INSIDER: Milwaukee Brewers MAINTAIN NL Central DOMINANCE or Will Cardinals FIGHT BACK?

INSIDER: Milwaukee Brewers MAINTAIN NL Central DOMINANCE or Will Cardinals FIGHT BACK?

The Brewers finished 19 games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central, but you know the Cardinals, they’re not going to stay down for long. JD Hfron, Locked On Cardinals, joins us next here on the Locked On Network. You are Locked On Brewers, your daily Milwaukee Brewers podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. How it ended for both teams. Well, the Brewers ended up winning the division by five games by 19 over the Cardinals, but you know, it’s going to be a busy off season for the St. Louis Cardinals. Indeed, for both teams. We’ll talk about the needs for both teams as well, and how does the division look going forward. The Brewers have won this division the last several years, but can they do it in 2026? And who’s coming on strong? Know the Cardinals are going to be there. My name is Chuck Freeman, longtime sports caster here in the state of Wisconsin, proud host of Locked On Brewers, part of the Locked On podcast network, now the number one sports podcast network out there. And the reason why we are is because of JD Hfron from Locked On Cardinals. He is there every day. That’s right. It was me. I did it. You’re welcome everybody. Lock on Hefron has become the number one podcast out there. And there we go. There we go. I just want to I just want to start this off on the right foot with all my Wisconsin people understand. Go Pack Go. I’m an owner. I’m with you on that. So don’t pick on me too much after today’s episode. Thank you. No, no. Our our baseball teams might be enemies. We we’re friends and we do share the same like for the same football team. Although, you know, fans aren’t too happy with the head coach these days of the Green Bay Packers. But, you know, that’ll be for lockdown Packers. JD, the offseason, how’s it going for you so far? Pretty quiet. And you and I haven’t talked in a little bit. Yeah, it’s uh I mean, it’s quiet across the league really outside of the the one trade that just happened between the Angels and the Orioles, but uh things are going to pick up. We know how it gets when the winter meetings start to uh come together and we just had the the 40man rosters and the rule five protection stuff go down and you know all of these things uh lead you into what’s going to happen during the winter meetings which uh take place right around like December 10th something like that. So uh but no shortage of chatter about our teams and things. I mean you guys uh when when it came to that rule five that was the uh the big news was you know Woodruff accepting his his salary and was like yes I I will go ahead and take that. Some people were surprised by that. Uh Cardinals are one of those teams that everybody is kind of waiting on to make a number of different moves. We got plenty of pieces that we want to move on from veteran pieces that some can help teams better than others. Uh but uh there’s definitely room for Heine Bloom to make some noise this offseason and there’s a lot of chatter regarding a guy who grew up in your farm system and I think a terrific player Donovan. A lot of teams would love to have that guy on their team. I’m going to ask you talk about that coming up here in a little bit. First of all, the way it ended uh 78 and 84. I know you lost those three games to the Cubs to finish off the season. In fact, you lost four in a row to finish it off. 78 and 84. I know we talked about this being a rebuild for the Cardinals. Um, is that what you about expected though? I mean, when you see rebuild, you don’t think six games below. You think like 16 or 26 below. Yeah, it’s it, you know, they they hate using the word rebuild because it’s the Cardinals are not the team that’s going to tank to, you know, hit rock bottom and then build it all the way back up. The idea was to, they were using terms like runway and a reset, if you will, because what they want to do is do what the Brewers do really, really well, is produce their own talent and develop their own stars and instead of having to go out and overpay for guys on the free agent market, they want they wanted to be better at drafting, developing, and uh specifically in the pitching. I mean, they obviously he won offensive, too, but the the pitching was really where they’ve fallen, uh off a cliff with the development side of things. So, um so last year it was really about offensively they wanted guys like Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker to give him a full season. Unfortunately, Walker was hurt multiple times this season and had dismal numbers. Nolan Gorman uh didn’t really have a a place to go because of the other Nolan, Aronado, uh did not get traded away, which really kind of held things back because they wanted to open up some lanes on that infield for him. And when Aronado, you know, vetoed that trade to the to the Astros and then they didn’t find any buyers after that, uh, they were kind of stuck with them and they just kind of clogged things up for where Nolan Gorman could play because of Brennan Donovan being on the team as well and being the team’s best second baseman. So Gorman didn’t have anywhere to go. Uh, so it wasn’t exactly the way they envisioned things when they were going to give him this runway, but he did get a lot of at bats and he didn’t do a whole lot with them. So, uh, people were pretty disappointed in both what Gorman and Walker brought to the table last year in what was supposed to be their year of growth and, uh, they weren’t they weren’t thrilled about it. Well, the Brewers finished 19 games over the St. Louis Cardinals. And I’ll tell you what, I don’t think I don’t think that’s ever going to happen ever again. To be honest with you, I don’t see I I don’t I really don’t see it. That’s an anomaly there right there. I don’t see the Cardinals uh ever finishing that far off. Uh, because you guys will be back. I’m always looking over the fence and seeing what you guys are doing. I don’t care how many games out, I’m always worried about the Cardinals. Yeah. Yeah. They’ve had the history of of being that team that’s always there. And uh just the last couple of years, things have not gone their way. And you know, you would think that we’ve been sitting in the toilet for, you know, a decade now, the way that the fans react to it. They’re not showing up to ball games, which, you know, is their right to not be there. Uh but the Brewers are are are something that the Cardinals are striving to be like. They want to be more like Milwaukee. Play that kind of brand of baseball to develop your own talent and make smart moves. You know, when uh when they the Brewers make a move and they trade a guy away, a bigname guy, you know, they do it with a purpose. There’s a reason behind it. And so far, it’s worked out more times than not for Milwaukee. And I think the the Cardinals want to do that because they’ve made a lot of mistakes with their trades. But now they got a new guy in charge in Heim Bloom. and hopefully he’s learned from those mistakes that his predecessor made and won’t make them again. Quite a different that you guys are looking over to seeing what the Milwaukee Brewers because we’ve always looked over to the St. Louis Cardinals and seeing, man, how can we not be more like them? They’re division champs. They’re going to the playoffs every year. And lately, it’s the Brewers that, you know, they own this division and are going to the playoffs. Uh, but you guys have had a great history. And, uh, that’s kind of it’s kind of refreshing to hear that a little bit. I’ll be honest with you, JD. Yeah, you guys have done you guys have worked really really hard and done uh some smart business and and it has shocked me that more Brewers personnel has not been filtered out to the rest of the league where people haven’t picked at your guys’ rosters and your front office to try to pull things away. And uh I mean we know the Cubs did it, but it really wasn’t the manager we’re learning that was such the the smart thing. It’s the whole organization that Milwaukee has that you guys are, you know, you guys are together on this. you guys are in unison about it and uh when council left you guys were like okay we’ll move on it’s fine we we’ve got other great guys and great minds ready to rock and uh look at you go um it’s been impressive and again when it comes to mid to small market teams because I would say you know it’s not like Milwaukee small but you know as far as going against LA and New York we know the the big dogs um there’s a better way and a different way that you have to do things and the Cardinals have learned that that for a while they tried to compete with the the payrolls of those guys. They were always in the top 10, but they weren’t seeing the results and you know they were and then without having the player development the way that they had been used to like they used to be one of the best farm systems in baseball and then that really fell off. So they they had to kind of reignite that and refocus everything to get back to what made the Cardinals really good before, which was what has made the Brewers so good is that they’ve made some smart deals and they keep replenishing their farm system. When they do send a big guy away, they get some nice pieces back. And you guys are developing your own stars. You’re great in the international market. Uh you know, getting guys like Chorio, like th those are all smart things. And I I think a lot of teams that are the size of the Cardinals and the Reds and other guys in the division outside of Chicago, I think that we look at what Milwaukee has put together over the last few years and you’re like, that’s how you can do it. This is how you can compete with those big guys. Well, what happens is the regular season, we we win with all these bargain basement guys, 97 wins this last year, and it’s like we’re buying into it like maybe we don’t have to spend a lot of money. Maybe we don’t have to go out making these flashy moves at the trading deadline. Maybe we don’t need guys like that. Maybe we don’t need a 30 home run home run hitter. Oh, and then we then the playoffs come and it’s like, oh, maybe we do. One of those things. Um, but it’s not, you know, I just, and it’s funny because you guys do, you guys dominate the Dodgers in the regular season and then the Dodgers, let’s be honest, they got hot, they got healthy, they figured some things out. And we all knew that that was the team to beat in the National League. And it’s, you know, it’s gonna take everything going the right way for for other teams to topple those guys because they just got so many really good players, you know, and it’s uh that tough rotation and stuff like it unfortunately it it was we knew it was it wasn’t going to be easy for Milwaukee to compete with or anybody. I mean, I’ll be honest, it’s not just Milwaukee, but anybody to topple those guys and beat them in a playoff series. it’s just it’s going to be difficult. So, um you know, the Milwaukee, you know, pushed them and at least gave him a bigger fight than you know, Philly or anything like that. So, um you know, I I would be proud if I was the Brewers, but at the same time, I think you guys are probably sick of it. Like, you’re like, “No, I we need more postseason victories. We need more success in the postseason.” It’s probably got you guys pretty frustrated, I imagine. Yeah, you hit it right on the head right there. I mean, every year and then same with the regular season. People are like, “Well, let’s see what’s gonna happen in the postseason.” I wanted to buy in. I bought in this past year and I was like, got kicked in the teeth once again. But we move on. NL Central title first for both of our teams, both the Cardinals and the Brewers. And what are the needs for both teams? We’ll talk about that coming up next here on Locked on Brewers. Locked on Brewers, part of the locked on podcast network. Locked on Cardinals, JD Hfron. We’re doing a little crossover here today here on Locked On. And today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use the promo code locked on MLB, and with that first $5 bet, you’re going to win yourself $300 to put in your account bonus bets. It’s really easy. You’re going to love the live betting too on on the account. I mean, you look at their live betting. There’s some places you go to and it’s really confusing with the live betting, but not with FanDuel. It’s all there. So, maybe you like a team that is favored by seven to start the game and uh you know, they get out of the gates slow and and before you know it, man, it’s a pick them game. You could jump right in with their live bets. And also, you can combine live bets into the same game parlay for a shot at even a bigger payout. Right now, FanDuel giving new customers again, $300 in bonus bets when that first $5 bet wins. But you got to head to fanduel.com, sign up, play your game with FanDuel. FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. And next week is an ideal time for all you out there because man, it’s going on. College basketball, football, NFL, it is all going on. But get in the FanDuel. Visit fanuel.com and check it out and uh you’ll see why exactly why they’re the number one sports book out there. Lockdown viewers part of lockdown podcast network. We are your team every day. Locked on Cardinals JD Haffron. We’re doing a talking about both teams here in the NL Central and the needs for both teams. The Cardinals finished at 78 and 84 19 behind Milwaukee in the NL Central. What are you looking at here JD? Again, we talked about how it’s quiet to start this off season, but moving forward here. Yeah. Uh the Cardinals are going to move some pieces. Um and it it’s tough because the couple of the guys they want to move got no trade clauses, so they have the the the last say in this whole thing. But uh the idea is that Nolan Aronado has played his last game with the Cardinals. Even had the little sendoff at the end of the season at Bush Stadium where they pulled him off the field and he said goodbye. So, it’d be really awkward if he was back again this year. Um, Sunny Gray is a is a name that I think a lot of teams are going to be interested in. He’s very expensive, but they’re going to be shopping him. And if there’s something that fits between uh some of these other teams that Sunny would be willing to go to. The the word is he, you know, continues to want to be around the Nashville area where his family’s at, which is one of the reasons why he picked St. Louis. But it seems like the Braves could be a natural fit uh for for that. Um, but also Will Contra says he’s willing to listen, although most of us think that he’s going to return. Uh, that that he’s not really blocking anybody at first base, so it’s not a need to move on from him. And then Brennan Donovan is the is the other big name that, as we mentioned at the top of the show, that he is getting a lot of attention for being the ultimate utility guy. You know, he’s a guy that uh just does everything right. He’s can play a number of different positions, every all four positions on the infield, corner, outfield positions, uh that he can do all of this. Uh he’s won a gold glove. Um he was a silver slugger finalist this year with Alec Berles who won the award. Um so these are some names that the Cardinals are looking to move and in return try to acquire young controllable pitching. That those are the words that that we’re really chasing after. We’re we’re looking for young controllable pitching to restock because as you know you can never have enough pitching and if you get too much then you use those pieces to go get other needs that you might have. So uh that’s kind of what the Cardinals focus is this off season. Uh first things first would be the Aronado trade. Got to get that out of the way. Figure out how much money you have to eat, what you have left over to go spend on any sort of free agency that you want to spend it on. Uh will Sunny Greg get moved because that’s a huge chunk of money. He’s He’s set to make $35 million this year. It’s crazy. It was part of the the the contract that they signed him to. They did that. They They signed him that. That’s right. They did. Yeah. Well, he Well, what happened is that his first year he was only at 15 million and then it went up to, you know, it went escalated as the three-year contract moves on. So, now he’s like a top 10 start paid starting pitcher. The Cardinals are going to have to eat money on that one, too, when they decide to move him. but he’s worth more as far as getting some prospects in return. I don’t know what they’re going to be able to get for Nolan Aronado. I assume it’s going to be some sort of lottery ticket type of double A player or somebody who’s dealt with injuries. You know, we I keep talking about the Grayson Rodriguez deal with the Orioles. You know, the the Cardinals would love to get a chance at somebody like that. The the injuries have been a problem, but you can get Nolan Aronata. we’ll eat some of that money and we’ll use we’ll take on him as a flyer and see if we can maybe you know turn his career around. I feel like that would be something Cardinal fans would be interested in, but that’s kind of their goals right now. What are the Brewers looking to add to improve an amazing team during the regular season? Obviously wasn’t able to complete the goal at the end, but there’s not a lot of holes for you guys to really fill. you uh got some good good depth already at a lot of your positions and getting some guys back. Well, I’d love to have Nolan Aronado. That’s just never going to happen unless we do a You give us the Miz, we’ll give you Aronado. Let’s go. Well, that ain’t happening for sure. That’s not happening for sure. Um what does Aronado do in his contract this this upcoming year? He’s still got two years left on his deal, which is I I think when you count what the Rockies are are still paying, uh I think it’s around like 30 a little over 30 million over the next two seasons. So, it’s nothing outrageous in this day and age, but when you look at his offensive like the where the trajectories are going and how bad it’s been the last couple seasons, the glove is still there. I still love him. Like I I know that when he was gone this year and he had a couple of injuries this year and when he was out, you really realize how freaking good Nolan Aronado is at third base. When you have a normal player over there, it’s like weird because he’s so good and he covers so much ground and makes life so much easier for the pitchers. Like having Aronado and Mason win on that left side of the infield and a Brennan Donovan at second like and even Contrarus was really good this year uh over at first. Shockingly, we didn’t think he was going to be that good. Um that was one heck of an infield that you know does a lot of good for pitchers who don’t have a lot of swing and misses which is which the uh the Cardinal rotation had this past year but um yeah well we can talk I I don’t think the Cardinal would mind if Nolan Aronado stayed in the division as long as he wasn’t getting paid by the Cardinals anymore. Well uh JD the Brewers do need a power bat at third base. I really do think uh because I think they’re going to do some shuffling around in that infield. I want to see I I’d love to see a power hitting third base. I want to pay 35 million, but I know that’s the price of doing that’s kind of the going rate if you were to go get like an Alex Bregman, but like you gota pay crazy money for that. I mean, that’s the financial game in baseball these days where the Milwaukee Bucks can afford Giannis Doopo, but the Milwaukee Brewers can’t afford a guy, a superstar like that. Um, yeah, they need a power bat over at third base. They did. Uh, and I think Durban’s going to get moved from third to second and Terraang is going to go to shortstop. I think that’s going to be that’s at least what I would do. Um, but they might need another outfielder. Certainly a backup catcher. Uh, the starting rotation looks good. I mean, Brandon Woodruff picking up his qualifying offer of 22 million. That might have hurt things financially for the Milwaukee Brewers. Brewers have said, “Oh yeah, we’re good with it.” But you got to believe it. be like, “Oh boy, now we got to pay this guy 22 million. Hopefully he stays healthy.” But power I I think they need another power bat into this lineup. And I think if if they get another power bat, um I do see them right now going into the offseason as a favorite. Uh again, both the Cubs and the Cardinals and Reds got work to do, I think, in the offseason. Yeah, the Cubs are an interesting team because everybody keeps waiting for them to just go bonkers and go spend a ton of money and maybe they put all their chips. You know, Imanaga like Woodruff took his deal like he he accepted his offer so he’s coming back very expensive. Uh will they keep Kyle Tucker? Do you think they keep Kyle Tucker or do you think somebody else comes in and swipes him away from him? Am I the only guy who’s not enamored with that guy if he’s the number one? I’m not. on the same boat. Like I’m like, “Yeah, like a couple years ago and I know he was really good, but I’m not head over heel. I’m not paying that guy what people think he’s going to get.” Like JB he’s the number one free agent out there. That’s it. That’s the guy. Yeah, we’re all the Kyle Tucker sweep this. They benched him for a little bit in August. Council benched him in Chicago. We’re going to get the division. I’m gonna ask you. We’re going to see. Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, he was getting he was getting booed at Wrigley. Like they didn’t want anything to do with him anymore. I honestly I’d rather have Bellinger to be honest with you. I’d rather have what his contract is probably going to be over a shorter period of time. Uh I think the ceiling’s almost as high. I just I’m not interested in paying a Kyle Tucker. That that wouldn’t be somebody I’m eyeing up if uh especially with our markets. But, uh, I just no, I’m going to let somebody else make that mistake. All right, we come back, we’ll talk about the rest of the division and, uh, who’s catching the Brewers, who and who Cardinals are going to be right there, I believe. Uh, the Cubs, Cincinnati, and forget about the Pirates, but we’ll get to that next here on Lockdown Brewers. Locked on Brewers, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. We are your team every day. We’re the number one podcast, sports podcast network out there. And this episode is brought to you by Game Time. Hey, game time. Brewers tickets, you know about Bucks tickets, Packers tickets, Cardinals tickets. Maybe you want to go to a Blues game. Maybe you want to go to a concert uh in the St. Louis area or the Milwaukee area. Download the Game Time app, create an account, couple of taps, you’ll get amazing deals. Uh I got tickets. I got tickets. See Brian Adams down in Chicago pretty good for 13th roll couple of weeks ago. I know JD probably’s never even heard of Brian Adams, but I have. 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I don’t know if you could hear me doing the pro the the read there, but I said I bought Oh, yeah. And immediately summer of 69 came in my head. And of course uh you got to remember I was a radio DJ. I was a music DJ guy for for many many years before I transitioned into the sports field. So I am very much familiar with Brian Adams and all his ballads and the Robin Hood song. Like I I respect me some Brian Adams. Wow. Okay. Did not I I was a little surprised cuz that was Yeah, dude. I got a kid. Yeah, there we go. The raspy Canadian Brian Adams, man. I know who he is. He was great. He was great. Like I saw him in Milwaukee back when I was a kid when he was first, you know, came up. Um JD, uh who do you see who do you see chasing the Brewers here in the division? We agree. I think right now it’s their division. Other teams have got to get better. Who do you see? Well, again, the Cubs like are interesting because if they take a big swing and add some pieces, uh I feel like they got some some some nice I mean, they were right there at the end of things wi with the Brewers like they were threatening. Um where is Here’s my thing. Where is Kyle Schwarber going? Because you hear the Pirates talking about, you know, hey, we’re going to spend some money. He’s not going to go to Pittsburgh. I’m sorry. they’re not going to overpay and he’s not they’re not going to win the bidding war. There’s talk that the Reds might go after him. He’s uh from Middletown, Ohio, which is just outside of Cincinnati. So adding that bat to their lineup would would be nice considering all the young pitching that they got. And you know, they were a playoff team last year. So, um and you know, Ali de la Cruz was playing injured for most of the year. uh some of us had some inside scoop that he’d been dealing with a leg injury for that back half of the year. Uh but they never acknowledged it. Now you’re hearing that, you know, that’s part of the reason why his numbers uh dipped in the second half. So I feel like the Reds with because I always see it coming down to pitching. Like that’s where I always go to that who’s got the depth, who can who can keep up with the the the big teams uh depthwise. And when you look at what the Brewers have, uh, where a healthy Woodruff, Peralta, which I believe he’s not getting traded. Most people have said that’s not what they’re doing unless somebody comes in with one of those, you know, Godfather deals, which you guys couldn’t refuse. So, never say never, but seems like he’s coming back. You’ve got the Miz coming back. Is Quinn Priest going to be as good as he was this past year? I don’t know. But either way, solid depth. You guys got a guy a nice rotation. I think depthwise, I feel like the Reds are the closest thing to that when they have all their guys healthy. You know, they got uh, you know, Chase Burns coming up and they got Hunter Green who’s still there, although he’s been rumored to be moved. Nick Leolo, Andrew Abbott, like that’s a very good rotation that I think is the the next team, unless the Cubs make some moves. I I still put the Reds as the closest ones to threatening what what the Brewers are going to be in 2026. What about you? Yeah, I you know, even though there was um three teams from this division making the postseason, I don’t look at the, you know, anybody really being great. I mean, the Brewers had the 97 wins, but certainly the door is open for someone. I the general managers, the owners in this division got to look at it and say, why are the Brewers winning the division every year, right? Well, that’s what they’re trying to figure out. The Cardinal are doing the Cardinal, like I said, they’re trying to they’re trying to follow the blueprint that you guys have do. Don’t overspend. Make smart deals, but build your own farm system. Produce your own stars. these guys like Terrain coming up uh making the smart deals. Remember when the Contras deal went down and everybody’s like, “How did the Brewers walk away with Contraras?” Just smart business decisions, you know, and uh not everything works out the way you wanted to. I I don’t think the Reese Hoskins deal is something that you guys look fondly on in in retrospect, but at the same time, you were looking for a power bat and uh the the hope was that he’d be okay and it just didn’t work out. But uh by the way, Paul Goldmid’s out there in case you need him again this year. Well, I liked him last year. Was it last year or two years ago? It was last year. Last year it was when he was the first free agent. He went to the Yankees, but I know you’re you’re a big goldie fan. So, if you need a you want him, he’s available if you need him. I was surprised that he was in the leadoff spot. I just don’t see him as a leadoff hitter and he was leading off for the Yankees. I can’t explain that. I can’t explain that. I don’t know why they had him there. And uh obviously it wasn’t something that stayed that that long, but I don’t know. Sometimes I I scratch my head at some of the decisions any managers make, even my own in St. Louis. Like, you know, there’s some just like what are we doing? But what do I know? Baseball winter meetings come up uh right around that second week of December, shortly after Thanksgiving. And then and sometimes moves get made there, but you know, all the groundwork will be laid at those meetings and probably the GM meetings that just happened. same thing as well, the meetings that happen out in Vegas. But I’m I’m just curious to see what’s going to happen in this division. And we both are going to keep an eye on the Cubs, right? I mean, the Cubs continue to act like a small market, right? For whatever reason, they they they won’t play in the big pool with guys like the Dodgers and the Mets, even though they obviously can do that, but uh they’ve also made some good deals and have brought, you know, Kate Horton’s awesome. PCA was very very good for a long time last year and then he went ice cold till the end of the season. But obviously he’s a special talent in center field that’s going to be there forever. I mean I was talking to about our center fielder Victor Scott and he was a finalist for the Gold Glove and I’m like I don’t know if anybody’s going to win one until PCA is not in this division in center field. He’s just that good. Uh so that’s obviously a big piece. Um, yeah, I it’s not that I want the Cubs to make big moves or anything like that to to make things more difficult, but I’d be shocked if they don’t do something, you know, and if the Kyle Tucker thing doesn’t work out and he ends up going someplace else, I I would imagine they would would chase after a few more of those big bats. I’m just not overwhelmed by this free agent class this year. There’s not like a guy where I’m like, “Oh my god, superstar.” I love me some Kyle Schwarber, don’t get me wrong, but again, paying a DH like I don’t mind paying him, you know, 30 million a year to just come up and hit 55 home runs. I’ll do that, I guess. I guess. I don’t know. I don’t know what bothers me. It’s maybe the old school mentality where I’m like, uh, all he does is hit, though. I mean, is that I’d be shocked if Philly let him get away from him. I mean, it’s not like they’re hurting for funds either. So, I would be surprised. He seems like a really good fit with that locker room and that clubhouse. And you know, I I don’t know what it’s going to take for Philly to get over the hump, but uh I’d be shocked if Shoreber ended up going someplace else, but I don’t know. I I was glad when he got out of the division and the Cubs let him move, I was like, “Yay!” Because he used to just maul the Cardinals back in the day, so he’s had a couple balls that haven’t landed yet off us. Well, same here. A couple What do you What do you think the Brewers What do you think the Brewers are going to do? Is there any big swings that they might take or is there anything sneaky you think that no they have uh that that would surprise you and the fans at all? The only thing is on the table I guess and the rumblings are they’re going to keep him is Freddy Peralta. That’s they’re not going to go out and sign Bellinger or anybody and they don’t need Bellinger but and they’re not going to sign any of these guys. Uh they’re going to wait for someone to drop in their lap uh in the offseason like towards spring training. somebody’s looking for a job like Kintana and that’s the way they operate unless they get somebody through a trade a Peralta trade I don’t see a block but I mean who knows they could if they’re going to trade anybody they’d have to make some big moves like a trade of Conturus or stuff like that who knows but they haven’t made a blockbuster move like that in a while the trades they’ve made in the last few years JD were all expected guys who were in contract years right yeah the big names you know the Burns and the haters uh is there any spot on the roster for the Brewers that’s got some depth that you guys think you might trade from to go get guys? No, because uh need all the starting pitching they can can have right now. They’re bullpen guys. No. Um there’s no place the good players around, but you know, they’re keeping the Sterangs and the Freelicks and Cheerios and all that. They need another They need one. They need another maybe another outfielder with power. They need maybe a left fielder with some power. They need maybe a third baseman. So yeah, they don’t have a posit. It’s not that they can go out there and do something like that. Um, if anything, if they chire somebody, it’s going to be because they’re going to have to give somebody up for them. Like, so I see I’m more like I was surprised the Brewers stood packed at the trade deadline last year. I thought that that was the team to really go and take a swing with like like they do. We are really freaking good. And if we can trade a couple of prospects to go get that one piece to put us over the top, you know, maybe we can take down the Dodgers this year. So, I was a little surprised that they they were as quiet as they were. And I’m sure you guys were too. Like, I mean, you expected it, but at the same time, you’re like, when is the team going to be at that level again? Because getting close to 100 wins is it’s not normal. That’s that’s the way they are in the small market. I’m not expecting anything and I don’t anticipate anything happening major and uh even at the trading deadline they didn’t take a big swing then they came out right after the trading deadline and started a 14game winning streak. So people complained when they didn’t make any deals including me but then they came out there and we’re just fine. So I guess everybody’s going to point at the postseason bag but still look at this. This is where we got to win the games. Uh so and it’s not happening. what in my and real quick in your opinion because I always like getting the outside uh take on some of this because I always see my players here in St. Louis through my own St. Louis rosy red goggles but what what what do you think somebody like Brennan Donovan is worth? like what what do you think a team should be willing to give up to acquire somebody like that where he’s got a couple years of control still is the type of player he is still but is going to be you know 31 by the time his contract time is up and he hits free agency like what do you think he’s worth? I think he’s worth three players. A really good prospect and then two guy two veterans, two two he might have to throw an aging veteran contract in there, but then a a guy who’s going to come in a good young player who’s in the prime of his career. So, I think that I think a a a guy from the farm system, a a player who, you know, like the Brewers had to take on Nester Cortez and they were never going to resign him. Something like that. And then, yeah, you’re gonna have to get a player who’s gonna be able to produce for you right now because you’re losing a player like that who’s producing for you right now. Yeah. Yeah. I I’ve been hoping my hope is that they can grab and if we’re focused on pitching, I I’m hoping that it’s like you get one like very young, controllable, like a 26 year old type of guy who’s ready to start now, who can fill a rotation spot. uh may not be like a super top prospect in somebody’s rankings, but at least like top 20 who’s ready to to to compete. Um and then like a double A guy or something like that. And then if you can get that veteran as well because they still got to fill out their rotation for this year. You know, if they do trade Sunny Gray, they only really got like two dudes who are who are ready to to to go on opening day that people would trust. So, uh yeah, it’s going to be interesting. A lot of people think the Cardinals are going to be one of the the busier teams this off season where I guess we’re we’ve made the decision that the Brewers probably going to be pretty quiet. You bet. But it’s uh anything could be surprised me with the Milwaukee Brewers. Who knows? Uh but I would lean on probably being very very quiet. JD, have yourself a great Thanksgiving. We’ll talk to you in the new year and all that and you and I will get together and do another one of these. Yeah, let’s do it. And go Pack, go take down them Vikings. I hope so. Big game coming up this weekend. JD Haffron, Packer fan, terrific host of Locked On Cardinal. My name is Chuck Freeman, host of Lockdown Brewers, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network out there. Have yourself a great weekend, everybody.

Milwaukee Brewers dominate the NL Central, finishing 19 games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals—but can they defend their crown in 2026 as divisional rivals reload? Chuck Freimund and JD Hafron debate the future of both franchises, spotlighting off-season strategies, key trades, and roster shakeups that could shape next year’s race.

The conversation covers Nolan Arenado’s uncertain status, Sonny Gray’s hefty contract, and the Brewers’ quest for a power bat at third base. Are the Cubs poised to make noise, or will the Cincinnati Reds’ young arms surge next season? Get insider analysis on player development, farm system moves, and which NL Central team might break through. With perspectives from Locked On Brewers and Locked On Cardinals, this episode breaks down the division’s evolving landscape and what it means for postseason ambitions.

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