It has been an interesting and slightly puzzling start to the Brewers first offseason under Matt Arnold. The moves made so far do not show the full picture as towards his vision for how the team will look come opening day in 2023. One odd sequence of events was trading Hunter Renfroe to the Angels and then a day later signing a young, unproven outfielder in Blake Perkins.
Renfroe was one of the Brewers most productive hitters in 2022. He finished last season with a 2.5 fWAR, 29 home runs, and a 124 wRC+. Defensively, he has one of the best throwing arms in the game and has a knack for collecting outfield assists.
This makes one wonder how the Brewers will replace the production that they lost when they traded away Renfroe. The Brewers do have a lot of intriguing outfield prospects that could make their big league debuts next year, but it is unfair to expect them to collectively replace Renfroe’s production. This is especially true in the power department.
It is possible that the Brewers will look externally to replace Renfroe’s production. With the addition of the designated hitter, it’s possible they look to sign a player at that position in order to do this.
Here we will take a look at three external options to replace Hunter Renfroe’s production.
External Option #1: OF Mitch Haniger
Haniger was drafted by the Brewers in 2012. In 2014 he was traded to the Diamondbacks for Gerardo Parra and later on traded to the Mariners. He’s spent the last five seasons in Seattle and has become quite the offensive threat.
As a Mariner, Haniger has hit 107 home runs, including 39 in 2021. He missed a large chunk of 2022 due to an ankle injury but still finished with a 113 wrC+. Spotrac has the 31-year-old’s market value set at $15M, but coming off a down season he might be inclined to sign a one-year deal in order to improve his stock for the following offseason.
External Option #2: DH J.D. Martinez
Martinez has been a staple in the Boston Red Sox lineup for several years now. However, his contract has expired and the Red Sox did not extend him a qualifying offer. Spotrac does have his market value estimated at $15.1M and he is arguably the best DH free-agent option on the market.
Reports so far have indicated that Martinez would love to return to Boston. However, the contending status of the Red Sox next year is unknown, so perhaps he will elect to sign elsewhere. The Brewers would love to sign the 35-year-old hitter to a one-year deal. He’s coming off a season where he smacked 43 doubles and finished with a 119 wRC+.
The Brewers have shed a lot of payroll to start this offseason. It is unclear as to how they plan to reallocate those funds. They could elect to pursue contract extensions with some of their key players, or they could bring in an external player. It will be interesting to see what happens.
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