PHOENIX -- The Milwaukee Brewers have proven that runs are not the only indicator of success. They have made the playoffs six times since 2018 despite never finishing higher than sixth in the NL in runs.

The additions of Rhys Hoskins and Gary Sánchez to the returning core of Christian Yelich, Willy Adames and William Contreras give the Brewers optimism that they can surpass the 728 runs they had in 2023, when they won 92 games and the NL Central while finishing eighth in the National League in runs.

Manager Pat Murphy is a believer.

“We’ll score more runs, I’m confident in that,” Murphy said.

“I think we have really good leaders,” he continued. “I think the pillars of the position players are really, really strong. Pee Wee [Hoskins], Yelich, William and Willy … I think those pillars will carry the day.”

Add rookie Jackson Chourio, a healthy Garrett Mitchell and potential steps forward by second-year regulars Sal Frelick and Brice Turang, and the offense seems to have even more room for improvement as the team looks for ways to compensate for the loss of starting pitchers Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff.

Offense is a mindset, too, and Murphy said he believes the Brewers' approach will be a strength.

“The great offenses of the world, mentality has to be first," Murphy said. "Approach, freedom, being able to deal with what you have to deal with. That conviction and confidence.

“Let’s be honest. it’s really hard to be present. You are hitting .299 and you are reading it every day. That’s messing with you. You want to get to .300. And that’s not how you play this game. You can’t play like that. You have to be present to react to that next pitch.

“In today’s game, when you have guys heaving it at 100 [mph] with some uptown at the end and a little cut, all of a sudden you are at .277. A month later you are at .249. Well, the mind is divided. Be in the moment and attack it.”

Yelich, Contreras, Hoskins and Adames could be projected to again supply their share of pop. Yelich, Contreras and Adames combined for 60 homers last season, with Adames boasting a team-high 24. Hoskins averaged over 27 homers in his five full seasons (not including 2020) before missing 2023 with a knee injury.

Yelich also led the teams with 28 stolen bases, Turang had 26. The Brewers finished seventh in the NL with 129 steals and had a 82.2 percent success rate.

“We have a lot of ways to beat you,” Murphy said. “We can beat you on the ground. We can beat you through the air … by land and by sea.”

The trio of Yelich, Contreras and Adames was the Brewers’ most used combination in the 1-2-3 spots in the batting order a year ago, and other options are on the table.

Frelick is a candidate to hit at the top of the order after spending 25 of his 49 starts hitting cleanup a year ago. He batted leadoff eight times in the final three weeks of the 2023 season, hitting .324 there with a .731 OPS in 37 plate appearances.

“It’s like an option quarterback,” Murphy said. "We are putting a lot on him. Offensively, he has to understand that the goal is to get to first. It sounds really simple. Sometimes very complex things get solved by something very simple. Can’t leave the [strike] zone. I don’t care about the numbers. He has to get to first.”

Frelick, listed as the starting right fielder, hit leadoff and played third base in the Brewers' 15-4 loss to the White Sox at American Family Fields of Phoenix on Wednesday.

The Brewers could look for growth from Turang, who led with his glove and was plus-12 in defensive runs saved a year ago, but hit .218/.285/.300 with six homers and 34 RBIs.

“I worked extremely hard to get back to the ways of [hitting] line drives back up the middle, putting myself in the best situation to do that,” said Turang, who uses a bat with a two-inch knob.

“It’s learning what you have to do and how to understand what you are doing wrong and how to get out of that quicker. It’s just squaring the ball up, controlling what I can control. Just trying to have good quality at-bats, hit the ball back up the middle hard and let everything else play out.”