The Brewers Shouldn’t Have Just Settled

Heading into the trade deadline, the Milwaukee Brewers needed starting pitching help. While the Brewers have paced the NL Central for most of the season; it’s been because of their offense and bullpen. The Brewers’ rotation has been a constant shuffle due to injuries and underperformance. Freddy Peralta has shown he’s not an ace and Milwaukee has had a team record of 16 different starters. They failed to acquire Erick Fedde and instead settled for Frankie Montas. The Brewers should’ve been way more aggressive at the trade deadline.

The Brewers Have Had Success Despite Their Weak Rotation

For most of the season, Milwaukee has led the NL Central. This is due in part to their potent offense and lights-out bullpen. However, Milwaukee’s starting rotation has been a constant shuffle all season. Due to injuries and underperformance, a franchise-record 16 different pitchers have made starts including openers. Despite pitching at the top of the rotation, Freddy Peralta has proven he’s not an ace. As a team, Milwaukee’s rotation has an ERA of 4.31. The only National League teams with higher earned run averages are the Reds, Mets, Marlins, Rockies, and Nationals.

Milwaukee Just Settled On Frankie Montas

Milwaukee headed into the trade deadline in need of major upgrades to their starting rotation. While Colin Rea and Tobias Myers have performed well, those two aren’t enough for the stretch run. After failing to get Erick Fedde from the White Sox, Milwaukee pivoted and acquired Frankie Montas from the Reds. To get Montas, Milwaukee gave up Jakob Junis, former top prospect Joey Wiemer, and cash. This season, Montas has made 19 starts for Cincinnati going 4-8 with an ERA of 5.01, 78 strikeouts, and a 1.436 WHIP. This move does nothing to improve the Brewers’ starting rotation.

A Better Starter Was Needed

Frankie Montas hasn’t been the same since the first half of the 2022 season. He spent the second half of 2022 and the majority of 2023 battling injuries. While he’s just 31 and has managed to stay healthy this season, his best days are clearly behind him. Although the Brewers are amazing at pitching development, this isn’t the time of year to take on rejuvenation projects. Milwaukee already tried to do that with Dallas Keuchel and the jury is still out on Aaron Civale. If the Brewers were series about making a deep postseason run, they should’ve pursued a starter with a proven track record of success.

Better Starters Were Available

The Brewers must’ve forgotten that there were better starters available. The Brewers farm system is ranked third in all of baseball with multiple prospects ranked inside the top-100. Milwaukee could’ve acquired anyone they wanted. While they lost out on Fedde, Yusei Kikuchi, Jameson Taillon, and Paul Blackburn were all available. One of those three pitchers would’ve been a fit. Instead, the Brewers acquired an over-the-hill starter whose career is on life support. Given how little he improves the rotation, the Brewers might as well have not even made a move.

Milwaukee Missed A Great Opportunity

This trade deadline, the Milwaukee Brewers missed a great opportunity to bolster their starting rotation. Milwaukee had the farm system to acquire any pitcher they desired. The organization knew it was going to be a sellers’ market and pitching was going to be at a premium. A better contingency plan should’ve been in place after they failed to acquire Erick Fedde. There were better arms available instead they settled on acquiring a starter who’s washed up. While they’ve had success this season, it has been despite the struggles of their starting rotation. Had the Brewers acquired a better starter, they would’ve been more dangerous than they’ve ever been going into the postseason. Instead, Milwaukee heads into the stretch run still having question marks surrounding their starting rotation.

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