Heading into the 2024 MLB season, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals were seen as potential favorites to win the NL Central, yet here are the Milwaukee Brewers once again sitting comfortably atop the division with a 6.5-game lead.
After trading ace Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles in the offseason, many viewed the Brewers as an unserious competitor for 2024, but now that they are in the thick of the pennant race, one insider has revealed the obvious need this team has heading into the trade deadline.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal recently said that “they have to target starting pitching” and pointed out how the team has had to patch things together after a bevy of injuries to the rotation, exacerbating the need to add an arm at the deadline for the stretch run.
Brandon Woodruff, Wade Miley, Jakob Junis, and DL Hall are all out of the rotation currently nursing injuries, which is a major reason why the Brewers have just 17 quality starts this season, which is 28th in the league.
Colin Rea is having a career year at 33 years old and rookie Tobias Myers has helped steady the rotation with a 3.76 ERA so far, but it’s tough to see this team making a deep run in October without a stronger rotation.
There should be plenty of options on the market, with names such as Jack Flaherty, Nick Pivetta, Erick Fedde, and Luis Severino all serving as potential trade pieces given their contracts and the states of their current teams.
