Coming into last season, the Milwaukee Brewers were expected to make a brief amount of noise but not necessarily compete for a playoff spot. After their acquisitions in late January of both center fielder Lorenzo Cain and eventual MVP winner Christian Yelich, the team took off.
Streaking out to lead the National League Central division for the vast majority of the first half of the season, the Brewers were exceeding everyone’s expectations. And then they came back down to earth, falling behind the surging Chicago Cubs after a tumultuous July.
In an attempt to salvage their playoff hopes, general manager David Stearns went out and acquired a few key cogs for their late-season run, as third baseman Mike Moustakas, second baseman Jonathan Schoop and center fielder Curtis Granderson were all acquired. Still a few games behind the Cubs, the Brewers turned in a fantastic end of the season to keep within shouting distance of the Cubs, and they pounced when Chicago faltered late.
By sweeping their final season series against the Detroit Tigers, the Brewers put themselves in a position to push the Cubs to the brink. After dropping one game of their final series, the Cubs relinquished their hold on the division title, setting up a game 163 in Chicago, which the Brewers won and forced the Cubs to play in the wild-card round.
While the Brewers fell one game short of the World Series by falling in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team has a great foundation to build upon for 2019 and beyond, and actually has turned themselves into a spot for premier free agents to come to, even for a smaller market franchise.
Looking at the 2019 season, the team returns most of their core, except for their acquisitions at the trade deadline. While Moustakas is still a free agent and could return to the team, those odds are unlikely with Travis Shaw being on the team and being their main option at second base.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Jjb9RfZkw
Offseason additions for the team have not been much, but are highlighted by adding one of the league’s best catchers in Yasmani Grandal, whose meltdown in the playoffs for the Dodgers is all too fresh on the minds of Brewers faithful. By inserting Grandal into an already potent lineup, it shores up the offensive hole that existed at the backstop position, while giving now-backup Manny Pina a chance to hone his skills defensively while developing his offensive abilities off the bench and in an occasional start.
The NL Central division will be one of the league’s toughest, as the Cubs are strong like normal and the St. Louis Cardinals re-upped to compete in ‘19, as Andrew Miller and Paul Goldschmidt were both brought into the fold. The Brewers have the most financial leeway of all three contending teams and have the strongest bullpen of the three, as demonstrated all throughout last season.
The odds of repeating as division champs are never easy, especially in the challenging NL Central, but the Brewers have the core and roster in place to make that next jump in becoming a perennial threat to represent the National League, not only throughout the playoffs but in the World Series as well.
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