3 biggest questions facing the Milwaukee Brewers after another postseason failure

The Milwaukee Brewers joined the Tampa Bay Rays as division winners that were booted from the postseason after two games. All of the Wild Card series were sweeps with the Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers all moving on.

Another postseason failure is a fitting end full of a season of missed chances. The Brewers did just enough to lock up the division but consistently let games slip away and struggled to find consistent offense throughout the season.

Where the Brewers go from here is a fair question to ask for a team that clearly will face a tough 2024 division. Young teams in the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds all have reason to believe they will be far better, with the St. Louis Cardinals having an argument to improve as well.

For the Brewers, how do you catch up to the Atlanta Braves or Los Angeles Dodgers or find the playoff energy that Arizona and Philly brought? The Brewers are consistently just good enough to make the playoffs but are consistently unable to take the next step.

With this in mind, let's look at the biggest questions facing the Brewers and what they can do to finally give themselves a chance to win a playoff series next season.

1. Do the Milwaukee Brewers bring back veteran offensive additions?

This Brewers offense remains the complete opposite of clutch despite getting a boost around the trade deadline. The team added a number of bats attempting to fix their offensive struggles and now Carlos Santana, Mark Canha and Josh Donaldson will all be unrestricted free agents.

You can't deny the boost that all three of these players gave the Brewers at different times, but none were consistently the missing piece this offense needed. When you're in the same league as the Braves, Phillies, and Dodgers, you must have two or three guys in the middle of your lineup who can flip a game at any given point.

As solid as these veteran additions were, they still aren't the big bats that this team so badly needs. While all three are interesting possibilities as re-signings, they aren't what this team needs. It is difficult in this market for the team to spend top dollar for what they so obviously need.

It wouldn't be surprising to see at least two of the aforementioned players re-signed, as well as a big signing or trade to attempt to breathe life into this offense. Keep an eye on the Brewers when it comes to all of the top bats this offseason.

2. Could the Brewers fix playoff struggles by making a rotation addition?

Another path the Brewers could take to fixing their team and giving them a chance against the younger and more talented offensive teams is making a solid rotation even better. If the Brewers were to go after one of the offseason's top starting pitchers, it wouldn't be a surprise.

If the Brewers were able to add one or two great arms, they have enough regular season offense to consistently win and put themselves in a better playoff position. The answer to fixing this team isn't easy when you look at the lineups they are going up against.

It isn't as simple as adding one piece and catching up with the Dodgers or Braves. The Brewers need to be creative and perhaps the best path isn't the most obvious, but focusing on your bullpen and rotation could make sense. Attempting to land another top of the rotation arm to give the team a better chance to hang with these top offenses come postseason time is a possibility.

In a dream world, while a certain Los Angeles Angels free agent is likely out of the Brewers price range, the star player would instantly put the team back in the National League conversation and be the missing piece for both the lineup and rotation.