Business As Usual For The Milwaukee Brewers As Baseball’s Virtual Winter Meetings Begin

Major League Baseball’s annual Winter Meetings are underway but like everything else about baseball and, really, life in general this year, they will be considerably different than the week-long spectacle they’ve been in the past thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

So instead of setting up shop at the Omni Hotel in Dallas, the baseball world will conduct its business the same way the rest of the world has during these last few months: virtually. 

Despite that, Stearns expects a busy week as teams try to fortify themselves for the upcoming season.

“I think it will be more active than we’ve seen over the last month and a half, because the last month and a half around the industry has been pretty quiet from a transaction perspective,” Stearns said during a conference call with reporters earlier this week. “I don’t know that you’re necessarily going to see the same volume as you do in a normal year when you have an in-person Winter Meetings, but we are getting to the time in the calendar where the conversations accelerate and get more specific. I do think conversations will pick up.”

Earlier this week, Stearns and newly-promoted general manager Matt Arnold did some maneuvering with Milwaukee’s roster, choosing to non-tender reliever Alex Claudio, outfielder Ben Gamel and utility man Jace Peterson while tendering offers to closer Josh Hader and starter Brandon Woodruff, both of whom are eligible for salary arbitration. 

The Brewers also signed designated hitter/first baseman Daniel Vogelbach and catchers Omar Narváez and Manny Pina to one-year contracts, traded reliever Corey Knebel to the Dodgers for future considerations and reportedly reached agreement with free-agent catcher Luke Maile on a one-year, minor league contract.

That series of moves leaves Milwaukee with five open spots on its 40-man roster, leaving Stearns and Arnold with room to work. 

Offense figures to be their priority this winter with a particular focus on first and third base, positions where the Brewers used a platoon approach last season with minimal results. 

“We need more offensive production than we had this year – that’s clear,” Stearns said following the season. “We need to be able to come into next year believing we can get better offensive production out of those two positions.”

Luis Urías performed well defensively at third last season, but didn’t provide much offensively and doesn’t have the power of traditional third baseman.

Across the diamond, the team got big returns after taking a flier on Vogelbach who slashed .328/.418/.569 with four home runs, 12 RBI and a .987 OPS in 19 games after he was claimed off waivers from Toronto. He’s capable of handling the position but has been primarily a designated hitter during his career. 

It’s unlikely Milwaukee will make too big of a splash. The team is already on the hook for over $50 million in salaries for next season and is expected to be more frugal than previous winters after playing all of last season without fans because of the pandemic.

“It’s certainly a possibility,” Stearns said of potential belt-tightening. “Over the last two years we’ve run the two highest payrolls in the history of this organization. And I think it’s uncertain at this point, as we look forward, whether our payroll next year would be at that same level.”

With a number of veteran players available after getting non-tendered earlier in the week, Stearns should be able to find options that fit into his budget. He could also look to bolster the roster by dealing closer Josh Hader, who’s eligible for arbitration and due to receive a substantial raiser from the $4.1 million he earned last season. 

Minor league outfielder Corey Ray is a potential trade candidate, as well. Selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, Ray, 26, is a .235 hitter over four minor league seasons and while the team still thinks highly of him, doesn’t have much room for him at the big-league level with Lorenzo Cain, Avisaíl García and Christian Yelich all under contract.