Milwaukee Brewers Offseason Tracker: Hottest Free Agency News, Trade Rumors
After a disappointing collapse in the second half of the 2014 season, the Milwaukee Brewers will have a long offseason to try to figure out how to get to the playoffs next year.
Milwaukee controlled the National League Central for much of the season. The Brewers spent 150 days in first place but finished the season on a 9-22 skid. Manager Ron Roenicke will be back next season, so now the front office can focus on shaping the roster.
There was plenty of talent on the roster this year. However, this offseason will be one in which the team has plenty of choices to make on whom it will bring back next year.
Stay tuned throughout November to see what is going on with the Brewers.
All stats are via MLB.com
Done Deals
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Done Deals
Oct. 31: Exercised RHP Yovani Gallardo's $13 million option
Oct. 31: Declined 2B Rickie Weeks' $11.5 million option
Nov. 1: Acquired 1B Adam Lind from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for RHP Marco Estrada
Nov. 3: $14 million mutual option on 3B Aramis Ramirez exercised
Dec. 18: Acquired minor-league UT Matt Long and LHP Jarret Martin from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for minor-league C Shawn Zarraga
Brewers Free Agents
Nov. 18: LHP Zach Duke signed a three-year, $15 million deal with Chicago White Sox
Gerardo Parra: Possible Trade Candidate
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The Brewers are open to trading outfielder Gerardo Parra, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
Parra was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the middle of the season. The 27-year-old hit .268 with three home runs, four doubles and a triple in 46 games with the Brewers. He hit .261 with nine home runs, 22 doubles and four triples overall in 2014.
The outfielder is a solid bat and also play Gold Glove-caliber defense in the outfield.
Parra is eligible for arbitration for the third time this winter, so Milwaukee may be looking to get something in return for him rather than have him play out the final year of his contract.
Nov. 3: $14 Million Mutual Option on Aramis Ramirez Exercised
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Aramis Ramirez will be back with the Milwaukee Brewers next season as both sides have exercised their half of his $14 million mutual option for 2015. The Brewers announced via Twitter that they exercised their half of the option, and Ramirez exercised his half a few days later.
The veteran hit .285 with 15 home runs, 23 doubles and 66 RBI this past season. The 36-year-old is not driving runs in the way he has in the past, but he certainly has some pop left in his bat.
Ramirez would have been one of the top third basemen on the market had he declined his half of the option. However, he has decided to accept his option and return to the Brewers.
Ramirez has a slash line of.291/.352/.482 with 54 home runs, 91 doubles and 220 RBI in three seasons in Milwaukee. He has spent his entire 17-year career inside the National League Central, also playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs.
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Nov. 1: Acquired 1B Adam Lind from the Blue Jays for RHP Marco Estrada
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Milwaukee wasted no time in making its first move of the offseason. Per the team's official Twitter account, the Brewers have acquired first baseman Adam Lind from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for right-handed pitcher Marco Estrada.
In 2014, Lind hit .321 with six home runs and 24 doubles.
Lind has been in the majors since 2006 and has spent his entire career with the Blue Jays. The 31-year-old first baseman has a career slash line of .273/.327/.466 and has 146 home runs in his nine-year career.
In two of the past three seasons, Lind has been limited to fewer than 100 games. In 2012, he dealt with a back injury. This year, a foot injury sidelined him for a bit. However, when he is healthy, he is capable of hitting for some power. Starting in 2009, he hit at least 23 home runs in three straight seasons.
Toronto had picked up Lind's $7.5 million option shortly before the trade. Now, he will be playing for Milwaukee in 2015.
The Brewers spent all last offseason searching for a first baseman. They found one early on in this offseason and can now focus on other areas.
Oct. 31: Brewers Exercise Yovani Gallardo's $13 Million Option
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The Milwaukee Brewers have picked up the $13 million option on Yovani Gallardo for next season, per the team's official Twitter account.
The right-hander went 8-11 with a 3.51 ERA in 32 starts this year. After striking out at least 200 batters in each season from 2009-12, his strikeout total has been down in each of the past two seasons. He struck out 144 batters in 180.2 innings last year and followed that up by striking out 146 batters in 192.1 innings this past season.
Gallardo is 89-64 with a 3.69 ERA in 214 games (211 starts) in eight years in the majors, all with Milwaukee. He had won at least 12 games in every season since 2009 up until this year.
The 28-year-old has been a big part of the team's rotation for years, and he will be around for at least one more season.
Oct. 31: Brewers Decline Rickie Weeks' $11.5 Million Option
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Rickie Weeks made his major league debut with the Brewers in 2003, but now it looks like the two sides will go their separate ways.
According to the team's official Twitter account, Milwaukee has declined the $11.5 million option it held on the veteran infielder for next season.
In 2014, Weeks showed signs of redemption. He hit .274 with nine home runs and 19 doubles in 286 plate appearances. Those numbers come just one year after he hit .209 with 10 home runs and 20 doubles in 399 plate appearances.
The 32-year-old's average had steadily declined since the 2009 season, and his power numbers dropped in 2013 as he saw a reduction in playing time. With the emergence of Scooter Gennett, the Brewers had an alternative to Weeks.
Weeks had a .249/.347/.424 slash line with 148 home runs and 203 doubles in his 11-year career with the Brewers.
Francisco Rodriguez: Free Agent
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Francisco Rodriguez was one of Milwaukee's best relievers in 2014, and now he is set to draw a lot of interest on the free-agent market.
The 32-year-old went 5-5 with 44 saves in 69 appearances for the Brewers this year. He posted a 3.04 ERA and 0.985 WHIP in 68 innings.
Rodriguez's strikeout-per-nine-innings rate (9.7) was the second lowest of his career, which is the result of a diminished fastball. However, he was still able to make the All-Star team for the fifth time in his career.
If the Brewers want him back, Rodriguez is interested in returning to Milwaukee. Rodriguez told the Journal-Sentinel's Todd Rosiak that he wants to be back. Milwaukee has Jonathan Broxton and Jeremy Jeffress, so the team may not be willing to pay to keep Rodriguez. Only time will tell as to how interested the team is in bringing back the closer.
Mark Reynolds: Free Agent
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The Brewers will have to decide how to handle their first base position this offseason. Mark Reynolds, one of the team's first basemen this year, is a free agent this winter.
As always, teams have to take the good and the bad from the slugger. Reynolds hit just .196 with 122 strikeouts in 378 at-bats, but he did slug 22 home runs. He has tremendous power but has the tendency to miss a lot of pitches.
Reynolds has played for four different teams over the past three seasons. Teams love his power, but his inability to put the bat on the ball keeps him from maintaining a roster spot. Now, Milwaukee has to decide if his power is worth another contract.
Lyle Overbay: Free Agent
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The Milwaukee Brewers spent last season looking for a first baseman, and they settled for a platoon role. Now, both players from the platoon are set to hit the market.
Not only is Reynolds a free agent this winter, but Lyle Overbay is as well.
Overbay hit .233 with four home runs and 14 doubles in 2014. He doesn't have the type of power that Reynolds has, but he does put the bat on the ball more often.
The 37-year-old has bounced around six teams since the beginning of the 2010 season. He's a cheap veteran option but doesn't produce at the plate the way he used to.
With both platoon players hitting the market this offseason, Milwaukee has to figure out what it will do at the position.
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