What the Brewers Need to Succeed
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The Milwaukee Brewers have been coming in and out of first place for the entire season. They are sitting at 43-38, tied with the Cincinnati Reds. Recently, they have been playing better baseball, but there have been a lot of stretches where they just cannot seem to win games. In an overall weak National League (NL) Central, if they want to make it to October, they are going to have to start winning these games now to pull ahead into first place, especially if they want to beat this hot Reds team.
The main problem for the Brewers has been their offense. Their offensive numbers are abysmal, with the worst batting average (.226), OPS (.675), on base percentage (.305), and slugging percentage (.370) in the NL. The pitching has been a lot stronger, and what has helped them win games. But if the Brewers want to get into first and stay there for longer than a few days, they need to shake things up.
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One thing has already happened, on June 29, the Brewers sent down Luis Urias, who was hitting .145 with a .299 on base percentage and .236 slugging percentage. They brought up Brice Tuang, who was hitting .206, with a .254 on base percentage, and a .312 slugging. Tuang is also a better fielder than Urias, which for an overall mid range defense, could always be needed. It is not that much of an improvement offensively, but the improvements in average and slugging could bode very well for this team.
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The next thing that the Brewers desperately need is to pick up pieces at the trade deadline. So far, they have been able to get by with what they have. But if the Brewers want to make it to the postseason and not be the first team bounced, which is a pattern that seems to happen for them quite often, it is absolutely necessary to bring in more people, because an above average Christian Yelich isn’t going to get you there.
One trade target that could work well for the Brewers is Jeimer Candelario of the Nationals. He has been having a pretty good year hitting .263, with a .338 on base percentage, and .471 slugging. He also has a 123 OPS+, 10 homers, and 24 doubles. Those numbers would be one of the best on the team and the Brewers are in need of someone with some pop in their lineup, and Candelario has that. He also would be one of the two other players with an OPS+ of over 100. Brian Anderson has been their go to at third base, so Candelario may not be getting the starts there, but he has been stronger defensively and even if they didn’t want to start him there, he could be a great DH option to get his bat in the lineup.
Another option could be Bobby Dalbec from the Boston Red Sox. Dalbec has been up and down from the minors this season, but has a stronger slugging bat with a .452 slugging percentage. That would be the highest among their everyday players. Dalbec also hits very well against left handed pitching, which the team struggles with. For his career, Dalbec has a .853 OPS against left-handed pitchers with a .268 average and a 127 wRC+.
Without a doubt, the Oakland As will be selling. The Brewers can take advantage of this by getting Esteury Ruiz. He has been hitting .260, with a .315 on base percentage, and .333 slugging. The thing that may be most useful to them though is his speed. On the year, Ruiz has stolen 40 bases and doesn’t seem to plan on stopping any time soon. For a team that as a collective have stolen 63 bases, that extra speed could be beneficial in kickstarting an offense to get runners scoring when you can stretch singles into a runner on second or even third.
With an overwhelmingly weak offense, the Milwaukee Brewers need to make changes if they want to get up and stay in first place. Those include getting some impact power bats and speed into their lineup to make the difference they need.
