Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns held his end-of-the-year press conference on Tuesday. Stearns typically does not reveal much in regard to his off-season plans, but there are some important takeaways from this year's conference. Here are three takeaways:
1) David Stearns takes responsibility for missing the postseason.
There are several reasons why the 2022 Milwaukee Brewers did not make the postseason. Ultimately, Stearns owned up to it being his responsibility. However, he does highlight four reasons that contributed to the Brewers missing out on the playoffs. He cites inconsistent baseball, questionable offense, injuries and the Josh Hader trade as reasons why the Brewers came up short.
Throughout 2022, it felt like the Brewers could not get their pitching and offense to fire on all cylinders simultaneously for prolonged stretches. The offense was essentially home run or bust and the bullpen blew 16 save opportunities following the trade deadline. These inconsistencies made it more difficult to string together wins.
Injury-wise, the pitching staff was affected the most. Corbin Burnes was the only starting pitcher who did not miss a start. In the bullpen, Jake Cousins and Justin Topa spent the vast majority of the season rehabbing injuries. Luis Perdomo and Trevor Gott had multiple trips on the IL as well. This led to the Brewers relying upon the likes of Jason Alexander, Peter Strzelecki, Trevor Kelley and others to cover innings.
Lastly, Stearns cited the Josh Hader trade as a contributing factor to missing out on the playoffs. He indicates that it had a larger impact on the team than he thought it would. This was very evident as players spoke out several times after the trade deadline regarding upper management and the disruption of the team's chemistry. Hopefully, Stearns can learn from this mistake and not neglect clubhouse chemistry moving forward.
2) Brewers management likes their core players and wants to keep them together
The Brewers do have a good group of core players. Among the core group that is under club control is Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Willy Adames, Devin Williams, Aaron Ashby and Christian Yelich. Of these players, all are in arbitration except Freddy Peralta, Aaron Ashby and Christian Yelich. They signed long-term extensions.
During the press conference, Stearns was asked specially about a contract extension for either Corbin Burnes or Brandon Woodruff. His response was “the goal is always to lock up talented young players." If Brewers management truly wants to keep this group together, they should begin contract extension talks with their elite pitchers this offseason.
There are two players who are not under club control for 2023 that Stearns may also want to retain in order to keep this group together. That is Kolten Wong and Brad Boxberger. Both have club options for next season. If management is truly highly motivated to keep this group together then they will ignore the money owed next year and bring both of them back.
3) Expect the Brewers to acquire a few new pitchers this off-season
As mentioned earlier, the Brewers' pitching staff was hampered by injuries in 2022. This often led to less-than-ideal pitching matchups. That being said, pitching depth is an area that Stearns indicated will be addressed this off-season. He plans to do some of this externally.
When healthy, the Brewers have a very sound starting rotation. They also have a closer in Devin Williams to build a bullpen around. Of Brewers arbitration players, 11 of the 18 are pitchers. There could be some surprise non-tenders this off-season that will open the door for some new pitchers who are currently not with the organization. Within the organization, Ethan Small could take on a larger role in 2023.
Pitching results and outcomes are highly variable from season to season, so it will be interesting to see who the Brewers elect to bring in this offseason.
More must-reads: