5 questions facing the Brewers this offseason

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Here are five questions facing the Brewers this winter:

1. Will this offseason bring big changes or small ones?

It’s a big question which will be answered by a series of smaller ones: Will manager Craig Counsell still be in a Brewers uniform next season? What about Corbin Burnes? How different will the starting rotation look on Opening Day? Is a lineup overhaul in order? And will any front office officials follow David Stearns to New York?

“I think I'm anticipating our group staying together,” said general manager Matt Arnold when asked about the future of his baseball operations braintrust. “But I always want people first and so if there's a better situation for someone, somewhere else, I would always want that to be the case. But I think we have a really good group here and I anticipate everybody being here.”

Arnold left no doubt about one thing: The Brewers aren’t in the mood for a rebuild.

“It's not just to get in [the postseason]. We want to try to win a World Series here,” Arnold said.

2. What are the first big decisions?

The deadline to exercise contract options comes five days after the conclusion of the World Series. The Brewers face four decisions on options:

Club options

Mark Canha: $11.5 million ($2 million buyout)

Andrew Chafin: $7.25 million ($750,000 buyout)

Justin Wilson: $2.5 million ($150,000 buyout)

Mutual option

Wade Miley: $10 million ($1 million buyout)

The next significant dates to know on the calendar are Nov. 14, the deadline for clubs to protect prospects from the Rule 5 Draft, and Nov. 17, the nontender deadline. That latter date is the deadline for teams to commit to continuing into the arbitration process with their eligible players, which in the Brewers’ case includes some tough calls. Willy Adames, Burnes, Adrian Houser, Hoby Milner, Joel Payamps, Tyrone Taylor, Rowdy Tellez, Abraham Toro, Devin Williams, Bryse Wilson and Brandon Woodruff are all eligible. We’ll examine that group in next week’s newsletter.

3. What will the starting rotation look like?

“That's a good question,” Arnold said in his season-ending press conference. “It's certainly on the front of our mind. The starting pitching depth has been a driver of our success here for a number of years and we're certainly aware of that.”

The Brewers face big decisions on this front. They went into last spring with Burnes, Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Eric Lauer, Aaron Ashby, Miley and Houser all lined up as a deep and talented rotation.

Things changed fast.

Now, only Peralta is a lock for 2024. Burnes is arbitration-eligible for the last time this winter, and while Arnold said earlier this month that he expects Burnes to again front Milwaukee’s rotation next season, this is typically the time for a team to consider trade offers before a star player gets away via free agency without netting any return. Woodruff and Houser are in the same contractual spot, making them potential non-tenders -- especially Woodruff, given he’s expected to miss all of next season with a shoulder injury. Lauer was cut loose last week. Miley has the option to decide. And Ashby is no sure thing going into 2024 after missing all of ‘23 with a shoulder injury.

In the Minor League system, the Brewers' options include left-hander Robert Gasser, right-hander Janson Junk and perhaps righty Carlos Rodríguez once he logs some Triple-A time.

4. Which rookies will step forward?

Free agency and trades aren’t the answer for everything. The Brewers also must improve from within, and they’re positioned to do so after exposing talented young players to the Major Leagues this season. Brice Turang (.585 OPS), Joey Wiemer (.645 OPS) and Sal Frelick (.692 OPS) all took their lumps at the plate, though Frelick’s .341 on-base percentage will play. All will be counted on to perform better offensively in 2024. Infielder Andruw Monasterio and outfielder Blake Perkins also made their Major League debuts and showed they can have a role on a winning team. On the pitching side, Abner Uribe cemented himself as a key, high-leverage bullpen piece.

The Brewers have more rookies poised to make the jump next year. Gasser is one, and outfielder Jackson Chourio, catcher Jeferson Quero and right-hander Jacob Misiorowski also have a shot at some point.

5. Where can the Brewers improve offensively?

First, let’s acknowledge that they did get better offensively as 2023 progressed. The Brewers were seventh in the Majors with 5.15 runs per game after the Trade Deadline. But after years of being accused of being too reliant on the long ball, the Brewers may have actually been too reliant on small ball. There has to be a balance, and unless Christian Yelich suddenly starts smashing home runs again, that power might have to come from the outside.

“I like homers. I certainly do,” Arnold said. “But at the same time, I think it's always a balance depending on the profile, right? We're trying to get wins. I think we were able to do that, but obviously we would prefer guys hit homers and do all the other things really well. We just have to balance that with the talent that we have on our roster.”