The Brewers have long assumed to be buyers at the trade deadline, and given how they limped into the All-Star Break I was wondering what exactly GM David Stearns was waiting for. The team finally got some much needed reinforcements on both side of the ball in former All-Star closer Joakim Soria from the White Sox and 3B Mike Moustakas from the Royals. The Brewers have been in desperate need of another bat for their inconsistent offense and another arm for their overworked bullpen, so both players were excellent additions. Whether coincidence or not, the pipeline to current and former Royals as tradeable assets seems to remain as open as ever.
Soria and Moose both present some flexibility and creative managerial opportunities for the team. Soria now becomes the 6th pitcher in our bullpen with either a logged save this season or significant closing experience. He gives Counsell another setup option instead of JJ and Jennings who seem to pitch almost every day, or to allow Knebel to get more work in non-save situations. Moose wasn't exactly the middle infielder we were looking for, but it's hard to pass up one of the best bats available on a very friendly contract. Travis Shaw will move to 2B for the foreseeable future, which does a few things. It obviously adds production to a middle infield that is 28th in the league in offense. It also gives Craigers the opportunity to play more matchups and rest Travis more, who has been dealing with nagging injuries all year. Getting another position under a his belt is also going to give the team flexibility next year and beyond after Moose is likely gone, or perhaps even make him more marketable as a trade chip down the road.
Short of Jacob DeGrom, we got two of the best players available on the trade block, and the bottom line is that we have a better roster today than we did last week and gave up relatively little to achieve that. Brett Phillips was the biggest name traded, but with our crowded outfield now even more crowded with the emergence of Eric Thames, we simply didn't have any room for an OF that is 7th on the depth chart. The Brewers have also been linked to Jonathan Schoop and Kevin Gausman of the Orioles and Zach Wheeler of the Mets in the last few days, all of which would be amazing gets. It will be an interesting 24 hours leading up to the trade deadline on Tuesday.
And PS - if the Brewers sell Moose Tacos t-shirts like Kansas City did, I am 100% buying one.
STANDINGS
AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 07.30:
Brewers 61-47, -1.5, +1.5 WC (4 @ Dodgers, 3 v. Rockies, 3 v. Padres)
Reds 48-58, -13.5, -10.5 WC (2 @ Tigers, 4 @ Nationals, 3 @ Mets)
Twins 48-56, -9.0, -13.5 WC (3 v. Indians, 3 v. Royals, 4 @ Indians)
2018 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 10 (+12 worked)
Peter - 19
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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