The Brewers are Loading Up

How often do we log in during an offseason night and talk about the Milwaukee Brewers making a splash move that makes them instantly better?

Today is that day, and it’s kind of good for baseball. The Brewers acquired outfielders Christian Yelich (trade from Miami) and Lorenzo Cain (free agent signing) to bolster themselves by a solid eight or so wins in terms of WAR value. Not bad for a day’s work.

The Brewers gave up prospects to Miami in the now twice-traded Lewis Brinson, Monte Harrison, Isan Diaz, and Jordan Yamamoto in the deal. Let Jeff Sullivan sum up for you how they really did:

As I did the other day, I opened up the 2018 Steamer projections, putting all the hitters and then all the pitchers over common denominators. Now, Steamer is pretty down on the Brewers, and I think they’re better than Steamer supposes, but still, before today, the best-projected Brewers player was Jimmy Nelson, ranked 156th in the majors. Nelson happens to be coming off major shoulder surgery, and how good he’ll be when he comes back is an open question. By the same projections, Cain ranks 76th. And, by the same projections, Yelich ranks 40th. The Brewers didn’t just add two players. They might’ve added the two best players on the team.

It’s hard not to be *kind of* happy for the Brewers. Great fan base, upstart team, they rescue Yelich from the burnt bridges of South Beach and add Cain to do battle with NL Central heavyweights in St. Louis and Chicago.

They need some pitching, but this team is really going to hit with the best of them. Don’t sleep on Milwaukee on the days they have nine frames to produce runs in 2018.