Brewer fans watching one of the most productive pitchers in franchise history head out with one year left on his deal:
Welp, sadly, this felt inevitable. This is the way it works for the Brewers. Cultivate talent, have them under team control for 7 seasons (or give them a decent chunk of change to buy them out of some arbitration years, as was the case with Freddy), realize you have no chance to sign them to their next deal, trade them for prospects. Rinse and repeat.
Now I know this trade in particular is going to hit fans in different ways, because not only was Freddy a really good pitcher, he was a fan favorite. Great in the locker room, always had a smile on his face, seemed to wear his emotions on his shoulder. So you know what we’re going to do? We’re going to do a “Choose Your Own Adventure” blog! Not one take, TWO takes. One for the fans that are pissed and frustrated, and one for the fans that are pissed but maybe more realistic about small market teams and the economics of a professional sports league with no salary cap.
Pissed Fans (turn to page 168):
This is bulls—. How many times are we going to do this? We acquire young talent, develop it, then we ship that talent off when we can’t afford it. The Brewers truly are a minor league system for teams with bigger payrolls. And yeah, we got a few prospects, so what?? So we can develop them and trade them for more prospects in 6 years? You know what they don’t have pennants for? “#1 Farm System in Baseball.” This team has been winning consistently for almost 10 seasons, we pack the damn park every summer, pay $25 for parking, $16 for a beer, get attached to these players, get within a few steps of a World Series, and then trade those players in the offseason. When are we going to spend some money to keep high level talent here?? I realize that Mark Attanasio isn’t as loaded as some owners, but he’s a billionaire! He paid $223 million for the team and it’s now worth $2 billion. Open the damn wallet and pay Freddy his next contract!
Fans who are sad to see Freddy go but understand the rationale (turn to page 208):
Look, this sucks. I love Freddy, you love Freddy, we all love Freddy. He burst onto the scene with 13 strikeouts in his debut on Mother’s Day 2018, and since then he’s arguably been one of the best pitchers in franchise history. 70-42 record, two time All Star, finished 5th in Cy Young voting last season and led the NL in wins.
But this is the reality of being a fan of a small market team in a league without a salary cap. Sure, Freddy only makes $8 million next season, but that’s the last year of his deal, and there’s no chance the Brewers are paying a 30-year old pitcher (with a LOT of innings on his arm) the $150+ million he’s probably going to get after 2026. The options were keep him for next season and then lose him for nothing (except a draft pick), or sell high and bring in some top-level prospects.
And the Brewers MUST keep that farm system flush. It’s the only chance for a team on a budget. If you do that, then you give yourself a chance to win consistently, and maybe, just maybe, one year it all comes together and you win a pennant. Both of the players they got back are blue-chip prospects who are knocking on the door of the major leagues. Jett Williams is a shortstop/second base/centerfield prospect, ranked #3 in the Mets’ system and #30 in all of baseball. Brandon Sproat is their #5 prospect with an upper 90’s fastball who made his debut in the show late last season. They fit perfectly with what the Brewers want.
Not to mention, the team has a TON of starting pitching depth. Woodruff is back, Priester, Misiorowski, Gasser, Logan Henderson, Chad Patrick, etc. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy to replace Freddy’s 2025 production, but the team has options.
Fans who don’t care about baseball (you fell off of a cliff).
At the end of the day, I think I belong to the camp that doesn’t love it, but understands why it has to be this way. They did it with Hader, Corbin, Devin Williams, and now Freddy. There have been a few instances where they’ve kept a star player for the last year of their deal (Prince, Adames) and saw them walk away for very little return. And there have been a few instances where they did dole out big (relatively) contracts (Yeli, Braun). But more often than not, this is how franchises like the Brewers, Ray, Royals, etc. have to operate their franchise. In the words of the late, great, Macho Man Randy Savage: “You may not like it, but accept it.”
PS: Kind of bummed to see Tobias go as well. He was a revelation in 2024, and flat out DELT against the Mets in that win-or-go-home Game 3 of the Wild Card series. For whatever reason he didn’t seem to have it as a starter last season, but came on as a reliable bullpen option (3.55 ERA). I understand the Brewers develop pitching like it’s a bodily function, but that feels like a important depth piece too.
Double PS: Not a doubt in my mind this team is winning 94 games and the division again.
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