Milwaukee Brewers Fans Are Starting the Annual Panic Too Early [OPINION]

For fans who have have been paying attention, this offseason seems to have the Brewers teetering on the edge of imminent collapse, at least if you pay attention to certain segments of Brewers Twitter.

However, I am here to say genuinely there is no need to fear.

As of now the Brewers roster sits at 32 out of 40 players, and based on the tone of so many apparently that will not change.

The Brewers had a handful of head scratcher moves that when you look at the move in isolation it is odd, but when you look at the bigger tapestry and the business behind it almost all of them make sense.

I say almost all very specifically because letting Junior Guerra walk was just plain dumb. The man was our longest tenured pitcher, our Opening Day starter at one point, and then a valuable relief asset down the stretch the last two seasons.

Why not pay him? I have no idea. I guess because he is 35 and the Brewers do not want a repeat of Jeremy Jeffress. I’m really not sure.

The Brewers have lost some key contributors from last season, but if you’re honest with yourself the chances of holding onto even one were slim. Retaining All-Stars due to hit free agency after at least one disastrous stint as a free agent would not happen, especially with the contracts these guys ended up signing for.

Good for the players getting paid, and free agency finally not being horrible. However, most guys have not signed, and there still a lot of good players that can fill positions of need for the Brewers.

What do the Brewers need to do? Should we trust David Stearns? Will there be a rebuild in 2020? When can we start panicking?

In this order: they need to still finish their roster, and I will explain why that is not a big deal yet, we absolutely should, the absolutely will not be, and not for at least month yet.

Free agency is moving faster this year than it has in the last couple years, but that is a painfully low bar. While this free agency has not been the glacially paced monstrosity of 2017 and 2018, this free agency still sucks.

As of right now the Brewers need to round out their bullpen, rotation, and find two players to play first base and third base.

The bullpen is definitely not something to worry about, as that is Stearn’s wheelhouse. The Brewers have been at forefront of the “bullpenning” movement in baseball where teams build around heavy use of a bullpen, and 2020 will be no different.

The big reason not to fear is the influx of players that will be returning to the mound for the Brewers in 2020. A pair of top bullpen prospects in Quintin Torres-Costa and Bobby Wahl, but most importantly the return of a finally healthy Corey Knebel.

The Brewers’ need for rotation help is well documented, and there are plenty of mid rotation type guys that the Brewers can and likely will be in contact with to create a rotation worthy of a third postseason birth in a row.

Many solid value corner infield players are available in trades and on the open market, and do not be surprised for the Brewers to sign someone that can help improve spotty production at first.

With a lot of names to keep an eye on, and David Stearns’ ability to clamp down on leaks and work quietly it is hard to pin down any specific player to keep an eye one.

All of that is by design. Stearns works quietly, and knows the market better than any fan does. Which is precisely why he is a GM.

Stearns does not show his hand to the media. Just remember the last couple of offseasons. The Brewers signed Lorenzo Cain and traded for Christian Yelich in January of 2018. The Brewers signed Yazmani Grandal in January of 2019 and resigned Mike Moustakas in February of 2019.

The MLB Rule-5 Draft still has yet to happen, the GM Winter Meeting are only just getting started, and January and February are last I checked after December. The fuss over the direction of this offseason is mind numbing.

There is a lot of offseason left, with a lot of key dates, key players returning from injury, and many really good free agent options still available. Among other things the Brewers’ payroll prediction as of right now gives the Brewers between $30 and $40 million before they even meet the Opening Day figure from last season.

So the Brewers have the money to bring on a few key players, only have a few roles that need to be filled, there is a lot of offseason left, and big names still available. All of this is to say, “R-E-L-A-X” the Brewers will be just fine, and it is way too early to be panicking.