The Milwaukee Brewers are typically not known as a team that swings blockbuster trades, whether that’s midseason or over the winter. They aren’t a big-market franchise, and they don’t take many risks.
That could change this year with the Brewers clearly on the cusp of World Series contention.
In fact, Milwaukee has widely been floated as a potential destination for Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, and with the MLB trade deadline looming next Monday, rumors are heating up.
The Brewers are absolutely teeming with prospect capital, so if any team could put together a trade package to entice the Tigers, it’s them.
But does Milwaukee actually have the guts to do it, especially knowing that Skubal will likely walk via free agency during the offseason, CC Sabathia style?
Bob Nightengale of USA Today doesn’t think the Brewers will be frisky enough to pull the trigger, particularly considering that they have other needs they must address.
“Nope. They simply don’t believe that Skubal will be the magic elixir for all of their needs,” Nightengale wrote. “They still need a power bat. They could use another late-inning reliever. They could use someone to step up and be that solid No. 3 starter. Simply, there’s too much risk for the Brewers to take on Skubal when they know they’re going to be in the postseason, anyway.”
Detroit isn’t even sure it is going to trade Skubal just yet, but with the Tigers falling further and further out of playoff contention, it seems likely they’ll eventually cave.
Milwaukee represents as logical of a landing spot as any from a stylistic standpoint. The Brewers could absolutely use Skubal at the top of their rotation (who couldn’t?), and you kind of figure they would want to make a massive move to try and edge out the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It’s hard to buy the “they’re going to be in the postseason, anyway” argument given that, as currently constructed, they still probably don’t have enough to beat the Dodgers. After all, look at what happened last October.
But it is true that acquiring Skubal would comprise a tremendous risk for Milwaukee given that it would essentially be World Series or bust at that point.
We’ll see what the Brewers decide to do before Aug. 3.
