Brewers Trade Scenarios: How Much Should They Give Up for a Postseason Shot?

For Milwaukee Brewers fans, memories of postseason glory are limited.

In the past 20 years, the Brew Crew have made the playoffs once—in 2008.

Let's quickly put this in perspective.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, who last season finished with a record-setting 18th-straight losing season, have made the playoffs more times in the past 20 years than the Brewers.

Not all hope is lost for Brewers fans though, as they are pitted in a first-place battle with St. Louis and Pittsburgh with less than 60 games remaining.

General Manager Doug Melvin has shown before he is willing to bet the farm in order to "win now", a strategy that worked three years ago.

Melvin has made similar moves in 2011, adding Fransisco Rodriguez after the All-Star game in addition to piecing together one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball this offseason. 

Milwaukee's farm system isn't the strongest as a result, and with a number of contracts expiring in the next three years, it's time for Melvin and Milwaukee to bet their few remaining chips on a chance of playing late in October.

4. Young Pitching to Add Infield Depth

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The left side of the Brewers infield has been less than impressive defensively this season, giving up a combined 23 errors between Betancourt and third baseman Casey McGehee.

While McGehee has shown before he can post strong offensive numbers, Betancourt historically has shown otherwise—he is currently batting .257 with seven HR and 36 RBI in 2011.

Unfortunately for the Brewers Betancourt's trade value isn't extremely high, but if he's paired with one of Milwaukee's remaining prospects, could tempt a number of major league teams.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Brew Crew are keeping discussions open regarding Dodger shortstop Jamey Carroll and Houston's Clint Barmes.

At this point in time it's hard to speculate what Milwaukee would need to give up in return, but according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt, there's a plethora of right handed pitchers in their farm system.

Regardless of who's leaving, one thing is for sure: if the Brewers want to be contenders and not pretenders, Betancourt and McGehee need supplemental help at their positions.

3. Swap Relief Pitching for Relief Pitching

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Even after trading for Fransisco Rodriguez, the Brewers's needs in the bullpen aren't fully addressed.

Every single middle-relief pitcher on the current roster is right handed.  That could pose a problem if or when the Crew face a roster heavily populated with lefties.

General manager Doug Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt that they are in the hunt for a left-handed reliever, but "the market isn't very strong."

With left-handed relievers Mitch Stetter and Manny Parra sidelined due to injury, it could make sense to swap the likes of Kameron Loe, Marco Estrada or LaTroy Hawkins to a team looking for bullpen depth.

The Oakland A's have three lefty tossers in their current bullpen, and there is speculation that Melvin has either Brian Fuentes or Craig Breslow in his sights.

1. Short-Term Replacement for Rickie Weeks

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What seemed like a routine ground-out became a nightmare for Milwaukee in short order.

On July 27th Rickie Weeks injured his left ankle running out an infield single in the second inning against the Chicago Cubs.

Manager Ron Roenicke said "this isn't just a couple of days" and Weeks will be out for some time due to his placement on the 15-day disabled list.

Numerous rumors have surfaced recently regarding the Brewers trading for an infield utility player, but as previously mentioned, the intention of adding said player is to add depth to the left side of the infield and not the right.

Weeks's injury has certainly shuffled the cards and Milwaukee needs to adjust quickly.  The market for second baseman isn't great at the moment, but as ESPN's Buster Olney reminded us via Twitter that the Mariners's Adam Kennedy is currently available.

Not over-valued, Kennedy would help patch a gaping hole in their roster and wouldn't cost the farm to trade for.