Brewers First Baseman Rumored To Be Trade Candidate

Francys Romero of Beisbol FR reported that he's hearing the Brewers will listen on trade offers for 29 year old Jake Bauers.

This season, Bauers is hitting .229 with five homers, a .762 OPS, and a 114 OPS+. He's been a consistently productive bench bat and has some versatility in the corner outfield.

On the heels of acquiring another veteran first baseman like Andrew Vaughn, who might have a higher ceiling even though he's having a down season in 2025, it would make sense that the Brewers would be open to moving Bauers.

The Brewers have a bevy of first base depth, starting with Hoskins and Bauers. One of their big prospects, Tyler Black, is healthy now and back in Triple-A Nashville. There's also Ernesto Martinez Jr, Bobby Dalbec, and now Vaughn in Nashville, all with the ability to play first base. 

If the Brewers are looking to get playing time for any of those other options, moving Bauers would make the most sense. Hoskins is making $18MM this year and has been the Crew's best offensive player all year. If the Brewers are still in it in July, he's staying. That leaves trading Bauers as the move to clear some playing time. 

It's unlikely Milwaukee would be able to get much in a straight up return for Bauers, but he could either be packaged with something else or traded for a low-level return just to clear the roster spot.

Another caveat is that the Brewers in general are open to listening to trade offers on basically anybody they have. The price will always have to be right, but they're always open, with perhaps the exception of someone like Jackson Chourio. So being open to trade offers on Bauers may not necessarily mean all that much.

Still, a reported connection of Bauers to the trade market specifically is something of note, especially with the Brewers sudden organizational logjam at first base.