The 2024 season for the Milwaukee Brewers has ended in stunning heartbreak, but it was a success overall and looking ahead, more success should be in store for this franchise -- even if the fans likely don't want to hear it right now.
It all started with a new manager -- having seen their skipper poached by the hated Chicago Cubs -- and then their ace, Corbin Burnes, was shipped to Baltimore just before spring training. Fellow All-Star pitcher Brandon Woodruff was already lost for the season due to injury.
All-Star closer Devin Williams got hurt in spring training.
It felt like a cursed season was coming. Instead, the Brewers won the NL Central again.
Yes, I said again. I know they haven't won the pennant since 1982 and have never won a World Series, but this is the Golden Era of Brewers baseball, present tense until they show us otherwise.
Before 2017, the Brewers only had three division championships in 49 seasons. Since then, there have been six full seasons and the Brewers have won the NL Central four times. In those first 49 years, the Brewers topped 90 wins in a season seven times. In the last six full seasons, they've topped 90 wins four times and one of the times they fell short was an 89-win team in 2019.
There have been changes in the front office. There have been changes in the dugout with both the manager and player personnel. The constant has been this incredibly well-run organization maintaining a successful infrastructure and continuing to win baseball games in the regular season.
Unfortunately, the postseason has certainly become a problem. The 2024 Brewers just had their hearts broken, as did their fans. This one felt especially excruciating after the comeback in Game 2 and then the blown save in Game 3.
I'm sure Brewers fans are tired of watching playoff losses. They got to Game 7 of the NLCS in 2018 to start this run, but they've failed to advance since then. Since winning Game 6 of the 2018 NLCS, the Brewers have gone 2-11 in playoff games.
Sure, some people will scream about how the Brewers need to make massive changes to the organization in order to start winning in the playoffs -- it's the old "Moneyball doesn't work in the postseason!" nonsense -- but the playoffs are an incredibly small sample and fluky stuff happens. The best thing a team like this can do is just keep winning regular season games and put the team in position to have a deep postseason run when everything comes together. Yes, I do think the Brewers front office should keep doing everything they've been doing.
Let's take a look at the season that was, what comes in the offseason and then look ahead to 2025.
Who leaves?
Shortstop Willy Adames is a free agent and I expect at least the Dodgers to show interest, which means he's as good as gone. Starting pitcher Frankie Montas has a mutual option and surely the Brewers decline that. Rhys Hoskins has an $18 million player option, which will be an interesting decision. He hasn't had a very good year overall, so he might well stay. We've seen players walk in situations like this before, but my hunch is he's staying.
Those are really the big ones. The rest are obvious (Devin Williams' $10.5 million club option) or inconsequential. Let's move on to the fun stuff.
Yelich passes torch to Chourio?
When Christian Yelich joined the Brewers in 2018, he seized the mantle of the biggest star of the team from Ryan Braun. And though Braun hung around a few more years and was productive, it was Yelich's team.
Yelich is still only going to be 33 years old next year and is under team control through 2028. He played like an All-Star and maybe even a top-five MVP finisher this season through 73 games, but his season-ending back surgery is a concern moving forward.
Enter Jackson Chourio.
The 20-year-old outfielder signed an eight-year deal before his MLB debut in the spring. He was one of the best players in the majors after the All-Star break. He made a huge splash in the playoffs.
Having him and Yelich in the outfield together for the next several years has to feel very comforting for the Brewers. This may in fact be Chourio's team already. He's that good.
It isn't just those two, though
The expected loss of Adames hurts, of course, but this is how the smallest-market team in baseball -- until the A's get to Vegas -- operates this, even with excellent ownership. The Brewers are amazing at it. Just look at the young talent that emerged for them in the last few years.
William Contreras is one of the most productive catchers in baseball and was only 26 this year. Brice Turang, at age 24, was second to Contreras in WAR on the Brewers this season. Joey Ortiz came over in the Burnes trade and showed signs of how good he could be. Sal Frelick is a serviceable everyday player at just 24 years old. Garrett Mitchell, at age 25, can hit for power and steal bases.
There's a good foundation of young talent here moving toward 2025. It starts with the star outfielders and Contreras, but doesn't end there.
Who's next?
The best way a team like the Brewers remains relevant is by stocking the organization with players ready to step in when someone like Adames hits free agency.
In terms of shortstop, specifically, they'll probably just keep the seat warm for prospect Cooper Pratt, who finished the season with 23 games in High-A at age 19. Prospects who could impact next season on the position-player side, though, would be catcher Jeferson Quero -- as he looks to return from season-ending shoulder surgery -- and corner infielder Tyler Black.
As for the pitching staff
I'm honestly very unworried about the bullpen. The Brewers always find a way to put together a great bullpen and it's already in good shape moving toward next year with Williams supported by the likes of Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby and Joel Payamps. It'll be great. It always is.
The rotation again starts with Freddy Peralta, as he has team options through 2026. Rookie Tobias Myers was excellent this season. Aaron Civale was good after coming over via trade and is under team control for one more year. Colin Rea has a $5.5 million option that's worth considering.
Will Woodruff be ready to go for the start of next season? He's recovering from shoulder surgery and that's always tough.
Before getting to Rea's option, Peralta, Myers, Civale and Woodruff is a nice start.
Rea is interesting. He was very good for most of the first half. He had a 5.52 ERA in his last 15 appearances, though a few total meltdowns wrecked that number. He still wasn't good, though.
Even if the Brewers retain Rea, that's only five starters and who knows how Woodruff's shoulder will hold up. That's just not enough.
Lefty D.L. Hall came over in the Burnes trade with Ortiz. He didn't stick as a starter this year, but he'll surely get another shot. He's still only 26.
Remember above when I talked about prospects? Yeah, I only mentioned position players. The top pitching prospect is Jacob Misiorowski. He was mostly in Double-A this season, but also got seasoning in Triple-A and threw well (2.55 ERA in 17 2/3 innings).
Carlos Rodriguez and Logan Henderson also finished with Triple-A Nashville and could be factors next year.
The bottom line is the Brewers have good coverage pretty much everywhere on the roster. The adept front office will use its resources this offseason to fill a big-league roster around the key pieces from the defending NL Central champions. They'll lose Adames and some other relevant players this offseason, but they'll return just as good, if not better, not year.
At this point, that's just what the Brewers do. After all, it is the Golden Era of Brewers baseball.
