Brewers Urged To Swing For Fences With Projected $54 Million All-Star
If the Milwaukee Brewers want to truly contend in the National League in 2025, it makes sense to add some more firepower to the offense.
Milwaukee won 93 games in 2024 and should still be considered the top team in the National League Central, although the Chicago Cubs aren't far behind. The Brewers have a lot of talent and should be able to at least compete for the division title once again.
But, if the Brewers want to make a deep playoff run they are going to have to compete against teams like the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, and reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Brewers have a very good roster but certainly haven't been as active as other National League contenders. Adding a piece to the infield to replace Willy Adames could help with that. SB Nation's Harrison Freuck made a list of five hypothetical fits for Milwaukee and one that he mentioned was All-Star infielder Jorge Polanco.
"Polanco is probably one of the more attractive the options on this list, but he’s also one of the most expensive," Freuck said. "He’s split most of his career between second base and shortstop, and he’s also played at third base. He’s a switch hitter that provides some pop (16 homers in 118 games in 2024; averages 22 homers across 162 games for his career). Yes, he’s a well-below-average defender (something the Brewers would hate), but he could be a nice option for a year or two as Milwaukee’s infield prospects get closer to the majors.
"Given his down season in 2024, he should be affordable for the Brewers, with a contract somewhere in the range of Kolten Wong’s 2021 deal of two years, $18 million. He’s a true bounce-back candidate after totaling 9.6 bWAR from 2021-2023 with the Twins."
Polanco's market value is projected to be $54 million over four years by Spotrac. He has 128 career home runs over 11 years and is coming off a 2024 campaign with the Seattle Mariners in which he hit 16 long balls and drove in 45 runs. He's certainly worth a look.
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