Despite predictions of a dropoff in 2024, the Milwaukee Brewers have started the season surprisingly well. Last year's 92-win club lost two of the best starting pitchers in franchise history plus manager Craig Counsell, yet manages to sit in first place in the National League Central.

Despite a strong 22-15 start to the season the team still has many areas of need. Here are two early-season trades the Brewers must make to keep pace in a competitive division.

Brewers needs

Starting pitching

Injuries have decimated Milwaukee's starting pitching, with DL Hall, Wade Miley, and Jakob Junis all on the Injured List. Miley is out for the year while Junis is on the 60-day IL. Tobias Harris and Bryse Wilson have stepped up admirably in their absence, but it is unlikely that either can be depended upon as a long-term option. Milwaukee's current second and third starters are Colin Rea and Joe Ross, respectively — hardly the type of pitchers who should be leading a playoff team. The loss of Miley is especially harmful as it leaves the club without a dependable starter outside of Peralta.

Relief pitching

With starting pitchers getting injured, returning from injury, and stretching out from relief into a starting role, the Brewers have relied heavily on their bullpen to eat innings this year. Milwaukee starting pitchers have thrown the fewest innings of any staff in the Majors in 2024, frequently failing to get through the sixth or even the fifth inning.

Moving long reliever Bryse Wilson has further weakened the bullpen, as he was often able to piggyback off those short starts and bridge to the club's higher leverage relievers. Hoby Milner, Elvis Peguero, and Abner Uribe have all appeared in at least 40% of Milwaukee's games this season, while Joel Payamps and Bryan Hudson are just below that threshold.

OF Sal Frelick and 3B/1B Luke Adams to Chicago White Sox for SP Erick Fedde

The Brewers are no strangers to signing a pitcher from the KBO League in South Korea. The team added Josh Lindblom on a three-year deal in 2020 after he won the KBO equivalent of the MVP and Cy Young Award in 2019. Lindblom's time in Milwaukee did not work out, as the right-hander posted a 6.39 ERA in 62 innings pitched across the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He has not pitched in the Majors since.

The White Sox have experienced better luck this season with Erick Fedde. Fedde spent the 2023 season in the KBO, earning the same MVP-Cy Young combo that Lindblom won four years earlier. His transition back to the United States has been much smoother. Fedde has a 3.00 ERA through seven starts with a career-best 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

Given his lack of success in the past, the Brewers should be able to get Fedde at a bit of a discount. One Major Leaguer and one minor leaguer will be enough for the right-hander. Sal Frelick is not off to the best of starts but is a high-energy outfielder who plays good defense and can get on base. Luke Adams is the #15 prospect in the Milwaukee farm system and is a speedy corner infielder with an on-base percentage better than .400.

SS Eric Brown Jr. and 2B/3B Jadher Areinamo to Miami Marlins for SP Braxton Garrett

The Miami Marlins are another struggling ballclub with a surplus of starting pitching talent. Sandy Alcantara and Jesus Luzardo are All-Stars when healthy, Edward Cabrera is averaging a ridiculous 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings this year, and Ryan Weathers and Trevor Rogers are both solid back-end starters. This rotation is far better than the team's 10-29 record suggests. This great staff has also been without left-hander Braxton Garrett to begin the year as he recovers from a shoulder injury.

Garrett has a 3.63 ERA for the Marlins over the last two seasons with a strikeout to walk ratio of better than 4-1. His sinker in particular has been a valuable pitch — worth 12 runs since the start of 2022. He pairs the sinker with a slider with a whiff rate better than 40%. Opponents batted just .168 against his slider last year. The 26-year-old is set to make his season debut over the weekend and is another attractive trade option for a team like Milwaukee that is in desperate need of starting pitching depth.