After the drama of an offseason that included the departure of franchise cornerstones Corbin Burnes and Craig Counsell, the Milwaukee Brewers have responded with a tremendous season so far.
The club is 67-51 — 7.5 games ahead of the second-place St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central and 9.0 games in front of the Chicago Cubs. Milwaukee's 55 wins at the All-Star Break were tied for the most in franchise history before the All-Star Break.
Yet even with this success, the Brewers still have several anxieties down the stretch. These are the two biggest concerns the Brewers must address after the 2024 MLB trade deadline.
Freddy Peralta's first-inning struggles
Freddy Peralta's arm and talent have never been in question. When the right-hander is dealing, he is as unhittable as any pitcher in the game. Peralta was an All-Star in 2021, posting a 2.81 ERA in his first full season in the starting rotation while striking out 12.2 batters per nine innings. But the issue for the 28-year-old has been consistency. For every great start, there is a clunker, and a blow-up seemingly follows every solid inning.
The Dominican hurler has not made the All-Star Game since 2021, and his ERA has risen yearly (currently 4.11). The biggest issue for Peralta this season has been settling into games. Peralta's ERA in the first inning in 2024 is 6.38 ERA, with six homers allowed in 24 starts — more than a quarter of his season total. He also has 105 batters faced in the first inning, the most of any frame.
Peralta's poor starts have put the Brewers behind early in games and also prevented him from pitching deeper into contests. The right-hander has pitched into the seventh inning on just two occasions and often struggles to make it past four frames due to high pitch counts. Peralta's fifth-inning ERA sits at 8.31, another sign that fatigue is a serious factor for the Brewers pitcher.
The Brewers' solution seems simple: employ an opener ahead of Freddy Peralta. They have used this strategy to great effect with Bryse Wilson and Colin Rea, allowing them to enter in the second or third inning and giving the batters a different look. One fewer appearance against the top of the order could be the key to helping Peralta pitch deeper into games and avoid his struggles early in the contest.
The lack of a consistent bench bat
In an unusual departure from their usual tendencies, the Brewers have been an offense-heavy team this season. Milwaukee is seventh in MLB in runs scored — up from 17th in 2023. Christian Yelich has been at the center of this offensive renaissance, as his .909 OPS is his best since the 2019 season. Yelich is on the IL indefinitely with yet another back injury flare-up, and with Blake Perkins joining him on the injured list, the Brewers lineup is stretched thin.
Jackson Chourio has performed well in Yeli's absence (.947 OPS since the All-Star Break), but a piecemeal outfield is running out of replacements. The team has Jake Bauers (.209 batting average and 16 OF appearances) as the only other outfielder on the roster, and he is the only Brewers bench player with more than 100 at-bats this season.
One possible addition is utility player Amed Rosario. Rosario has a .302 batting average on the year to go with a solid .746 OPS. He played five games for the Los Angeles Dodgers after the club acquired him from the Tampa Bay Rays, only for the Dodgers to designate him for assignment after activating Mookie Betts. Acquiring Rosario off of waivers would give the Brewers a consistent and versatile bat off the bench as they look to secure an NL Central title.
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