Milwaukee Brewers 2025-2026 Offseason Wish List

Chris Bassitt may have pitched his way out of Milwaukee’s price range with what he did this October, but the 36-year-old would be an ideal fit if the Brewers were willing to spend up.

Bassitt pitched to the tune of a 3.96 ERA this season and was a key member of the Blue Jays’ postseason run out of the bullpen. He throws a whopping eight different pitches, including several different fastballs, breaking balls, and off-speed pitches.

He does a great job at keeping the ball on the ground with that kitchen-sink approach, ending the year in the 70th percentile in ground-ball rate (46.1%). Combine that skillset with his experience, consistency, and availability, and he checks all the boxes as a free-agent target.

Whether or not he is in the Brewers’ price range is yet to be seen.

It’s a similar story for Merrill Kelly, who has long been one of the more steady middle-of-the-rotation arms in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He too sports a career ground-ball rate north of 44%, throws three different types of fastballs, and has experience pitching on the big stage. He was a part of the Diamondbacks’ World Series run in 2023, and he has experience pitching in the World Baseball Classic for Team USA that same year.

Kelly will be sought after this winter and, again, is likely out of Milwaukee’s price range. However, he feels like a reasonable investment to complement the young arms the Brewers have at their disposal.

Two cheaper free-agent options are veterans Tyler Anderson and Martín Pérez.

Anderson is coming off a down year with the Angels (4.56 ERA) but went through stretches with Los Angeles where he looked like a very capable arm. He doesn’t generate nearly as many ground balls as the other names on this list, but he does throw three variations of a fastball and could lean into that approach more to generate success with some help from the Brewers’ pitching lab.

Pérez is coming off a strong year with the White Sox (3.54 ERA), although it was only across 56 innings as he battled through elbow and shoulder injuries. He was a part of the Rangers’ pitching staff that won a World Series title in 2023 and comes with experience of his own.

The status of his shoulder will obviously impact his appeal this winter, but if Pérez is recovered and good to go for next season, he’s has a profile that makes for a good fit and won’t be all that expensive.

2. Add Another Option at Shortstop

Joey Ortiz will be the starting shortstop heading into Opening Day 2026. The Brewers targeted Ortiz as the main piece in the return for Corbin Burnes, and a down sophomore season won’t change their long-term view on him.

However, what they saw from Ortiz in 2026 was proof that they need more options at the position.

Ortiz was a terrific defender this season, ranking in the 98th percentile with +13 OAA. His defensive ability was a valuable and essential piece to Milwaukee’s strong season. However, among all qualified hitters in MLB, Ortiz finished with the single-lowest OPS in baseball (.593), the lowest wOBA (.263), and the third-lowest wRC+ (67).

That’s not going to cut it for a team with World Series expectations, regardless of how good his defense is.

Now, there’s reason to believe he won’t be that bad at the plate next season; His track record prior to 2025 suggests he’s a much more capable hitter than what we saw this season. But on the off chance that his results don’t improve offensively, the Brewers need more competition at shortstop.

Turang was rumored to move to shortstop heading into Opening Day until he suffered arm fatigue in spring training, which ultimately kept him at second base. Albeit unlikely, perhaps that position change is back on the table next spring.

Andruw Monasterio took over for Ortiz when he hit the injured list in the middle of the season and thrived in that role, but Monasterio is best utilized as a valuable utility option off the bench rather than a starting option for a team looking to compete for a World Series title.

The Brewers have some high-profile infield prospects coming through the pipeline who could be ready in a couple of years (Jesus Made, Cooper Pratt), but neither of which are likely to factor into the big-league plans until 2027 at the very least.

Therefore, if they are in the market to add at shortstop, a veteran stopgap would likely be the play.

Possible Free-Agent Targets

• Pricier options: Ha-Seong Kim, Willi Castro
• Cheaper option: Taylor Walls

Frankly, the shortstop market beyond the top names is quite bare. If they were to make a move to address this position, it’s in all likelihood to be via the trade market. Still, there are a handful of free agents who could help spell some reps at short in the meantime until some of Milwaukee’s most prized prospects are ready to take over at the MLB level.

Willi Castro doesn’t fit the typical mold of who the Brewers typically go after — he strikes out more than the Brewers like, and he’s coming off the worst defensive season of his career in 2025. Still, if the Brewers are looking for an offensive upgrade with a player who can play all over the field, Casto has that ability.

Castro has proven to be a capable defender prior to 2025, and his year-end 92 wRC+ was bogged down by an abysmal 39 wRC+ in the second half. Heading into the All-Star break, Castro was sporting a 123 wRC+ and .791 OPS, which led to him being moved to the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline.

It may be an abnormal addition for a team like the Brewers, but if they are looking for a utility piece with offensive upside, Castro could be the target.

Ha-Seong Kim has been a name I’ve long pounded the table for the Brewers to bring in. After signing with Tampa Bay last offseason, Kim never really found his footing after returning from his shoulder injury. He was later waived and claimed by the Atlanta Braves, where he ended the year on a high note.

He’s a former Gold Glover who not only has pop but also is great at controlling the zone (career 21.8% chase rate) and putting the bat on the ball (career 18.2% whiff rate). He can float around the infield, and he should come at a fairly reasonable price.

Though he opted out of his $16 million option, he’s likely willing to exchange that AAV for a longer contract length. Given what he brings defensively and the potential he has with the bat, perhaps a two to three-year deal is something the Brewers would consider doing.

Taylor Walls fits the bill as a very typical Brewers addition. Though he has -14 OAA at shortstop throughout his career, he does have +54 DRS at short to go with +11 DRS at third base and +1 DRS at second in his career.

He lacks impact with the bat (to put it mildly), but he doesn’t chase, limits the whiff, is a big threat on the basepaths, and will be cheap on the open market. It’s not flashy, but I could absolutely see a world in which the Brewers target him as a backup infield option.

3. Add Another First Base Option

What a career resurgence it was from Andrew Vaughn in 2025. After being a castaway in the South Side, Vaughn later ascended into one of the Brewers’ most valuable hitters once he took over at first base in early July. He never looked back, and now he heads into 2026 as the team’s starting first baseman.

With Rhys Hoskins’ mutual option declined, the Brewers need to do something to address the backup spot at first base. Jake Bauers, who is arbitration eligible, filled that role well these past two seasons.

He was a key bench bat down the stretch in the regular season and is exactly the type of hitter the Brewers would be looking for — he’s a lefty bat, has big homer potential, and can play in a corner outfield spot if needed. The big question is whether his price will be worth it, as he’s the lone non-tender candidate for Milwaukee.

Should the Brewers part ways with both Hoskins and Bauers, there needs to be a backup plan should Vaughn regress back to his career norm in 2026.

Tyler Black, a left-handed bat who has been one of the Brewers’ top prospects for quite some time, has yet to receive a runway in the majors to this point. Perhaps 2026 is finally the year he gets his shot and the Brewers roll with him as the backup option to Vaughn at first base.

Retaining Bauers is likely the ideal move for Milwaukee, but this is the one area on the offensive side of things where perhaps the Brewers want to spend a bit more money. If so, there are a handful of options the Brewers could look to target.

Possible Free-Agent Targets

• Pricier options: Josh Naylor, Ryan O’Hearn
• Cheaper options: LaMonte Wade Jr., Ty France

There’s an extremely small chance Josh Naylor is in play for Milwaukee given his likely price point, but should the Brewers spend up this offseason, Naylor checks all the boxes of a player the Brewers like to target.

He runs the bases extremely well, stealing 30 bases despite having third-percentile sprint speed, he’s terrific at limiting strikeouts, and he has plenty of pop. His performance in the postseason for Seattle likely put him out of the Brewers’ price range, but it’s worth mentioning that if the Brewers are going to spend on a bat, it would in all likelihood be Naylor.

Ryan O’Hearn is a tier down from Naylor but would essentially be an upgraded version of Jake Bauers. A lefty bat who can play a corner outfield spot, O’Hearn has a total of 46 homers across his last three seasons, is great at putting the bat on the ball for a player with his kind of pop, and showed to be a well-above-average fielder in 2025.

Two lesser options who could be in play are LaMonte Wade Jr. and Ty France.

After being designated for assignment by the Giants this past June, Wade was traded to the Angels where he was then released in early August.

His 2025 campaign was dreadful, highlighted by a 52 wRC+. However, this is a player who had a 115 wRC+ in his four seasons with San Francisco from 2021-2024 and has historically had a great feel for the strike zone and a knack for getting on base — two abilities the Brewers tend to seek out.

France has bounced around in his years. Though he isn’t the hitter he once was in his prime Seattle days, he has plenty of power potential that is paired with strong bat-to-ball skills. What’s more, he recently won the 2025 AL Gold Glove at first base and was a part of the Blue Jays’ magical 2025 postseason run.

Though he is a right-handed hitter, which doesn’t quite fit the mold of what the Brewers are after, he makes for a fine backup option at first for the Brewers if they’re looking for some insurance at the position.

4. Address the Need for Power

This can come from any direction. Whether it’s in the outfield, the infield, or off the bench, adding power to this lineup needs to be on the Brewers’ priority list this offseason.

This is a team that finished 22nd in MLB with 166 homers and 25th in ISO (.145). Though they managed to finish 12th in slugging percentage (.403), the long ball remains king for teams in pursuit of a championship.

Should Bauers be non-tendered (19 homers in his two seasons with the Brewers), and with Hoskins no longer in the picture (28 homers across his two seasons with the Brewers), it’s a power sap that needs to be addressed.

Christian Yelich is expected to play more in the outfield in 2026, which should open up the designated hitter spot for other hitters to get more reps. That would certainly give the Brewers a bit more lineup flexibility heading into 2026 and could open the door to add a power hitter who may need some reps at DH (Ryan O’Hearn, for example).

It’s a tricky puzzle to solve for the Brewers, who have answers at essentially every starting position in their lineup heading into the offseason. They may need to get real creative to address this need.

All in all, I wouldn’t expect the Brewers to have a very active offseason. With how the team typically operates, combined with the fact that their roster next season will look a lot like it did in 2025, it’s setting up for a rather quiet winter ahead.

That said, this is a team that will be gunning for a fourth consecutive division crown and another crack at brining a World Series title to Milwaukee for the first time in franchise history. After getting so close in 2025, perhaps this is the offseason they stray from their past ways and make that significant addition.

While that may be unlikely, nothing is off the table for a Brewers front office that is always looking to improve in any way possible.