Rebuilding Milwaukee Brewers for 2026
The Milwaukee Brewers felt like a team of destiny until they ran into the evil empire. Now they turn to the offseason where the team refuses to spend money but also acquires talent in quirky ways. And we’re going to look to do just that. Hello, my name is Avery Taylor and welcome to Rebuild October, a series where we rebuild a new team every day across the month of October. So whether you’re looking for your favorite team or just generally curious as to how every team should approach the off season, then this is the series for you. And with that being said, let’s jump right into the video. As you can see from the world by position, the Brewers are in the upper half of the league at almost every position minus shortstop, which gives us a tricky starting point. Where do we really add? However, before we can look at who the Brewers will add, we’ll have to look at who they can lose. The biggest name is Freddy Peralta, who the Brewers have an $8 million club option over for 2026. It’s a no-brainer for the Brewers to pick up the option. However, that’s where the trade rumors start to swirl. It’s the last season of team control over the right-hander, and the Brewers are known to flip players before they’re let go into the free market. They have a plethora of deaf at the position and all of a sudden this trade starts to seem logical. However, since I’m the GM today and we’re going to be looking to build the best team possible for 2026 within reason, no trade will take place. They can always revisit the trade possibility at the trade deadline. If they don’t like where they’re at for a little bit of a scare, the Brewers have a club option over William Contras for $12 million for 2026. They’ll likely decline this option, which is where they’ll go back into the arbitration process and save around a million dollar. Brewers are going to Brewer. And then the final club option is over Danny Jansen for $12 million, who doesn’t have much of a place on this roster for 2026. So, the Brewers will decline this option. Then you get into the mutual options where the Brewers will start with the trickiest one in Brandon Woodruff. Woodruff is set to make $20 million if both sides opt in for 2026. That seems well outside what the Brewers are comfortable paying. However, somehow the buyout for this option is $10 million, meaning they only get a net gain of $10 million if the Brewers let him walk. Ultimately, it is the Brewers and they’ll have a ton of internal options. So, Woodruff will hit the market. The same sort of conversation will be had with Joseé Canana, who is due for a $15 million salary if both sides opt in. Well, that is moving closer to what the Brewers would like to spend. It is again over $10 million in net gained money for the Brewers if they let the lefty walk. So, they probably will. and then finally make it to the end of the options. The Brewers will not renew their side of the deal for Reese Hoskins. $18 million for a player that got outperformed by at his own position by Andrew Vaughn is just way too much. And again, the Brewers will be happy to have that contract off the books. The other three free agents and Shelby Miller, Jordan McGomery, and Luis Haras will all hit the open market unopposed. As for prospects to consider, the main one is Jefferson Caro, who’s a catching prospect that made it to Triple A last season. Defensively, he’s about as sound as they come, but offensively, there are a lot of question marks. He can pull the ball in the air for some pop, but lacks raw power, and there are some hit tool concerns. It doesn’t help that he’s missed so much time with injury in the minor leagues. And while I do believe the major league roster is better with him on it, I don’t want to waste the bats he would get if he was at AAA to start the season. Another name that feels a little criminal to start the year in the minor leagues is Logan Henderson, who looked solid all of last year at AAA with a 3.59 year rate. and he was even better in his five starts at the major league level with a 1.78 RA. However, there is so much talent at the major league level that I just can’t quite get him in there even if he is really talented himself. Henderson will definitely find a role as the season progresses. Moving down the list, the Brewers have a pair of arms at TripleA just biting at the bit to get to the majors. Greg Yo didn’t look great in his first MLB stint but was virtually unhittitable across his entire minor league career. and Robert Gasser, who has looked good no matter what mound he steps on in both of the last two seasons, will have to find time on this roster at some point later on in the season. However, there is one prospect that isn’t even in the Brewer system that’ll start the year at the major league level, and that is Alex Freeland from the Los Angeles Dodgers, who the Brewers will acquire through trade in exchange for Trevor McIll and Joey Ortiz. The Brewers need some offense from shortstop, and Alex Freeland provides just that. He’s been mashing his entire time in the minor leagues. And while he didn’t have the best debut, I’d be shocked if he couldn’t provide more offensive value than Ortiz. Defensively, he is pretty slick, too. He isn’t the best athlete, but makes up for it with good instincts. As for what they gave up, Trevor McIll is the main name here. He’s been incredible since his switch to Milwaukee in 2023, getting better every season and even making the All-Star game in 2025. That season will cause his arbitration value to go up to an estimated $6.5 million. And while most teams think that is still a bargain, the Brewers will look to cash in. However, this isn’t the only trade the Brewers will make as they will acquire Nick Casanos for virtually nothing as the Phillies just want him off their team. It’s no secret that Costanos was not really good for anything in 2025, but as a veteran bat that can come off the bench and give a spark for virtually nothing, he’s a pretty good option. Joining the major league roster will be Andrew Vaughn at first, who had a monster season with the Brew Crew once he made that switch. Bryce Tang at second with Caleb Durban back at third. Jake Bower splatooning in left field with Freick in center and Churio in right. Yelich as the DH. Andrew Monisterio will be back as an additional infielder and Isaac Collins platooning with Bowers versus lefties. The final bench spot will go to Christian Vasquez as the backup catcher. Vasquez’s offensive game has just been putrid each of the last three seasons, but he still serves as a decent defender behind the dish. The rotational return, Quinn Pester, Jacob Miseroski, and Chad Patrick. With that group and overall youthfulness and the lack of innings amongst them, it might be smart to at least start the season with a veteran. And with that, the Brewers was signed Tyler Mali. Mi had a great year with the Rangers in 2025, despite not really changing much about his game. He barely allowed any homers or hits and looked very good in the 16 starts in Texas. How replicable that will be will be the ultimate discussion for every GM this off seasonason, especially with his injury history and just how far those home run numbers are from his career norm. Either way, he will provide some innings to this Brewers rotation to start the year. For the bullpen, it’ll start the year looking much the same with AB, Jared Coning, Eric Ashby, Nick Mirs, Grant Anderson, Rob Zazdrris, DL Hall, and Tobias Meyers. And that’s going to do it for the video. The Brewers always get creative in the offseason, not through free agency, but through trade. And in this video, I tried to tackle that by getting Nick Casianos as well as Alex Freeland. Ultimately, who knows what they’re going to do, but this was my fix to the roster, especially trying to fix that shorts stop position. Hope you guys enjoyed. Thank you guys for watching and have a wonderful day.
The Milwaukee Brewers looked like a team of destiny in 2025, to then get buzz sawed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now with a full offseason to correct course, can they make the right moves to rekindle their magic.
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3 comments
I agree on the Freddy Peralta front. He is a big part of the clubhouse culture similar to Willy Adames. I see the Brewers riding the situation out and making a trade at the deadline if they are out of the hunt.
As a Brewers fan I respect the ideas behind this rebuild & like that the moves are different from what people would expect on the surface. It's hard to make moves that raise a 97 win ceiling without making the conference power houses stronger, which is why I feel Freddy Peralta is getting traded. Castellanos is a cool DH option if Yelich went back in Left Field with Bauers on the bench, but a 20m contract is too much money for a team cutting payroll unless it's a perk to a bigger trade [still possibly Peralta?]. There isn't a universal answer for an offseason but this video shares several strong moves. I'd like to think the Brewers don't middle on their decisions & either hand the reigns to the younger guys or push for a World Series. My bet is the former while adding 5 or 6 cheap veterans with something to prove.
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