The Brewers had the worst offense of any playoff contender last year, with a 92 wRC+ that ranked seventh-worst among all major league clubs. Much of those offensive woes can be attributed to the club’s struggles to find quality offense at the infield corners. Milwaukee’s first basemen slashed a collective .237/.301/.381 in 2023, posting an 83 wRC+ that placed them in the bottom three among all clubs. They didn’t fare much better at the hot corner, where Brewers third basemen slashed .231/.315/.365 with a wRC+ of 87.
It’s worth noting that the majority of the players responsible for that production are no longer on the roster. Of the ten players to appear at first base for the Brewers in 2023, only Owen Miller remains with the organization. It’s a similar story at third base, where only Miller and Andruw Monasterio are still with Milwaukee among the seven players the club relied on at the hot corner in 2023. Both Miller and Monasterio have the look of solid, versatile bench pieces but appear miscast as regulars in the lineup with wRC+ marks of 81 and 88 respectively.
Given the club’s extreme lack of viable options at the infield corners, it’s hardly a surprise that Brewers GM Matt Arnold told reporters (including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy) that the club views both first and third base as areas of the roster in need of an upgrade, even after acquiring Jake Bauers from the Yankees ahead of last month’s tender deadline. Arnold indicated that the club would have interest in a potential reunion with veteran first baseman Carlos Santana, who slashed a solid .249/.314/.459 in 226 plate appearances after being acquired by the club in a midseason trade with the Pirates over the summer.
The veteran switch-hitter will celebrate his 38th birthday shortly after Opening Day in 2024, but has been among the most consistent and disciplined hitters in the league throughout his tenure as a big leaguer. Throughout his 14 seasons in the majors, Santana has never posted a walk rate below 10.5% or a strikeout rate above 20.2% with near-equal career marks of 14.5% and 16.8%, respectively. That excellent discipline has come at the expense of power in recent years, as Santana posted a meager .148 ISO from 2020-22. 2023 represented something of a rebound on that front, however, as Santana slugged .429 while crushing 23 home runs, the fifth-highest total of his career.
Looking at options beyond Santana, Arnold suggesting that one solution for the infield corners could come internally in the form of Tyler Black. Milwaukee’s first-round pick in the 2021 draft and #4 prospect per MLB Pipeline, Black impressed at the plate in 2023 with a .287/.413/.513 slash line in 558 trips to the plate split between the Double- and Triple-A levels. Arnold heaped praise on the lefty slugger, telling reporters (as relayed by Rosiak) that Black is “just so talented and has a lot of upside,” while confirming that Black will have the chance to earn a spot on the big league roster this spring.
One candidate for time at first base the Brewers won’t be entertaining, according to Arnold, is Christian Yelich. The club’s $215MM man has scuffled a bit in recent years following his back-to-back MVP-caliber campaigns in 2018 and 2019 but bounced back somewhat this season, slashing a solid .278/.370/.447 with a wRC+ of 122 while swiping 28 bags in 31 attempts. Despite that solid offensive production, defensive metrics were mixed on Yelich’s performance with the glove in left field. While he accumulated a solid +4 OAA in 2023, DRS wasn’t so kind as only Bryan De La Cruz posted a lower figure than Yelich’s -3 while recording as many innings in the field.
Moving Yelich to first could improve the club’s defense while thinning a logjam in the outfield that includes Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Joey Wiemer, Sal Frelick, Blake Perkins, and Tyrone Taylor in addition to Yelich. Such a shift is evidently not in the cards for Milwaukee, however, as Arnold suggested he “wouldn’t expect” to see Yelich at first base next year, leaving him to continue patrolling left field or spending time at DH. With the Brewers listening to offers on their glut of young outfielders, it’s possible the aforementioned group of seven outfielders could be winnowed down by a trade before Spring Training rolls around in February.
Stop with Santana and Bauers. Just move Yelich to 1B, play Black at 3B, and run with Chourio, Mitchell & Frelick in the OF. Bring on the kids and these 1st round picks.
Yelich ain’t moving to 1B it’s in the article lol. Yelich, Chourio and Frelick is the OF for the future. Weimer and Mitchell and Taylor are headed out of town eventually
I doubt they trade Mitchell. He’ll stay on. I think Yelich will be gone before he leaves.
I think Frelick is the least likely to be traded. He brought that Adames type energy.
Wiemer is the guy I HOPE they don’t trade. He was brought up too early last year and needed some AAA time(which I suspect he’ll get to iron out his swing) but he has the highest ceiling of anyone not named Chourio.
Mitchell has provided energy, but he’s been banged up his whole career and hits the ball on the ground far too often…that’s when he’s hitting the ball as his K rate has been extremely high(in very limited ABs to be fair).
It would probably be the right move. Yelich is not a LF anymore. He should be at 1B.
He was drafted as a 1B and you saw him slowly decline last year in LF.
Being able to put Chourio and ANY of the other OFers out there not named Yelich would give the Brewers the best OF defense in baseball. Wiemer was one of the best CFers last year. Frelick is elite, Mitchell may be the best CFer defensively.
Taylor is a very good RFer, Perkins is a nice 5th OFer and another CFer.
The Brewers have won on run prevention and with Woodruff and Burnes either gone or on their way out(Burnes if not this year, then next) the Brewers will likely have even more balls put into play. They have 4 guys(5 if you include Black who may be best in the OF) who were/are top 100 prospects in the last year, who are all elite defenders out there.
DH is probably best for Yelich and his back, but we’ll see. Hopefully the young guys force the Brewers hand.
It always seemed more likely that Yelich would move to 1B/DH in ’25 as it was believed that Chourio wouldn’t break camp with the Brewers for service time reasons, but any trade would be selling low IMO.
I’m surprised they would rule out anything this early in the offseason. Yelich at 1B seems like an experiment worth trying. It could help keep his back healthy and increase their chances of getting a some return on that contract. They have plenty of young affordable options for LF. Seems like flexibility would be the most sensible approach.
Trade Tyler Black, Blake Perkins and Tyrone Taylor for a corner IF. I’m no scout but I don’t see anything special about Black while Perkins and Taylor have no room in a crowded OF. This may be their highest value.
Nah nothing special about an OB heavy 2b/1b with ability to steal 40+ maybe 60+ yearly batting over 270 and still run in to 15+ HRs. I believe his future is at 2b. 270-360-425 15HRs/40SBs. As a baseline nothing special. I get it in regards to 3b. But for Milw 2b/1b that’s practically team hall of fame.
Spot on ! Black May struggle for a couple months but he’s the real deal and a better option than some old veteran.
Tyler Black – top 3 NL rookie of year candidate. Get to know him !
Stop with the move Yelich to first. Fans have been clamoring for this for the last 3 years now, and it hasn’t happened. I doubt it ever will..and it’s probably because he’s told them he has no interest in doing it (which is also why they never pushed Braun there as a regular either).
Braun probably couldn’t have played 1B, anyway. He was so terrible at 3B as a rookie that the Brewers were forced to move him to the OF.
Yelich is a DH playing left field. If his back is right, he hits. Keep him off the field, and keep him healthy. Let the kids shag.
If they trade Adames or Burns, they need to think about a 1B option in the package (now or future).
I was hoping for a Santana Pirate reunion but given how cheap they are, despite claiming that they will increase payroll, that money will be used on pitching
There will be plenty atbats for Chourio, Mitchell, Frelick and Yellich in the outfield and DH. Time to trade Weimer and Taylor. Resign Santana and go with Black at third. Start teaching Contreras or Quero first so they can take over in 25. That or draft Johnston out the Marlins system today.
JD Davis? I like him but could be time to sell high,
For first base they will find a low cost rehab that will come in and hit homers and get the local fans fired up, seem to do it every year since Prince Fielder. As for 3rd that spot has not had a good regular for more than a year and a half run for a long time but then again you can say that for about 20 other teams recently.
Aramis Ramirez was the last consistently solid, reliable 3B the Crew had. Really makes you appreciate how good a player he was.
Last 1B we had worth mentioning was Fielder.
Aguilar :,(
Fielder was a DH masquerading as a 1B.
I don’t understand why they don’t steal a play out of the cubs book an answer 1st by giving Hoskins a year in that band box and let him earn his multi year deal if he stays healthy and rakes. Especially when the cubs are also after him!
Lifelong Brewers fan but sadly you could start every offseason article of the past 6-7 years with that first sentence. “The Brewers had the worst offense of any playoff contender last year”.
Yep! Tack on “need help at 1st and 3rd” …every year.
Get Justin Turner on a one year. His glove and bat both play and he’s a leader in the clubhouse.
Yelich is 1B or DH. He should not appear in the OF.
Weimer adapted to CF halfway decently, why not get him some practice at first? Especially if he’s optioned back to AAA
Weimer is a + OF. Yelich is a – OF. If anyone should move it’s Yelich.