Brewers Could Shockingly Sell Valuable Players At Trade Deadline According To Insider

Milwaukee could be walking a fine line

Nov 8, 2023; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Milwaukee Brewers general manager Matt Arnold speaks to the media during the MLB General Manager's Meetings at Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Milwaukee Brewers sit atop the National League Central and appeared for months to be undisputed buyers at the upcoming July 30 trade deadline.

Each team's strategy will come into focus in the coming days and the Brewers reportedly could go in an unexpected direction.

The Brewers are now thought to be 'threading the needle' between buying and selling despite all previous signs pointing toward a genuine push toward contention.

The club needs starting pitching and initially, reports have been flooding media outlets thinking the Brewers would trade a few prospects to acquire rotation help. Now, one insider thinks more prominent names in the organization could be on the trade block.

"One area worth monitoring," ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote on Tuesday morning. "Among Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Blake Perkins and Joey Wiemer-- on top of Christian Yelich and Jackson Chourio, neither of whom is going anywhere -- the Brewers' controllable outfield depth is a hammer worth wielding."

Whether the front office is seriously considering trading outfield depth is something that only time will tell, but Passan's point stands true: the team could hypothetically leverage Frelick, Mitchell, Perkins or Wiemer in a package to get any of the top trade candidates on the market without impacting the lineup in a meaningful way.

Any of the above outfielders likely wouldn't be involved in trade conversations for a mid-tier starting pitcher, and would hopefully only be brought up if the club attempts to pry someone like the Cy Young frontrunner Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers.

More MLB: MLB Insider Claims Brewers Are 'Not Done' Making Trade Deadline Moves