acquiring Bell would not necessarily force Tellez out of a role. He could still see time as the Brewers designated hitter considering that Andrew McCutchen has largely disappointed. McCutchen could potentially see time in the outfield to make room for Tellez, especially considering that Milwaukee has a hole there.
Speaking of…
Michael Taylor
Center field has been an abject disaster for the Milwaukee Brewers this year. Lorenzo Cain was designated for assignment after he stopped hitting, and while has been an improvement, he also cannot get on base and struggles defensively.
Cain, at the very least, could still track down fly balls. That is something that had been important in the Brewers’ outfield, as both Christian Yelich and Hunter Renfroe have been excellent defensively. Adding another excellent defensive outfielder that can get on base would make sense.
Enter Michael Taylor. He has been a noted defensive marvel previously in his career, even winning the Gold Glove in center for the American League last year. This season, however, he has added a surprising amount of production as well, putting together a .272/.355/.401 batting line in his 170 plate appearances.
There is no certainty that he will continue to produce at that pace. Likewise, there is no certainty that the Royals will look to trade Taylor despite his career year and how few center fielders are available. However, as all of the attention about Royals outfielders is on Andrew Benintendi, the Brewers may be able to swoop in and land a better fit for their roster.
The Milwaukee Brewers need to find an option in center field. Michael Taylor would be a gamble, but he would also be a strong fit.
Chad Kuhl
In theory, the Milwaukee Brewers rotation will sort itself out. Brandon Woodruff is expected to be back relatively soon and the hope is that Freddy Peralta will return by the end of the year. The Brewers may have their trio of impressive arms back after all.
The rest of the rotation is a concern. Eric Lauer appears to be taking that next step, but Milwaukee has struggled to find a fifth starter. That is even more glaring now that Aaron Ashby is on the Injured List with forearm inflammation. While he says that he will not be sidelined for long, it is still a concerning injury.
Even if he is back relatively soon, adding another back of the rotation arm would make a lot of sense for the Brewers. One such option could be Chad Kuhl, who is somehow in the midst of the best season of his career despite pitching for the Rockies. Thus far, he has posted a solid 3.69 ERA, albeit with a 1.421 WHiP, in his 63.1 innings. As he does not allow homers despite being a fly ball pitcher, he has been able to mitigate concerns about those extra baserunners.
He could potentially be even better in Milwaukee. The Brewers’ outfield defense is much better than what he has behind him in Colorado, which could push those numbers further down. It is not necessarily a surprise that Kuhl is generating attention on the trade front.
The Milwaukee Brewers may need another arm in their rotation. Chad Kuhl may not be an exciting option, but he could fit their roster perfectly.