Out of the six teams that sat at first place in their respective divisions at the MLB trade deadline, only the Milwaukee Brewers did not elect to add a bat. At the least, Brewers general manager David Stearns did have an interest in hauling in a pair of former All-Star hitters.
As noted by the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, the Brewers eyed trades for Joc Pederson from the San Francisco Giants and Josh Bell from the Washington Nationals.
The Brewers viewed Pederson as a trade “target,” but the veteran slugger ended up staying put with the reigning NL West champions. On the other hand, the NL Central club “called on” Bell, who was later included in the blockbuster Juan Soto trade.
The Brewers also “did try” for Brandon Drury, who wound up being sent to the San Diego Padres from the Cincinnati Reds. In the end, Milwaukee never got “traction” on putting the finishing touches on such a move.
Stearns completed three moves ahead of the trade deadline. He did ship off Josh Hader to the Padres, but he did finish up by adding depth to the bullpen via the additions of Taylor Rogers, Trevor Rosenthal and Matt Bush.
Stearns did note following the trade deadline that he believes he had the “right approach” with his moves.
“That is how you win a World Series, is you give yourself as many chances in the playoffs as you can possibly have,” Stearns said. “We believe that. I think that is the right approach. It is the approach that I have tried to set this organization up for since my time here. We are trying to avoid the ‘boom or bust' cycle.”
The Brewers are currently in a free fall at this crucial stage in the campaign, picking up just three wins in their last 10 games. As a result, they no longer sit comfortably atop the NL Central standings, as they are 1.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals for the top spot in the division.
Milwaukee is in need of any kind of spark in its offense, and it remains to be seen on whether the call to not acquire a hitter at the trade deadline will end up being a regrettable decision for the front office.
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