The Brewers put together a historical season in 2025. They won a franchise-record 97 games and broke their postseason losing streak, advancing to the NLCS for the first time since 2018. Though the postseason run ended with a thud, it was an overall positive year for the team. With the full core of the team set to return in 2026, the Brewers could still contend without significant additions in the offseason. However, the moves they did make are ones that would be expected more of a rebuilding team,
not one that led the league.
The first significant move of the offseason came on December 14, when they traded Isaac Collins and Nick Mears to the Royals for Ángel Zerpa. It felt like a strange trade considering the role both players had in 2025. Collins put together a strong rookie season, and Mears was one of the most reliable relievers out of the bullpen.
Looking deeper into the trade, it did make sense. The Brewers had an outfield jam, with five players (Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick, Blake Perkins, Garrett Mitchell, and Collins) competing for three starting spots. Even with a rotation, it would be difficult to get more than four outfielders regular playing time. Collins had also slumped toward the end of the season, so there was concern that he wouldn’t be able to repeat his performance. Also, Mears was out of minor league options and had a reasonable, but increasing, salary. The trade cleared the outfield jam and brought in another strong reliever that has some flexibility with a minor league option.
The next big move came on January 21, when they traded Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers to the Mets for Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. This move hurt since the Brewers traded their strongest starter away but wasn’t unexpected. With Peralta just one year from free agency, he joined the list of pitchers (such as Corbin Burnes and Devin Williams) who were traded before their walk year.
The more surprising inclusion was Myers, who had an up-and-down two years for the Brewers. After arguably leading the rotation in 2024, he slumped following an injury in 2025 and spent most of the season in the minors. However, toward the end of the season he was showing signs of a rebound. The move still made sense, though. The Brewers have a long list of pitchers for their starting rotation, and Myers would have had a difficult time getting back into the rotation.
The return for the trade was a good one. Williams and Sproat are both near major league ready and could impact the team as soon as this season. Williams doesn’t have a specific spot set but has the ability to play in the infield or outfield. As for Sproat, he might not make the rotation out of spring training but should get some chances during the season. Overall, the trade was one that would hurt in the short term but should improve the team beyond 2026.
The last big trade of the offseason is the one that really shocked everyone. On Monday, with pitchers and catchers set to report in just two days, the Brewers traded Caleb Durbin to the Red Sox. He was the main piece in a trade package that also included Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Seigler, and their Competitive Balance B draft pick (No. 67 overall). In return, they got Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan, and David Hamilton.
Unlike the other trades, Durbin was arguably going to be a major contributor on the Brewers for the next several years. He’s coming off of an excellent rookie season that included a third-place finish in the NL Rookie of the Year vote. He’s a young player with six years of team control remaining. For the Brewers, this is the type of player they have built around and don’t trade easily. If the Brewers got a player back who had a stronger track record and immediately improved the team, that would have made more sense. Instead, they continued to add on to their minor league system.
That doesn’t mean the players the Brewers got in return aren’t good players. They can all factor into the Brewers’ plans immediately and in the future. Harrison immediately slotted into the Brewers’ starting pitcher depth chart, and Hamilton could take over at third. It’s a move that would be more expected of a rebuilding team, though. That’s compounded by the Brewers’ uncertain plan for third base. Based on a comment from Murphy yesterday, they have a handful of players who will compete for the starting position.
What also adds on to the decision are the prospects that are almost major league ready. Jesús Made, the top prospect in the system and a consensus top 10 player on any prospect list, is getting a taste of major league play this spring in camp. He won’t make the team this spring and likely not this season but could be ready as soon as next year. In addition to him, the Brewers next three top-ranked prospects (Luis Peña, Williams, Cooper Pratt) are all infielders, and they also have a couple of other potential third baseman (Andrew Fischer, Luke Adams) a little further down the list. With significant depth building in the minors, a move to alleviate the potential logjam was expected, but not this season. All those players still need more time in the minors, and the Durbin trade creates a potential hole for a year or two.
The one other aspect that adds on to all of this is the Brewers’ lack of activity in the free agent market. It’s not unexpected for the Brewers to not make a big splash with a free agent. Considering that they had a strong roster after 2025, a big addition wasn’t necessarily needed but would have been welcomed. With their TV deal changing and the regular push to keep costs down, this wasn’t the season for them to make a major signing. That’s what they stuck to all season. They only made two signings in free agency this offseason: outfielder Akil Baddoo and catcher Gary Sánchez. Both were on modest contracts that only added minimal amounts to the payroll. (Brandon Woodruff technically counts as a free-agent signing, but he fits in more as a returning player.)
The result of the offseason is the Brewers enter camp with a few of their best players no longer on the roster. They have more depth to build the team back up, and some of those players will impact the team this season. They have regularly defied expectations so it’s foolish to think they can’t do it again. Matt Arnold and Pat Murphy have built an organization that can get the best out of whoever they bring in. After an unconventional offseason for a team that led the league last season, they will have to show they can do it again.
