{"id":21602,"date":"2025-11-01T07:51:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T07:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/21602\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T07:51:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T07:51:17","slug":"brewers-offseason-targets-trade-and-free-agent-fits-from-the-philadelphia-phillies-brewers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/21602\/","title":{"rendered":"Brewers Offseason Targets: Trade and Free-Agent Fits From the Philadelphia Phillies – Brewers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tDespite a disappointing postseason run, the Phillies were (at least on paper) one of the best teams in MLB this year. Aside from winning 96 games, they also posted a combined OPS of .759 (4th in MLB) and an ERA of 3.79 (8th in MLB). With a colossal payroll (a CBT number of $307.8 million for 2025) and a roster more than capable of contending, it\u2019s doubtful they\u2019ll be willing to trade any core pieces.\u00a0Likewise, their premium free agents\u2014namely Kyle Schwarber<\/a>, J.T. Realmuto<\/a> and Ranger Su\u00e1rez<\/a>\u2014probably don\u2019t fit within Milwaukee\u2019s budget. But which members of one of their top NL rivals could the Brewers pursue this offseason?\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSP Walker Buehler<\/a> (Free Agent)
Buehler hasn\u2019t been able to recapture the magic of his 2021 season, when he posted a 2.47 ERA with a 3.16 FIP over 207 \u2154 innings. Derailed by a second Tommy John<\/a> surgery, this was the first season he had pitched more than 80 innings since his peak, and the results were lousy. Despite signing a one-year, $21.05-million contract with the Red Sox, he was released in August after pitching to a 5.45 ERA over his 22 starts. He rebounded well after being picked up by the Phillies, posting a 0.66 ERA in 13 \u2154 innings for the team.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe difference in velocity isn\u2019t life-changing by any means, but it is still significant. Buehler\u2019s average fastball was 95.3 mph in 2021 and 93.9 mph in 2025. What used to be his dominant pitch has become his downfall. He has tried to move away from relying on his heater by dramatically upping his sinker usage, but he\u2019s still throwing the four-seam fastball more frequently than any other pitch\u2014and opposing hitters are taking advantage, slugging .553 against it. With major issues against lefties and command, Buehler is more of a project now than he has been since he was a prospect. For a closer look at what\u2019s been bothering him, take a look at this article by Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIf there\u2019s any team that can potentially make something work, it\u2019s the Brewers. They\u2019ve built a reputation out of redesigning pitchers who are seemingly at the end of their careers, and although he\u2019s just 31 years old, Buehler\u2019s rapid decline likely leaves him with few teams clamoring for his services. This may also play in Milwaukee\u2019s favor; this would be a potential buy-low, sell-high situation. If he signs an affordable short-term contract with opt-outs and options, he could salvage his value as a starting pitcher while helping the Brewers replenish their own rotation in the interim.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n\tRP Tanner Banks<\/a>
As an 18th-round pick in the 2014 draft by the White Sox, Banks didn\u2019t make his big-league debut until 2022, at the ripe age of 30. Since then, he has been a serviceable bullpen arm and had the best year of his career in 2025, posting a 3.07 ERA with a 1.01 WHIP over 67 \u2153 innings. Although he came out of the bullpen, he boasted an impressive five-pitch arsenal and was reasonably effective with all of them, other than his changeup. Because his velocity is limited to the low 90s, he relied on soft contact and precision command to get his outs, walking just 4.5% of opposing hitters and having a hard contact rate in the top quartile of qualified arms.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Brewers need more left-handed relievers. Had there been more good options, there\u2019s a chance that Pat Murphy<\/a> wouldn\u2019t have had to rely on Aaron Ashby<\/a> to appear in all but two of Milwaukee\u2019s postseason games. This need is supported by the team\u2019s recent move to acquire <\/a>Sammy Peralta<\/a> on waivers.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBanks seems like a reliable arm that could fill a role similar to Hoby Milner<\/a> of years past. Although he comes with several years of control, he\u2019ll be 38 by the time he hits free agency, which should theoretically bring down the asking price in a trade. A solid bullpen southpaw may be a small but important addition to an already well-rounded team like the Brewers.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n\tIF Edmundo Sosa<\/a>
One of the most valuable depth pieces in Philadelphia, Sosa\u2019s utility has come in handy more than once. He spent considerable time at every infield position except first base, and in addition to being a plus defender at three positions, he also posted a 109 OPS+ and slugged .469 with 12 doubles and 11 home runs in 261 plate appearances. This would have placed him second on the Brewers in slugging percentage, behind Andrew Vaughn<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s difficult to ascertain whether Sosa is truly a capable hitter, because of the relatively small sample of games that he has played every season since debuting. In fact, he has not qualified for the batting title in any of the seven big-league seasons he has played in. But despite getting fewer chances than your typical starter, he has found ways to be valuable and could slot in well to the Brewers\u2019 infield.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMilwaukee won\u2019t be losing any major infielders this year, as Caleb Durbin<\/a>, Joey Ortiz<\/a>, Brice Turang<\/a>, and Andrew Vaughn will all be sticking around unless traded. This means that there isn\u2019t a clear gap to fill, but having someone like Sosa who can play multiple positions may serve as an upgrade over Andruw Monasterio<\/a>. He has also shown flashes of big power, which is something Milwaukee was lacking last year, even if they managed to score 806 runs (3rd in MLB). With a projected arbitration salary of just $3.9 million in 2026, he could fit right into the Brewers\u2019 broader infield picture.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n\tBig-market teams like the Phillies run on star power. The Brewers can’t afford to do the same, but that’s ok. The different ways the two teams build rosters create opportunities for the Crew to swoop in on free agents who are no longer of interest to the mighty Phils, or for the two sides to get together on unexpected (if smallish) trades. These three guys are good examples of the kinds of players the Brewers might find appealing, as they peel away at the rosters of richer but dumber teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Despite a disappointing postseason run, the Phillies were (at least on paper) one of the best teams in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[14741,69,71,70,14740,14739],"class_list":["post-21602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-edmundo-sosa","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-tanner-banks","tag-walker-buehler"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}