So, to say the least, it's gonna be an interesting year for the Brewers.
The last two years, the Brewers have had some impressive teams, made some playoff runs, accumulated a lot of talent, and made a name for themselves as a threat in the NL Central. After 2019, they lost Yasmani Grandal, Mike Moustakas, Chase Anderson, Eric Thames, Zach Davies, Junior Guerra, Jordan Lyles, Travis Shaw, Trent Grisham, Gio Gonzalez and Drew Pomeranz.
That is a lot of people. And they're all in camp with other teams right now, ranging from potential competitors like the White Sox, underdogs like the Padres and Blue Jays, and...the defending champion Nats who scooped up Thames.
In terms of who they gained in their absence, uh...well, let's start with the starting catcher for this year, Omar Narvaez. Narvaez is one of those guys who's been a solid, average catcher on some very unspectacular teams, like the White Sox and Mariners. Last year, Narvy had his best season to date, with career highs in RBIs, home runs, average and WAR. All good stuff. He is replacing Yasmani Grandal at catcher, and Grandal was an All-Star and favorite in Milwaukee. Narvaez is a very different catcher than Grandal, and is more of your baseline, average catcher, rather than the offensive standout that happens to catch. Yes, Narvaez was one of the offensive highlights of his team last year...but that team was the 2019 Mariners.
You look deeper, and you see the new pieces are exactly those...pieces. Pieces of other teams that were just added onto this one. The new infield recruits include Eric Sogard, Jedd Gyorko, Brock Holt, Ryon Healy, Logan Morrison and Justin Smoak. While Smoak and LoMo seem to be doing alright, the others are still trying to figure out how to adapt to their new teams. Even Sogard, who came to life in 2019, is possibly reverting back to his normal levels of production.
Even the pitchers seem very piecemeal. Eric Lauer, Brett Anderson and Shelby Miller are all looking at starting spots, and they all look very odd in Brewers uniforms. Then again, so do a lot of the homegrown people vying for rotation spots. It's really illuminated how little the Brewers have left in terms of starting pitching when Freddy Peralta is the one making news by being signed to an extension.
The only real addition to the fold that seems to not only be doing well in camp but has some sort of status is Avisail Garcia, who's a solid outfield bat AND is batting .286 right now. That's the kind of replacement I can get behind, because he has a chance to be a real factor in subsequent Brewers teams. Otherwise, you're looking at a parade of people auditioning to be on a banner behind Yelich, Cain and Braun for a bit. I dunno how long a lot of these guys will last, though Narvaez and Garcia look good.
If the Brewers hope to continue to be relevant in this division, especially as the Reds and Cardinals grow, they're gonna hope these new additions pan out in a big way.
Coming Tomorrow- Mr. .247 himself.
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